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Take Action - Renaud Gregoire
Roll with the Declaration action on Parliament Hill: June 20, 2011

At KAIROS we support and encourage action that links individual responsibility with community, national and global action. Important as individual choices are, their impact is limited when we confront the injustices facing humanity and the planet.

For example, our own efforts to "go green" can be too easily undermined when our government refuses to legislate cuts to industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Our own commitments to ending poverty can be blocked when governments continue to refuse to raise wages and benefits or support truly affordable housing.

That's why we believe our actions must include and stretch beyond individual choices. We invite you to get involved in and beyond your home and faith community! Our annual education for action campaign is one way to learn about a specific issue and to educate for change. Urgent actions, which are sent out when lives are at stake, are a more immediate form of action. And we offer ongoing action opportunities on specific justice issues that are a long-term concern, such as Indigenous and Aboriginal peoples' rights, refugee rights, trade justice, mining, and many more.

Action is best taken in groups, the better to support and learn from one another. Whether you're involved with a faith community or not; whether action for justice is new to you or not, we welcome your participation in our cross Canada network of local groups.

And of course we hope the many reflections and analyses offered here will help your own journey of education and action. Join us as a 'Companion' or a 'Community' to become engaged in all the latest resources and happenings across the country.






TAKE ACTION NEWS

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Attawapiskat: a hard look at the federal government’s response so far

December 2, 2011 By
Attawapiskat Logo

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 been committed by either the provincial or federal government despite the onset of winter, and the latest word from the federal government is very troubling. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs' November 30 announcement that he is putting the community's finances under the control of a government appointed third-party manager deflects attention from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Action for Indigenous Rights, Dignity & Rights, Feature 2, Indigenous Rights, The Land Our Life, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, UNDRIP Tagged With: , , ,

KAIROS urgent action: Cree community of Attawapiskat, Ontario calls a state of emergency as hundreds face winter in tents and sheds

November 25, 2011 By
Attawapiskat Students

'Attawapiskat: a hard look at the federal government’s response so far' - KAIROS commentary, Dec.2, 2011 Statement by Attawapiskat Chief and Council on notice of Third Party intervention - Dec.1, 2011 Please click here for a full background PDF version of this Urgent Action Photo by Phil Fontaine Summary: In early November the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario took the extraordinary step of declaring a state of emergency. Faced with the beginning of winter, overcrowded housing and over one hundred people who have no houses at all, Chief Theresa Spence asked the federal and provincial government to recognize a state of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Action for Indigenous Rights, Dignity & Rights, Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Urgent Actions Tagged With: ,

Attawapiskat First Nation: Background

November 25, 2011 By

Dr. Elizabeth Blackmore, one of 15 family doctors for the James Bay coast, said at a recent press conference on Attawapiskat, “I often have to remind myself that I am still working in the province of Ontario... From a medical perspective, we see this as an emergency and that something has to be done.” She said the overcrowding and lack of hygiene present in the community lead to increased infectious diseases, scabies, lice, respiratory problems and acute depression. Substance abuse and suicide often follow. The Member of Parliament for the area, Charlie Angus, writes: “Two weeks ago I travelled to this community on the James Bay coast to see why conditions had become so extreme that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Action for Indigenous Rights, Indigenous Rights, Take Action, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, Urgent Actions Tagged With: ,

Truth, Reconciliation & Equity Video

November 7, 2011 By
TA-TRE-TREVideo1

KAIROS' opening video for the Truth, Reconciliation & Equity Campaign, focusing on the Roll with the Declaration action on June 20 in Ottawa. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 2, Indigenous Rights, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, UNDRIP

Letter to PM Harper re. UNDRIP from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

October 31, 2011 By
TA-TRE-11-10-ELCtoPM

The Reverend Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, has at the request of the ELCIC National Convention written a letter to Prime Minister Harper encouraging the Canadian government “to fully and effectively implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to provide the Parliament of Canada with regular reports on how the Government will reform laws and policies in order to meet the Declaration’s standards.”  In her letter, Bishop Johnson notes “the word ‘treaty’ is a synonym for the word ‘covenant.’ There are moral and spiritual dimensions to making and keeping covenants.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, UNDRIP

Honouring the Children: Executive Summary

October 24, 2011 By
DR-IR-11-10-HonouringChildren-small

  For the full version of “Honoring the Children” click here >> Executive Summary of “Honouring the Children” submitted by First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives October 2011 “For far too long the hopes and aspirations of indigenous peoples have been ignored . . .” Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan The Interim Report of the Canadian Government’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women states: “[C]hildren often come into the care of child and family services not for abuse, but rather because their families are unable to provide the necessities of life.” This inability is due … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dignity & Rights, Feature 2, Indigenous Rights, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, Women of Courage

Joint Statement to be read Oct. 4:
Sisters in Spirit Vigils – A Movement for Social Change

October 3, 2011 By
DR-IR-11-10-SISVigils

Each year on October 4th communities across Canada come together to honour the lives of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. As we do so, we remember the lives of sisters, daughters, mothers and grandmothers tragically taken from us. Today, we offer our support and sympathy to their families and we join with them in demanding justice. Statistics consistently show that Aboriginal women face much higher levels of violence than all other women in Canada. The Native Women's Association of Canada has documented more than 600 cases of Aboriginal women and girls who have been murdered or who remain missing. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Action for Indigenous Rights, Dignity & Rights, Feature 1, Indigenous Rights, Truth, Reconciliation & Equity, Urgent Actions

THANK YOU to the Ottawa organizing committee-the faces and hands behind an amazing day

July 12, 2011 By
Ottawa planning committee

We all know just how many people it takes to pull off a public event. Ottawa is the scene of enough public events that extra planning and attention to security questions is needed, especially since the day moved between three national sites. Taking on such an event is no easy task, and the KAIROS community across the land relied on Ottawa folks to pull it all off. For many months, the Ottawa local planning committee was hard at work, dealing with everything from permits to water and food to music. And above all, they planned an agenda that encompassed Inuit, Métis and First Nations peoples and included a sacred Indigenous site, the House of Commons, a monument to the human rights for which … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Roll with the Declaration!

Ellen Gabriel's speech at the Roll with the Declaration event on Parliament Hill, June 20, 2011

July 4, 2011 By
Ellen Gabriel speaks on the Hill

Ellen Gabriel, Mohawk, Turtle Clan, Longhouse from Kanehsatà:ke (Ellen speaks on the Hill with Families of Sisters in Spirit in accompaniment.) I am very honoured to be here today upon the invitation of Kairos and their wonderful initiative “Roll with the Declaration”. I would like to thank Ed Bianchi and Kairos for organizing this event. It is also important to have a special acknowledgement to one of the members of Kairos, the Quakers, in particular Jennifer Preston and Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International, who worked hard and diligently during the negotiations of the UNDRIP. It is exactly this kind of unconditional solidarity that is required in the implementation of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Roll with the Declaration!

Cindy Blackstock's speech at KAIROS’ Roll with the Declaration event at the Human Rights Monument, Ottawa, June 20 2011

July 4, 2011 By

Cindy Blackstock. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Canada builds two bridges for children over the turbulent waters of life’s hazards. One is for non-Aboriginal children- which could be much stronger for a wealthy nation- but thankfully most children make it to the other side. Then there is the half a bridge that Canada builds for First Nations children. When First Nations and their many non-Aboriginal allies call out for help as children struggle, the Government of Canada asks why we are not thankful for the half a bridge they built for us. As the Auditor General, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Government’s own documents reveal, child welfare, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Roll with the Declaration!
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