How should churches deal with politics? Christian Reformed members are no strangers to this incandescent question. Many promote public justice as individuals but oppose any institutional church activism. Others believe the denomination should “advocate” but not “lobby” for social justice—but the distinction is not always clear.
A Canadian study was put together by the group Citizens for Public Justice, a non-governmental organization supported by many of Canada’s churches. It drew on recent information collected from the federal government, Statistics Canada, census data, and other sources. It reported that 19 per cent of Canada’s children were living in poverty and that number increased to nearly 50 per…
On Oct. 17, the world commemorated the UN’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty—but you could be forgiven for not noticing. Canadian media were not paying attention to poverty concerns that day, but readers and viewers were being swamped with an avalanche of reporting about … cannabis. And not to blame journalists, because for some bizarre…
Ten months after MPs voted to study income inequality in Canada, the House Finance Committee finally held their first of three meetings on the topic last Tuesday. And while three meetings isn’t much, it’s better than one, which is what the committee is said to have originally planned on. The credit goes to the civil society organizations and concerned Canadians who spoke out and demanded that the committee give more time and attention to this important issue. It seems the MPs were listening, at least partially.
The campaign, called “For the Love of Creation,” launched April 22, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It sets out several ways they hope to harness the “long history of work in ecological conservation, environmental activism and advocacy for climate justice.”
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Claudette Commanda, who teaches courses on First Nations issues at the University of Ottawa, spoke at CPJ’s 2016 Annual General Meeting
Citizens for Public Justice, a group of Canadian Christians, churches and other religious congregations, expressed their solidarity with the Muslim community of Quebec City. “Last night’s shooting, targeting people of faith during their worship and prayer, is a deplorable attack on all Canadians and our most deeply-held values,” the group’s executive director, Joe Gunn, said.
