Fate of Tar Sands Pipelines Crucial for Climate Justice
KAIROS’ August 2011 paper outlines the key issues in the controversy over both the Gateway and Keystone pipelines. Both violate the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada has signed. There should be no further approvals of tar sands projects due [...]
KAIROS Christmas Message 2011
Dear Friends far and near: We enter the season of Christmas with a sense of wonder, awed by your commitment, generosity, and hope. As KAIROS Board and staff, partners and networks, we give thanks for the ever growing movement for faithful justice, the ever deepening commitment to solidarity, and the ever flowing sense of community.
Kyoto Withdrawal Diminishes Canada
Environment Minister Peter Kent’s announcement of Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol not only tarnishes our international reputation but also betrays the efforts of the thousands of Canadians who worked long and hard for Canada to ratify the only legal agreement obliging countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the reasons provided for [...]
Policy Briefing Paper #30: Coal and Shale Gas Obstacles to Climate Justice
While much attention has focused on the tar sands as the fastest growing source of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions, climate justice demands that we also curb emissions from coal and shale gas. The most recent KAIROS briefing paper examines these two carbon-intensive energy sources, the dangers they pose and movements to curtail their use.
Banner Presentation & Feast Mark Qualicum Celebrations
L to R: Quilter Beulah Paugh, Qualicum Band Councillor Donna Kennedy, Qualicum Band Councillor Darlene Wells, Chief Patricia Cassidy, designer Norma Emerson, and Parksville/Qualicum KAIROS Chair Hans Kratz. In the midst of a few hundred school children, parents, and supporters, Parksville/Qualicum KAIROS presented a handcrafted banner to Qualicum First Nation. The banner was created locally [...]
Durban COP 17: Too Little, Too Late
Politicians are portraying the outcome of the Durban climate conference as a “success” because they have agreed to keep on talking in the hope of arriving at a legally binding pact by 2015 that would take effect in 2020. Climate scientists warn that if we do not act sooner than 2020, climate change is likely [...]
Attawapiskat Joint Statement: Urgent action needed to improve living conditions in Aboriginal communities
Canada must meet its human rights obligations. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to enjoy the same standard of living and access to government services that are enjoyed by other people in Canada. They have the right to live and bring up their families on their own lands and territories. Our organizations, Canadian human [...]
Fundamental Justice Issues at Stake in Gateway Pipeline Debate
Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project, comprising two 1,170 kilometre pipelines from northern Alberta across Indigenous lands to Kitimat, BC, would carry 525,000 barrels a day of diluted bitumen from the tar sands to the west coast for export, and return 193,000 barrels of condensate (used to thin the bitumen) to Alberta each day, allowing the cycle [...]
Congolese Elections—A Step Backward
While the African Union and neighbouring countries have accepted the results of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) recently held presidential and parliamentary elections, most national and international observers have said that the results were marred by substantial electoral irregularities and that the results lack credibility. KAIROS human rights partner in eastern DRC, Héritiers de [...]
ELCIC letter to Minister Kent re. Canada’s withdrawal from Kyoto Protocol
The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), has written to Minister of the Environment Peter Kent expressing her disappointment and concern over the recent decision of the government to withdraw Canada from participating in the Kyoto Protocol.
Building a Culture of Solidarity with Migrant Workers
A Christmas Wish to mark December 18 International Migrants Day On 4 December 2000, the UN General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed 18 December as International Migrant’s Day. On 18 December 1990, the General Assembly had adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the [...]
Reflection for Advent 4: Midwifing Solidarity
I had a January baby (she is now almost eight!). So I remember the December before her birth as a month of profound anticipation. Advent for me was not symbolic, but intensely real as preparations unfolded and my hope and trepidation grew. I also remember an increased appreciation for the Mary of Luke’s birth narrative. [...]
Primate’s Statement: A call to action for the love of creation
“We believe that we show our respect for God’s creation by working for a climate treaty that is morally and legally binding… As people “striving to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth, we are challenged by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s question, “How do we show that we [...]
Attawapiskat: a hard look at the federal government’s response so far
1 December 2011 KAIROS Urgent Action Background information As of November 30, federal leaders and the Red Cross have now visited the northern Ontario Cree community of Attawapiskat, which is a step forward. The Red Cross is flying in emergency supplies like winter sleeping bags. However, no emergency or long term funding for housing has [...]
