Circle of Reconciliation

 

Circle of Reconciliation National Event

Thursday June 11 2009

Promoted by

Assembly of First Nations

United Church of Canada

Anglican Church of Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

in

Calgary at Olympic Plaza 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

 

Thursday June 11, 2009 marks the first anniversary of the apology to First Nations people by the federal government for its treatment of children, parents and families from the 1870s to 1970s as a result of the Indian Residential School Systems. The First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people of Canada received a formal public televised apology from each political party in government from the House of Commons. 

 

It was an historic event: the issue of Indian residential school brought to the forefront of Canadian people awareness on a national scale. And, it also the first time First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people were invited to the floor of Parliament to receive the apology and address the House of Commons.

 

On Thursday June 11, across the nation, we invite thousands of individuals, groups, and communities to come together to learn and remember the impacts of Residential Schools and participate in a national symbolic act of reconciliation. The event is called the Circle of Reconciliation.

 

We encourage individuals, groups, and communities to organize a Circle of Reconciliation locally on June 11 from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. We are promoting the idea of simultaneously ringing church bells with a Round Dance or Friendship Dance with pow wow singers. Variations on this theme is are acceptable depending on the availability of  time to organize, volunteers and resources.

 

The Circle of Reconciliation may become part of another promotion: National Day of Healing and Reconciliation.  Maggie Hodgson, who is promoting a month long event similar to Black History Month, has made a strong case to the churches to observe the four week period from May 26 to June 21as the National Month for Healing and Reconciliation, ending National Aboriginal Day. The Circle of Reconciliation can be viewed as one on many national/local events to raise awareness of the Residential School Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  

 

The Circle of Reconciliation is an opportunity to show the political leaders of this country the true meaning of reconciliation. The Circle of Reconciliation is also a day of possibility.

Remembering the Children was a March 2008 multi-city tour by Aboriginal and church leaders to promote the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools. To learn more visit http://www.rememberingthechildren.ca/

See the CBC Aboriginal website at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html for a detailed backgrounder.

For a chronological timeline of Residential School events click on the following link:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-timeline-residential-schools.html

Want to host a Circle of Reconciliation event, but unsure of where to begin? Here are the basics to help you organize it all from start to finish.

TRC web site - http://www.trc-cvr.ca/index_e.html

 

For additional information about this local event in Calgary please contact the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary at (403) 270-7379 or David Turner at dturner@afccalgary.org

 

Kairos Times, April 2009. Vol. 8, #3

 

  Kairos Times, April 2009. Vol. 8, #3. Happy Earth Day!

 

1.     Urgent action on Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement continues

2.     A voice for migrant justice leaves us, but her work lives on

3. Government disappoints on resource extraction regulation
4. Appreciation to the Ecumenical Task for Justice in the Americas
5. G20 Rehabilitates IMF, marginalizes UN
6. KAIROS reading picks o’ the month

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

1) Urgent action on Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement continues

 

KAIROS is continuing our urgent action to stop the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. We thank everyone who has taken the time to call or write to their Member of Parliament, and also thank all who have forwarded their MP’s responses to us. On behalf of our Colombian partners who face repression and extreme violence as result of their work for peace, we ask you to learn about this proposed agreement with the hemisphere’s worst human rights violator. We ask you to contact your MP and express your concerns.

 

See the action at http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/what-we-say/times-archive/news/archive/2009/04/article/tell-your-mp-vote-no-to-the-canada-colombia-fta-action-alert/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=4d97a7ef5b

 

2) A voice for migrant justice leaves us, but her work lives on

 

Juana Tejada was a strong advocate for justice and fair treatment of Canada’s thousands of migrant workers. She died of cancer in March, but her work lives on in continued struggles to ensure good working conditions and access to health care for migrant workers.

 

Juana came to Canada from the Philippines under the Live-in Caregiver Program. She finished the 24-month work requirement and was eligible to apply for permanent residency. Her dream of permanently living in Canada was broken when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was told that she would be a burden to the Canadian health care system and was denied the right to stay in Canada.

 

She continued to struggle through many legal setbacks, always remaining persistent and confident. Finally, she and her husband were permitted to stay.

 

A press release from Migrante Ontario says “After her victory, she continued to advocate for the changes to the Live-in Caregiver program. Along with her lawyer, Migrante, and other community groups, she pushed for the amendment of the immigration law, in particular, calling to amend section 38(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act immediately by adding members of the Live-in Caregiver Class to the list of applicants who should automatically be granted exemption from the “good health” requirement. This is known to most of us as the Juana Tejada Law.

 

Just two hours before her passing, around 15 of us held a prayer vigil at the Toronto General Hospital. We talked about her and the campaign that she started. “As we gather today to be one with Juana in the final stages of her battle with cancer, I cannot help but situate this battle in the context of the larger struggle against the cancer plaguing Philippine society – the cancer that is slowly killing our compatriots in the Philippines - the social cancer of poverty, landlessness, the absence or lack of jobs that pushed Juana Tejada to leave the Philippines in the first place,” said Ricky Esguerra of the Filipino Migrant Workers Movement.”

 

For more background, see this article from the Toronto Star:  http://www.thestar.com/article/600134

 

Juana’s struggle continues. The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration Canada deliberated from February 26th to March 12th on the proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, including the proposed Juana Tejada Law. There is indication that changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program are being explored. The Standing Committee's report should be released to the public in mid- May.  

 

In the meantime, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is consulting with community groups and leaders with the aim of improving the condition of the live-in caregivers. Of special concern are the various forms of abuse and exploitation they face while living with their employers.  He is scheduled to meet with community groups in Toronto on April 26.  Connie Sorio, a community activist and program coordinator at KAIROS for Partnerships in the Asia-Pacific has been asked to present at the meeting.

 

For more information on KAIROS’ migrant justice program, contact Alfredo Barahona at 1 877 403 8933 ext. 251/ abarahona@kairoscanada.org or Connie Sorio at x. 240 or csorio@kairoscanada.org

 

3) Government disappoints on resource extraction regulation

 

On March 26, after almost two years of silence, the federal government responded to the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility, in which KAIROS, members and Southern partners participated in 2006.  The disappointing government response, delivered by International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, lacks any mandatory standards for Canadian extractive companies operating abroad or any remedies for affected communities. 

 

In the words of one of our Southern partners, Mike Karikpo of Oilwatch Africa, "This is indeed very sad! The disappearance of regulations in the financial sector plunged the entire global economy down the slippery slopes of recession and has put many families in dire straits. This failure by the Canadian government to insist on legally binding obligations on international best practices for corporations operating in the global south, on environmental protection and human rights, or an independent ombudsman to investigate reports of abuse is toeing the same line and the repercussions which are already evident, would be greater than the financial melt down. But even under this circumstances, we must see hope and work continuously to achieve the change we desire."

 

KAIROS and other members of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) will be preparing a detailed critique of the response and convening a multi-stakeholder conference in Ottawa in the fall to explore needed corporate accountability reforms.

 

For more information, see the CNCA media release at http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/what-we-say/times-archive/news/archive/2009/03/article/media-release-government-squanders-opportunity-to-hold-extractive-companies-to-account/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=7ce6066d60

 

The government's corporate social responsibility strategy, "Building the Canadian Advantage" is posted at

http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/ds/csr-strategy-rse-stategie.aspx

 

See a related Development and Peace action on Bill C-300 at http://devp.org/devpme/eng/pressroom/2009/comm2009-03-31-eng.html

 

For more information, contact Ian Thomson, Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator, at 613 235 9956 x 222 or ithomson@kairoscanada.org

 

4) Appreciation to the Ecumenical Task for Justice in the Americas

 

KAIROS recently received news that the Vancouver-based Ecumenical Task Force for Justice in the Americas has closed down.  We are saddened by the news that the Ecumenical Task Force will be closing operations after 23 years of excellent work and tireless commitment to justice in Latin America.

 

Member churches, ecumenical coalitions and later KAIROS have worked together with the Task Force really since the beginning. Many members of our network have also been influenced, inspired and shaped by the ETFJA. Over the years, we have valued the Task Force's commitment to solidarity and justice, and their prophetic voice. We greatly appreciate the rich legacy that they have left in social justice, solidarity and activism in the Americas.

 

The Task Force has generously sent KAIROS a portion of the funds that remained after it closed. We are grateful and honoured to receive these funds and commit to use them as requested for our human rights work with partners in Latin America, particularly in the areas of resource extraction, climate change and military conflict. We hope that with the financial legacy left to KAIROS we will be able to carry on, at least in part, the work for justice in Latin America.

 

5) G20 Rehabilitates IMF, marginalizes UN

 

The latest KAIROS Policy Briefing Paper contrasts the failure of the much-publicized G20 Summit in London to address the systemic causes of the global financial crisis with a far-reaching set of recommendations from a United Nations panel of experts. The Policy Paper analyzes how the G20 plans to reinvigorate the power of the International Monetary Fund. The UN panel, chaired by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, offers more far-reaching and sustainable alternatives that better represent the interests of all countries including the poorest.

 

To see a copy of G20 Rehabilitates IMF, Marginalizes UN go to

http://www.kairoscanada.org/fileadmin/fe/files/PDF/Publications/policyBriefing17G20vsUN.pdf

 

For more information contact John Dillon, Program Coordinator, Global Economic Justice, at 1 877 403 8933 extension 231 or jdillon@kairoscanada.org

 

6) KAIROS reading picks o’ the month:

 

www.iamrevolting.org  Enough said.

 

More good news on the bottled water front:

http://www.polarisinstitute.org/university_of_winnipeg_bans_bottled_water

 

A letter from war resister and Iraq veteran Robin Long, now doing time for desertion in a military jail in California:

http://www.resisters.ca/long_mar_2009.html

 

 

You’ve been reading Kairos Times, the monthly e-newsletter of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. We love new subscriptions and Facebook friends!

Check us out at www.kairoscanada.org

 

FW: ACTION ALERT: Tell your MP 'vote no to the Canada-Colombia FTA'

To Strong Public Witness Division reps: Please circulate amongst your congregations. Paula

 

April 16, 2009

 

Dear KAIROS network and supporters,

 

We know that this is a busy time of year, but we urgently need your ongoing support and action to stop the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA). 

 

Despite widespread and growing opposition to this agreement in Canada and Colombia, the Canadian government is proceeding with the deal at an alarming rate.  On March 26, the government introduced implementing legislation as the final step in the ratification of the CCFTA.

 

Thank you for your ongoing work to stop a free trade deal that our partners believe will only worsen the human rights crisis in Colombia.

 

Members of Parliament need to know what is at stake and you can help us tell them! Now more than ever we need to keep up the pressure!  Please take the time to write or phone your MP again.

 

Send the government a clear message:

 

Now is not the time for a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia.  Before going any further, the Canadian government needs to conduct an independent, thorough and neutral human rights impact assessment.

 

KAIROS is working with other networks including the CCIC, Council of Canadians, Make Poverty History, and others. Together, we know we can get thousands of Canadians to respond to this urgent call.

 

Timed during the Liberal leadership convention, concerned networks and organizations across the country are participating in the Week of Action Against the Canada-Colombia FTA during the week of April 27^th.  We need to get thousands of Canadians to respond to this call.  

 

Please contact your MP with this message and copy us on your action.  Even if you just call, let us know in a quick email or call.  It is important that we keep track of the number of Canadians who are responding. 

 

  

 

ACTION ALERT: Tell your MP 'vote no to the Canada-Colombia FTA'

BACKGROUND

On March 26, 2009, the Harper government introduced legislation (Bill C23) in the House of Commons to implement the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. This was done despite widespread opposition from churches, labour, human rights groups, as well as the opposition NDP and Bloc Québécois. The Free Trade Agreement will do nothing to alleviate the ongoing systematic human rights crisis in Colombia.  Partners in Colombia fear that the deal will even exacerbate the hemisphere’s worst human rights situation and we agree!

There is not much time to stop this deal, but it can be done with a little bit of effort from you!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Send a letter to your MP urging them to oppose the Colombia free trade agreement: The NDP and Bloc Québécois have stated that they are opposed to this unjust trade deal but the Liberals remain divided. To help you write to your representative, check out the Canadian Labour Congress e-mail action at:  (http://canadianlabour.ca/en/canadian-labour-congress-action-centre/put-canada-colombia-free-trade-deal-hold). Spread the action to your friends and associates. If you need help with your letter, we have some suggested wording you could copy and paste from below.

 

2. Adopt a Liberal: If you live in a NDP/BLOC Riding after writing to your representative, why not consider adopting a Liberal or two to target with a letter of concern. Don’t let the Liberals remain on the fence! Tell them it’s time to take a stand and say NO to the Canada-Colombia FTA !  Some Liberals to consider contacting: Scott Brison, Bob Rae, Marlene Jennings, Mario Silva, Justin Trudeau, John Cannis, and Michael Ignatieff.

 

3. Participate in the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia: Annually, Colombian churches encourage their Canadian and U.S. counterparts to come together in worship, reflection, prayer, and public action for justice and peace in Colombia.     Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is providing an online packet of worship resources and advocacy material – including prayers, a bulletin insert and a sample letter to lawmakers – at mcc.org/us/washington/days. Additional articles and material about Colombia can be found at www.peaceincolombia.org.   This year the advocacy action in Canada focuses on the Canada-Colombia FTA.   The materials and advocacy action remain relevant throughout this campaign. We encourage you to share this information with your congregation, friends and family.

 

4. Set up a meeting with your MP: Parliamentarians return to Ottawa on April 20 to continue debating the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.  However, it still may be possible to set up meetings with your MP. Bring up the points in this action alert and those raised in the CLC’s “Top ten reasons why Canada should cancel Harper’s ‘free trade’ deal with Colombia,” found here: http://canadianlabour.ca/en/top-ten-reasons-why-canada-should-cancel-harpers-free-trade-deal-with-colombia.

 

5. Invite the media to join you at your MP’s office: There has been very little coverage of the Canada-Colombia agreement. You might consider inviting a local journalist to your meeting with your MP, or sending out a press release announcing your meeting to local radio and television stations, as well as the community press. As well consider writing a letter to the editor, raising concerns about the Canada-Colombia FTA.  Be sure to keep us in the loop about your meetings and the impact they had

 

6. Send a statement to your local co-op or community radio station: Many community radio stations will read out public service announcements for free. See below for a sample PSA on the Canada-Colombia deal, including the phone numbers and email addresses of key Liberal MPs that should be urged to oppose the deal.

 

7. Sign the petition: NDP International Trade Critic Peter Julian, who sits on the International Trade committee, has produced a petition that can be circulated around your community. The MP has been bringing each week’s new petitions to the House floor to highlight Canadian opposition to the deal. You’ll find French and English versions of the petition that can be printed out here: http://peterjulian.ndp.ca/node/566.

 

8. Participate in the Week of Action against the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Various groups, including KAIROS, Make Poverty History, the Council of Canadians, Common Frontiers and Canada’s largest unions, are holding a national week of action against the deal when people are encouraged to phone key Liberal MPs leading up to the Liberal leadership convention in Vancouver at the beginning of May. (More details on this soon.)

 

WHY KAIROS OPPOSES THE CANADA-COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

Colombia’s human rights record
There are many reasons to oppose this deal. First and foremost is Colombia’s horrendous human rights record. But as with other free trade and investment agreements like NAFTA, the Canada-Colombia deal contains more benefits for large and often environmentally destructive companies than it does for Colombia’s struggling democracy. It risks putting millions of small-scale farmers out of work as Canadian imports of wheat and other products enter the country, and it will further remove democratic control over development decisions from local communities, opening up more of the country to unchecked extractive industries and the accompanying environmental degradation.

The Canadian government has repeatedly ignored testimonies and evidence from Colombian civil society partners

From Feb 9-21, 2009 KAIROS and several other groups hosted a delegation of Colombian civil society leaders to come to Canada and give testimonies about the human rights situation and potential impacts of a Canada –Colombia FTA.  At great risk to their own safety, members of COMOSOC travelled to Canada to speak to Canadians and members of the government, including International Trade Minister, Stockwell Day and Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Peter Kent.   The Colombians brought evidence of the increase in extrajudicial killings, death threats against social leaders and killings of trade unionists. Minister Kent assured them that there would be an exhaustive study by the parliamentary committee on International Trade and that he would take into account their testimonies. He also said he would visit Colombia and meet with them.  Naturally, they assumed this meant before the introduction of implementation legislation.

 

Yet, the implementation legislation was introduced on March 26 and Minister Kent traveled to and returned from Colombia, without so much as a call to the undersigned Colombian social movements.   “Did Minister Kent and his advisors lose our phone numbers? Or are they simply trying to avoid the truth about the human rights situation in Colombia, because if they recognized the truth they could not possible go ahead with this deal,” stated Fr. Omar, a delegate on the tour and a member of the Coalition of social movements.  

 

For more information about the delegation see KAIROS website

www.kairoscanada.org

Unions and civilians targeted in government and paramilitary repression
Teachers, prison guards, agricultural, food and health care workers have been targeted for assassination by government-linked paramilitary death squads in Colombia. In fact, nearly 500 workers have been killed since President Alvaro Uribe came to power in 2002, and over four million have been displaced by the violence. According to Amnesty International, paramilitary groups responsible for most of the violence have not been demobilized as required in a 2003 law but have been “re-engineered” – and encouraged to become “civic guards” and provide military intelligence to government security forces.  Furthermore, here has been a recycling of paramilitary groups and they continue to terrorize, threaten and murder people under new names such as the “Aguilas Negras”.  In many neighbourhoods throughout Colombia, paramilitary maintain social, economic and military control.

There were 46 union members killed in 2008 and 39 the year before – an 18 per cent increase, with impunity rates still soaring and a tiny conviction rate of three per cent. Extrajudicial killings were also up 71 per cent over that same period. Over 60 members of Colombia’s Congress, roughly 20 per cent, have come under criminal investigation for collaborating with paramilitaries. Nearly all of these individuals are members of President Uribe’s inner circle.

Labour and democratic rights trumped by investor rights
The Canada-Colombia free trade agreement takes a page out of NAFTA and other bilaterals by granting companies new rights to challenge government measures that interfere with their profits – even measures designed to protect the environment or spur local development. Meanwhile, labour rights and environmental protection have been relegated to toothless side-agreements.

What will be protected under the Canada-Colombia deal are the rights of Canadian companies, which in Colombia’s case include many mining and resource companies, to develop environmentally destructive projects with little community or government interference. In the agreement these companies gain access to an investor-state dispute process that allows them to challenge any government measure that interferes with their profit-making activity. Such rules under NAFTA have led to corporate challenges to provincial pesticide bylaws and democratic decisions against developments like a large-scale dump in Ontario or quarry in Nova Scotia. As Scott Sinclair of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives explains, “inserting these new investment rights into this deeply troubled [Colombian] context will, effectively, chill democratic dissent and tilt the scales further against already disadvantaged, excluded and victimized groups.”

OPPOSITION AND SUPPORT FOR THE DEAL IN CANADA

Although the new administration in the U.S. has decided to delay ratification due to human rights concerns, KAIROS is concerned that following the Easter break, our MPs will be given very little time to discuss the proposed Colombia trade deal before it is rushed through implementation. An unjustified accelerated process from beginning to end that has never made sense given the insignificant amount of trade between Canada and Colombia.

At the very least the government must take the time to carry out a thorough human rights impact assessment as a key component in the design of any future fair trade agreements in the Americas, a recommendation coming out of the all-party Standing Committee on International Trade that was blatantly ignored by the Conservative government

For more information on the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement:

Top ten reasons why Canada should cancel Harper’s “free trade” deal with Colombia: A publication/cartoon produced by the Canadian Labour Congress and available online: http://www.canadianlabour.ca/sites/clc/files/shared/tenreasonsEnfinal.pdf.

Making a Bad Situation Worse: An Analysis of the Text of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, a briefing report prepared by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers, Canadian Labour Congress and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: http://www.ccic.ca/e/docs/making_a_bad_situation_worse_long_version.pdf.

Amnesty International: Various articles about Colombia’s so-called demobilization of paramilitary groups: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/colombia/demobilization/index.html.

For more information contact: Rusa Jeremic, Global Economic Justice Program Coordinator, rjeremic@kairoscanada.org 416.463.5312, ext. 225 or Rachel Warden, Global Partnerships, Latin America Program Coordinator, rwarden@kairoscanada.org 416.463.5312, ext. 242

THANKS for your ongoing support and dedication to the people of Colombia and their struggle for peace with justice!