KAIROS Christmas Video

In KAIROS ED Jennifer Henry's Christmas video message she describes that the poetic promises that are often associated with Christmas may seem 'beyond our reach'.

"Swords turn into ploughshares;
Lions lie down with lambs;
And gardens bloom in the desert.

The language is so beautiful, so poetic, that we can be dazzled into a sense that the promise—of peace, wellbeing, of abundant life—is for some other world, a heavenly realm, far beyond our reach."

But the message of the Christmas message is that "the Child of Peace ... came into *this* world to transform it."

View KAIROS' Christmas video.

To make a donation to KAIROS as a Christmas Gift fill out the KAIROS donation form and then, under 'Gift of Sharing', select "Christmas Gift - A donation made as a Christmas gift", and write in the name of the person you wish to gift.

Please use the box below the 'Christmas Gift' line to leave a message for the recipient. We'll copy the message into a Christmas card which we'll send to your recipient, and we'll send you an email and your charitable tax receipt.

Canada, as home to the majority of the world’s mining and mineral exploration companies, has a duty to be a leader in corporate accountability in the extractive sector. Sadly, Canadian law has not kept pace with the globalization of the mining industry. Today, Canadian mining companies operate in over 100 countries around the world, yet when people in other countries are harmed by Canadian corporate activity, they cannot seek justice in Canada.

Communities, workers and Indigenous peoples are struggling to defend their rights and protect watersheds and ecosystems as mining, oil and gas companies expand into more remote and ecologically sensitive places. Citizens are advocating for stronger laws in their own countries to regulate mining activities. Through our global partnerships, KAIROS supports these efforts to hold these industries accountable. However, in many cases, enforcement is weak or non-existent and violations occur with impunity. As Canadians, we also have a role to play in bringing forward real accountability measures to govern the international activities of Canadian companies. KAIROS is participating in a national campaign to make Canada “open for justice.” Together with our partners in the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA), we are inviting you to join our call for two new accountability mechanisms in Canada:

1) An extractive-sector Ombudsman with the power to independently investigate complaints and make recommendations to corporations and the Government of Canada; AND
2) Legislated access to Canadian courts for people who have been seriously harmed by the international operations of Canadian companies.

These two mechanisms, when enacted, will offer new avenues for people from other countries to seek justice. We need these mechanisms to repair Canada’s tarnished reputation internationally and prevent more conflicts and abuses in the future.

Let’s make Canada Open for Justice!
Click here to send a letter to your MP!

Fear for Safety of Environmental and Indigenous Rights Activists and Organizations in Ecuador

KAIROS has written Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa to express grave concern about his government’s decision to dissolve Fundación Pachamama , an Ecuadorean NGO that works on Indigenous rights and the environment.   KAIROS is also concerned that the context of criminalization and repression in which this action takes place leaves other environmental and Indigenous organizations vulnerable.

In the letter, KAIROS expresses concern that this arbitrary act is intended to repress the organization’s legitimate right to disagree with the national government policy, as well as to discourage other organizations from taking similar positions.

Amnesty International has issued an urgent action calling for letters in response to threats against environmental activists in Ecuador.  The urgent action focuses on concerns for the safety of Carlos Zorrila, a founding member of Intag Environmental Defense and Conservation (DECOIN).  DECOIN has opposed mining activities in the northern region of Intag that it fears will harm the region’s environment and biodiversity, and has initiated alternative development projects to mining.  President Correa has publicly and repeatedly attacked DECOIN’s activities during his weekly address to the nation. 

Please write a letter in response to this urgent action.

Call on the Ecuadorean government to refrain from making these accusations and to end the criminalization of environmental activists like Carlos Zorilla. Remind the government of its responsibility to protect human rights defenders, including environmental and Indigenous rights organizations, and  call for it to re-instate Fundación Pachamama.      

The growing intolerance and the criminalization of dissent in Ecuador is unsettling. The fear is that the important work of human rights defenders is at risk. 

For more information please contact:
Rachel Warden
Gender Justice & Latin America Partnerships Program Coordinator
rwarden@kairoscanada.org
416-463-5312 x 242
Toll-free: 1-877-403-8933

The 19th UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw in November opened in the wake of  super typhoon Haiyan with Yeb Saño's moving speech pledging to fast “until a meaningful outcome is in sight”. The conference was a dramatic spectacle of confrontations between industrial greenhouse gas contributing countries and low-income countries most affected by those emissions, highlighted by the walk-out of 130 low income countries whose joint statement described it as "a conference focused on profits at the expense of Mother Earth."

As KAIROS partner Tetet Nera-Lauron from IBON in the Philippines stated, “The diluted language of the conference outcome presents a growing problem for poor countries that are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. It allows further leeway for developed nations to backtrack on their commitments and effectively weakens the position of developing countries that struggle every year from the damages of climate catastrophes."

KAIROS’ Ecological Economy Program Coordinator John Dillon reviews the unfortunate outcome of this conference in this article.


For more information please contact:
John Dillon
Economic Justice Program Coordinator
jdillon@kairoscanada.org
416-463-5312 x 231
Toll-free: 1-877-403-8933

For the first time in years there is talk of peace returning to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following the military defeat of the M23 rebel group in October 2013. KAIROS is hopeful peace-building efforts will continue at all levels – from the international diplomacy between DRC and its neighbours, down to the grassroots level at which KAIROS partners work every day.

KAIROS brought this message of hope to Parliament Hill on December 5, when members of the Women of Courage delegation to DRC, organized by KAIROS in June 2013, met with Parliamentarians to discuss the actions Canada has taken and can take to help build peace and stability in this troubled region.

Please read the reflection on the defeat of the M23 and what’s next for DR Congo by long-time KAIROS partner Maurice Namwira, who until recently served as the Executive-Secretary of the Congolese human rights group Héritiers de la Justice.

Reconciliation in the Watershed

KAIROS' Member Relations & Movement Building Coordinator Sara Stratton's homily given at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity on December 15. Sara reflects on the connections between the Truth and Reconciliation commission and the pursuit of Watershed Discipleship. What will your "acts of kindness bespeaking kinship" be?