From the Catalyst, Summer 2017
On the Hill
CPJ has been busy on Parliament Hill this Spring. In April, we released A Half Welcome, our latest report on refugee sponsorship in Canada, and presented it to both opposition critics for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Bolu Coker, our policy intern who wrote the report, and Joe Gunn met with NDP critic Jenny Kwan. Bolu also joined Mike Hogeterp (director of the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue) for a meeting with Conservative critic Michelle Rempel.
CPJ staff also met with Liberal MPs Joyce Murray and Jonathan Wilkinson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change), Conservative MP Dianne Watts, NDP MP Linda Duncan, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to talk about Canada’s climate change policies and our Give it up for the Earth! campaign.
In June, we presented Catherine McKenna, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, with the postcards from our Give it up for the Earth! campaign. Across Canada, 91 events were held in 56 communities.
Joe Gunn and Darlene O’Leary participated in a small roundtable meeting with Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development) along with other major stakeholders in the anti-poverty movement. They discussed the federal government’s consultations on Canada’s first federal antipoverty plan. Over 850 Canadians used our online Dignity for All form to participate in the consultations. Darlene also joined CPJ’s partners at Canada Without Poverty to meet with Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin and NDP MPs Sheila Malcolmson and Daniel Blaikie.
Eugène de Mazenod Medal
Saint Paul University has awarded the Eugène de Mazenod Medal to CPJ’s executive director, Joe Gunn. The medal, named for the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, honours individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of human capital in their community, in their environment or in society as a whole.
In the Community
CPJ participated in the Cahoots Festival in Ridgetown, Ont. Karri Munn-Venn and Asha Kerr-Wilson, with the help of Karri’s son Oscar, led two workshops.
Shaun Loney delivered the keynote address at CPJ’s 2017 Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg. Read more about our AGM.
Bolu Coker, presented CPJ’s latest refugee report to refugee sponsoring groups at workshops in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Victoria.