As a signatory to the Convention, Canada is required to report regularly to the Committee on measures taken to comply with its provisions. Key issues concerning the rights of Indigenous peoples were glossed over or ignored in Canada’s report.
More than 35 Indigenous nations, regional and national Indigenous peoples’ organizations, human rights and social justice organizations have filed their own alternative reports.”

Jennifer Henry: Incoming Executive Director of KAIROS

The Board of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives is pleased to announce that Jennifer Henry has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of KAIROS, effective March 12, 2012.

Ms. Henry has worked for KAIROS and its predecessor coalitions for almost 20 years, and currently serves on the staff of KAIROS as the Manager for the Dignity and Rights and Fundraising Teams. Along with her gifts for leadership and theological reflection, she brings a depth of programmatic knowledge and a strong commitment to KAIROS and its relationships with churches, partners and networks.

The Board looks forward to working with Ms. Henry on the challenges and opportunities that face KAIROS as an organization and in its public witness for social justice, and invites you join us in prayerful celebration of this appointment.

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Recently, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs travelled to the Middle East, an admirable thing to do in a region so in need of peace. KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives believes that the government of Canada can play a positive role in the region by urging the Israeli government to support peace talks grounded in international law. This includes renewed Canadian support for the long-established international consensus that a Palestinian state be established within the pre-1967 borders.

The government of Canada has recently shifted Canada’s foreign policy towards a forceful defense of the Israeli government’s approach to thePalestinians. This has been made clear through recent Canadian votes at the United Nations in defense of Israel’s settlement expansion, the withdrawal of funds from both Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations working for Palestinian rights, and the recent demands of Canada’s Foreign Minister that the Palestinian leadership remove any preconditions before restarting peace talks.

On his recent trip to Israel and Palestine, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, echoed the Israeli government’s position when he insisted that the Palestinian leadership “return to the table without preconditions.” Palestinian officials maintain that illegal construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian lands must stop, and that talks over territory should be based on pre-war 1967 borders. The Prime Minister of Israel rejects outright the pre-1967 borders.

Using the pre-1967 borders as the basis for talks is a long-established framework at the UN and is the position of the Quartet – the UN, the United States, the European Union and Russia. It is also the formal position of the Canadian government itself. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict states that “Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967 (the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip).” There are now 500,000 Israelis living in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in large settlements that do not permit Palestinian residents. Referring to the settlements as “facts on the ground,” the Israeli government seeks international acceptance of settlements in negotiations. This is in direct violation of international law and Canada’s own policy; indeed the entire settlement policy has turned the West Bank into isolated pockets of Palestinian-controlled land, and many observers are suggesting that Israel’s own practices have made the “two-state solution” all but impossible.

KAIROS believes that Canada must honour its international obligation to work for long-sought peace and to defend the human rights of all the people in the region, including the right to self-determination. Two states remain both Canadian government and KAIROS policy. KAIROS urges Canada to hold to the framework that Minister Baird outlined for the Canadian government in June 2011 when he said that “We support a two-state solution…. obviously – that solution has got to be based on the ’67 borders.”  He also stated that any land swaps should be agreed upon “mutually.”

KAIROS has long agreed with Canadian foreign policy that a sustainable peace with justice requires the recognition and implementation of the Palestinian right to self determination, including the right to establish a fully sovereign, viable Palestinian state. It also requires the recognition of Israel’s existence as a sovereign state within internationally recognized borders.

KAIROS has consistently called for full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions related to the conflict which require Israel to withdraw to its borders as they were on June 4, 1967, and for the countries of the region and other parties to recognize Israel within those borders. To this we now add that the Canadian government must respect its own policies in all its dealings with the representatives of both Israel and the Palestinians.

Support for peace with justice and eventual reconciliation are the best expressions of friendship that Canada can offer.

As we keep the people of Israel and the Palestinian Territories in our prayers, KAIROS reminds its constituency that it is always important to contact your member of parliament with your concerns and thoughts on this matter.

For more information, please contact John Lewis, International Human Rights Program Coordinator, jlewis@kairoscanada.org.

This tragic accident reminds us that more than 250,000 migrant workers come to Canada every year.  These workers—parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters—labour far away from their families, often on a repeated basis. In Ontario alone, there are more than 20,000 migrants working in the agriculture sector each season. With no systems in place to monitor the working and living conditions of these workers, the health and safety of these workers is one of many concerns that must be addressed. This is not the first time a vehicular accident has claimed the lives of migrant workers. Similar accidents have occurred in Quebec and British Columbia.

As we mourn the loss of all of the victims, we commit to continued work for a more just future for migrants both in Canada and around the world.

People from all faiths are invited to come together for a special prayer service this Friday, February 10, 7-8 pm at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 96 Huron Street, Stratford, for those who died as a result of the traffic accident just north of Stratford and in support of their families who are mourning. The pastor, Rev. Richard Bester, will be joined by Most Rev. Ronald P. Fabbro, CSB, Bishop of London and other religious leaders.

Other news on the plight of Migrant Workers in Canada

http://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2650%3Ain-wake-of-hampstead-tragedy-ufcw-canada-and-awa-set-up-migrant-workers-family-support-fund&catid=17%3Acampaigns&Itemid=348&lang=en

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/02/07/f-migrant-workers-faq.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-crash-tragedy-sheds-light-on-plight-of-migrant-workers/article2330406/

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3463809#.TzKRQT3aC8c.facebook

War, hunger, poverty, and ecological degradation.

These are just some of the reasons we support Kairos.

FEBRUARY 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS

Put Yourself in the Picture!

Honouring the Children: Indigenous Children’s Rights at the United Nations

In Peace and Friendship: Indigenous Rights and Our Common Future

Fundamental Justice Issues at Stake in Gateway Pipeline Debate

Remembering Bishop Samuel Ruiz: Justice & Indigenous Rights in Mexico and Canada

Congolese Elections: A Step Backwards

FEATURE RESOURCE

Honouring the Children

FEATURE PARTNER

Cindy Blackstock from First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

(Toronto)  Six Indigenous youth ambassadors from across Canada will meet with the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) next week to urge to the UNCRC
to pressure Canada to end inequities faced by First Nations children.

The youth will outline their concerns at a news conference in Toronto tomorrow held
by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada (Caring Society) in
advance of their departure for Geneva.  The news conference is being hosted by the
Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth in Ontario.

The youth ambassadors will explain to the UNCRC how Canada discriminates against
them in many areas, including education, health, child welfare, culture and languages.
They want the UN to pressure Canada to end this inequality so that First Nations children
will have the same opportunities as other children in Canada to grow up in safe homes,
attend clean, well-built schools, and to be healthy and proud of who they are.

WHO:    Indigenous youth ambassadors from across Canada.
Names and brief biographies of the youth are below.  More complete bios are available at http://www.fncfcs.com/youth-ambassadors
WHAT:    News conference
WHERE:    Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth
401 Bay Street, Suite 2200.
WHEN:    Thursday, February 2, 2012 – 9:00 AM
WHY:    Canadian government policies discriminate against First Nations children
and lead to inequities in a host of areas including education, health and child welfare.
The Caring Society and KAIROS:  Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives released a
joint submission to the UNCRC on this issue on October 24, 2011.
Honouring the Child is available at http://www.fncfcs.com/ or www.kairoscanada.org.

This fall the UNCRC will review how well Canada is complying with its
obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The youth ambassadors
are hoping to influence the outcome of that review.  They will be accompanied to Geneva
by Dr. Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the Caring Society, Ed Bianchi, Indigenous
Rights Program Coordinator for KAIROS, and Irwin Elman, Provincial Advocate for Children
and Youth with the Office of the Provincial Advocate for  Children and Youth (Ontario).

Media contacts:

Cindy Blackstock, PhD.
Executive Director
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
(613)    793 8444
cblackst@rogers.blackberry.net

Ed Bianchi
Indigenous Rights Program Coordinator
KAIROS:  Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
(613) 235 9956
ebianchi@kairoscanada.org

Laura Arndt
Director of Strategic Development
Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children (Ontario)
(416)    325 5669
Laura.arndt@provincialadvocate.on.ca

Adiat Junaid
Communications Program Coordinator
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
ajunaid@kairoscanada.org
(416)    463 5312, ext. 223

Youth Ambassadors:

John-Paul Chalykoff, 24, is a member of Michipicoten First Nation, who currently studies education at Lakehead University in Ontario.

Chelsea Edwards, 16, from the Attawapiskat First Nation is the youth spokesperson for the Shannen’s Dream campaign (www.shannensdream.ca) for safe and comfy schools and equitable education on reserves. Chelsea has appeared on national and international media about the inequities in education and other areas affecting First Nations children and youth in Canada.

Helen Knott, 24, is a Dane Tsaa and Cree woman from Prophet River First Nations now living in Fort St. John, British Columbia. A recent graduate of a Social Service Worker and Diploma program and an Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program, Helen plans to pursue a Bachelors of Social Work next September.  She is the mother of a young son and also a poet, writer and a community volunteer.

Madelynn Slade, 22, is a non-status Michel Cree from Alberta currently study Child and Youth Care in British Columbia.

Collin Starblanket, 15, a member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation, has been singing, dancing and participating in traditional ceremonies since an early age.  A keen athlete, Collin also plans to study dentistry.

Kendall White has lived on Temagami First Nation for 12 years. She is involved with many extracurricular activities, particularly those concerning the environment. She recently traveled to Greenland, Iceland, Labrador and Nunavut along with 70 other youth from around the world, to study the effect

This venture poses fundamental questions of social and ecological justice.