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SUSTAINABILITY

When KAIROS speaks of "sustainability," it speaks of just and equitable economic, social, and environmental systems. People enjoy dignified and meaningful livelihoods. Ecosystems are recognized as complex and essential parts of our existence and are valued for their inherent and life-giving worth.

Living sustainably means understanding that the earth is an integral part of God's Creation, and committing to live within Earth's material limits. Sustainable communities require a just and moral economy where people are empowered to participate in decisions affecting their lives, where public and private institutions are held accountable for the social and environmental consequences of their activities, and where the Earth is honoured rather than exploited or degraded.

Doing justice and living sustainably means understanding that the earth is an integral part of God's wondrous Creation and ensures that we live within the bounds of earth's material limits.

Resources

Ongoing Call for Justice from Yinka Dene Freedom Train

May 17, 2012 By
Yinke Dene Alliance

Forty members of the Yinka Dene Alliance travelled thousands of kilometres from their territories in British Columbia to Toronto to address the May 9, 2012 annual meeting of Enbridge Inc., sponsor of the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline. The Yinka Dene Alliance represents six Dakelh (Carrier) and Tse Kay Nay (Sekani) Nations in the interior of B. C. who oppose the construction of a pipeline that would carry 525,000 barrels a day of diluted bitumen from the tar sands to Kitimat for export to Asia. Recent KAIROS analysis shows how the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline poses profound challenges for Indigenous rights and for ecological justice. The pipeline would traverse hundreds of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 2, Indigenous Rights, Northern Gateway, Resource Extraction, Sustainability, The Tar Sands Tagged With: , ,

Civil Society Organization Statement Regarding Talisman Operations in Achuar Ancestral Territory

May 1, 2012 By
RE-AchuarHeadring

1 May 2012 We, the undersigned, are writing to express our concern about the social and environmental impacts of Canadian multi-national oil company Talisman Energy in the remote Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Resource Extraction

Images from Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel

April 26, 2012 By
SUS-RE-GatewayHearings

KAIROS staffer Katy Quinn recently traveled to Kitkatla, Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert to attend hearings of the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel, meet the communities that will be affected by the proposed pipeline, and to see the area, including part of the proposed supertanker route. Take a look at what she saw. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Justice, Dignity & Rights, Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Resource Extraction, Sustainability, The Tar Sands

Whose Development? Reflections on my visit to the Marlin Mine and meeting with community members

April 24, 2012 By
Goldcorp

By Rachel Warden “They said the mine would bring development, but they didn’t mean development for us, unless they meant the development of sickness, environmental damage, of social conflict and threats,” - community member from San Miguel Ixtahuacan We were talking with  the Pastoral Committee for Defense of Mother Earth  of the Catholic Parish in San Miguel Ixtahuacan,  which includes people from  the 62 Indigenous communities that surround the Marlin Mine in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, in San Marcos,  Guatemala. It was  a  discussion about  opposing views of development.  These  Indigenous people  are living with the impact of the mine and they do … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ecumenical Conference on Mining, Feature 1, Global Partners, Resource Extraction Tagged With: , ,

KAIROS monitors disappointing Canadian GHG emissions reporting

April 20, 2012 By
National Inventory Report

KAIROS continues to monitor Canada’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting required under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  Environment Canada has just released the National Inventory Report 1990-2010: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada, which shows an overall 0.25% growth in emissions during the 2009-2010 period. While there was a 43% decline in coal-related emissions between 2005 and 2010, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers reports that there was a 14% growth in emissions from the tar sands sector between 2009 and 2010, with a 2% increase in the per barrel intensity of emissions.  Efforts by provinces to reduce … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Justice, Commentary & Analysis, Feature 2, Resource Extraction, Sustainability Tagged With: ,

Anglican Bishops of BC and Yukon Release Statement on Gateway Hearings

April 12, 2012 By
DR-IR-BCConsultation

A group of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada in British Columbia and Yukon have released a statement on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and the accompanying public hearings. They write to express their hope that the hearings will "demonstrate integrity, fairness, and freedom from political pressure." With this hope comes the expectation that the National Energy Board (NEB) hearings will "hear the views of all people who live along the intended route of the pipeline." Paramount among these voices are those of First Nations communities whose traditional lands and waters are heavily implicated in the proposed pipeline project. In their statement, the Bishops point to KAIROS … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 1, Northern Gateway, Sustainability

KAIROS at Fair Tax Summit

April 5, 2012 By
Canadians for Tax Fairness

KAIROS, along with 24 other civil society organizations, co-sponsored a lively conference convened by Canadians for Tax Fairness in Ottawa on March 29-30 of this year. The fact that the summit coincided with the release of federal budget (one that did nothing to make Canadian tax policies more progressive)  made its call for tax justice all the more timely. Inspired partly by the Occupy Movement’s call to reduce the gap between the 1% ultra-rich and the rest of society, the conference was imbued with a sense that tax fairness is an issue whose time has come. Here are some highlights from various plenary and workshop discussions. Lind McQuaig, co-author of The Trouble With … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Corporate Accountability, Feature 2

KAIROS Analysis of the 2012 Federal Budget

April 3, 2012 By
logo-kairos

Provisions of the 2012 federal budget have important implications for several KAIROS priorities, including justice for Indigenous peoples, and ecological sustainability as well as the quality of Official Development Assistance.   Equity for Indigenous Peoples in Canada The budget announces $275 million over three years for First Nations education ($100 million for early literacy and other programs, and $175 million to build and renovate schools on reserves). This is only half what is needed to bring reserve schools up to Canadian standards. Anishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy says that in discussions with Ottawa on this issue, “... it was $500 million to try to bring … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary & Analysis, Feature 2, Global Finance, Honouring the Children, Indigenous Rights, Northern Gateway Tagged With: , , ,

Indigenous Human Rights Defender Killed in Mexico

March 23, 2012 By
12-03-BernardoSanchez-small

KAIROS is saddened and deeply troubled by the recent murder of Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez, an Indigenous Zapotec community leader and human rights defender from Oaxaca, Mexico. This most recent example of the escalation of violence and increase in threats and attacks against Indigenous and environmental activists in communities where Canadian mining companies are operating is of grave concern to KAIROS. On March 15, Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez and two members of his family were ambushed as they drove on a highway in Ocotlán, in the southern state of Oaxaca. Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez died after being shot at least three times in the back. His brother, Álvaro Andres Vásquez Sánchez, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ecumenical Conference on Mining, Feature 2, Indigenous Rights, Resource Extraction, Urgent Actions Tagged With:

Take Action on World Water Day 2012!

March 22, 2012 By
World Water Day 2012

Today, March 22, is World Water Day.  Yet Canada has still failed to implement a National Water Policy which would ensure the safety of Canadian water.  Canada is also one of only two countries at the United Nations General Assembly that have refused to recognize the human right to water and sanitation. This poses particular problems for Indigenous peoples in Canada, who suffer from the lack of safe water more than any other community. First Nations homes are 90% more likely to be without running water than the homes of other Canadians. 96% of Canadians believe that water is a human right. We call on the government to respond to that belief, and to our international obligations as a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Justice, Dignity & Rights, Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Sustainability, Take Action, UNDRIP Tagged With: , ,
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