Archive for 2016

Living well this Thanksgiving

October 7, 2016

“Buen vivir means living well based on the knowledge of our peoples, not living better at the cost of others.” ~David Choquehuanca, Aymara, Bolivia This Thanksgiving I am holding fast to this vision of who we could be together, as Canadians,…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights

Convenant Chain Link VII, October 14-15, 2016 – Register Now!

October 5, 2016

Hope for the Future: Education for Reconciliation The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said that “education is the key to reconciliation”. All across Canada, people are responding to the need to address Indigenous history and issues both in and out…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

KAIROS online info-hub to aid inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls

October 4, 2016

On October 4 – a day when Indigenous and non-Indigenous people gather to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) – KAIROS Canada launched the MMIWG Information Hub on kairoscanada.org, offering resources and updates related to the national…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

International solidarity with women in defense of land and the environment in latin america

September 29, 2016

Angélica Choc with photo of Adolfo Ich; Photo: mimundo.org KAIROS joins over eighty organizations from Canada, the US, Europe and Guatemala, in signing the following statement expressing international solidarity with women defenders in Latin America, and all people who are…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

KAIROS stands with Organizacion Femenina Popular (OFP) in Colombia

September 29, 2016

KAIROS stands with the Popular Feminist Organization (OFP), our partner in Colombia, as they prepare for the plebiscite on October 2 when Colombians will vote on the recently signed final Peace Accord. The OFP is currently working and praying for…

Post filed in: Latin America

MEDIA ADVISORY: BC-Yukon KAIROS urges municipal leaders to vote to halt Site C dam construction

September 27, 2016

At the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention, September 26-30, BC-Yukon KAIROS is urging that municipal leaders support resolution B31. Resolution B31 reads as follows: Whereas the proposed 60 meter high dam project at Site C on the Peace River…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights, Media Releases

KAIROS Times: September 2016

September 23, 2016

Read the September 2016 issue.

Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter

The Harvesting Freedom Caravan is coming to Toronto on September 25, 2016 at 7:30 a.m.

September 23, 2016

If you want to support migrant justice please come to the Food Terminal in Toronto at 7:30 AM on Sunday, September 25 and welcome the Harvesting Freedom Caravan. Yes, you read right, it is at 7:30 AM! But don’t worry,…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

Blanket Exercise unfurls Indigenous history for Saskatoon leaders

September 22, 2016

The City of Saskatoon recently hosted a blanket exercise for a group of community leaders. (Submitted by Neal Kewistep)  ‘Often there’s a lot of guilt and shame that comes up,’ says activity leader The City of Saskatoon is using blankets…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

MEDIA RELEASE: KAIROS online info-hub to aid inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

September 21, 2016

(Toronto, ON) – On a day when Indigenous and non-Indigenous people gather to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), KAIROS Canada launches the MMIWG Information Hub on kairoscanada.org, offering resources and updates related to the national inquiry…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Media Releases

Spirited Reflection:  Building for peace by Pam Peters-Pries

September 15, 2016

On September 21, the world will celebrate the International Day of Peace, established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.  The theme for this year’s Day of Peace is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace”. The UN’s…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

Site C legal challenge on UNDRIP anniversary shows Indigenous rights are a long ways away

September 13, 2016

Nine years ago today, on September 13, 2007, the United Nations took an important step towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples when the General Assembly voted 144-4 to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While 11 countries…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Op Eds, UNDRIP Blog Updates

Letter to the Globe & Mail editor: Carbon credit protest

September 9, 2016

Carbon credit protest The deal between the Ontario, Quebec and Mexican governments to purchase carbon offsets was made despite the strong objections of Mexico’s indigenous people, who are adamantly opposed to selling carbon credits (Provinces Sign Greenhouse Gas Agreement With…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Understanding the impact: the KAIROS Blanket Exercise at Algoma University

September 8, 2016

Algoma U students, staff and faculty take part in emotional history lesson: The KAIROS Blanket Exercise, a first at Sault school Shirley Horn, Algoma University chancellor, and Craig Chamberlin, Algoma University president, took part in an interactive Blanket Exercise dealing…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Truth and reconciliation in Nova Scotia’s classrooms, a progress report

September 6, 2016

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – When the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) on the horrible legacy of residential schools was released late last year Premier Stephen MacNeil confirmed his commitment to implement its recommendations. KAIROS, a Canada-wide ecumenical movement…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Meeting at the intersection, discussing with Jennifer Henry on the World Social Forum

August 22, 2016

Jennifer Henry is Executive Director of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. She participated as a panelist in the workshop “Laudato Si‘, a Call for Change” co-organized by CIDSE, Development and Peace and Franciscans International. On that occasion she reflected on…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections

The spirit of Berta Cáceres: The power and playful defiance of Indigenous women at the World Social Forum

August 18, 2016

“Berta Caceres had three qualities that made her such a powerful advocate and activist for her people and for the environment. She was Indigenous, a woman and a feminist.” Honduran journalist, Felix Molina was speaking at a vigil for his…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds

Carbon trading threatens Indigenous peoples

August 17, 2016

The federal government admits that Canada is not on track to meet its official targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, Environment Canada says the gap between actual emissions and the goal of trimming emissions to 30 percent below…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds

Gendered Impacts of Extractivism and Alternatives: A Convergence of Ideas

August 16, 2016

On August 11 at the World Social Forum, KAIROS and Mining Watch Canada drew a diverse and passionate group from across Canada, South America and Africa to their panel ‘North-South Dialogue on Extractivism, Resistance and Alternatives’. Jamie Kneen (MiningWatch) along…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

Reflection on the Spanish version of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise, at the World Social Forum

August 12, 2016

“Participants (of the Spanish version of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise at the World Social Forum in Montreal) very quickly make connections between the history of colonization in Canada and the history of colonization in Latin America.” Alfredo Barahona, Indigenous, Migrant &…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

VIDEO: Alma Brooks, Maliseet grandmother, speaks on the gendered impacts of resource extraction

August 12, 2016

“What befalls the earth, befalls the women of the earth. When the land and water are ravished and poisoned and destroyed, the women are deeply affected. As Indigenous women, the connection to our homeland is not only physical, it is…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

Those at the heart of the resistant movement: Report from the Indigenous women, territory and mining workshop

August 11, 2016

On August 10 at the World Social Forum, KAIROS joined a panel facilitated by Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) to speak about the struggles that Indigenous women face in defending their land and resources from corporate extraction. Indigenous leaders…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

KAIROS at the opening march of the World Social Forum 2016

August 10, 2016

Late in the afternoon on August 9, tens of thousands of activists from Canada and  abroad met at the edge of Parc La Fontaine, waving banners of all colours, excited to begin the opening march for the World Social Forum…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

KAIROS response to Government of Canada decision to issue permits for Site C dam project

August 5, 2016

KAIROS joins Indigenous partners in expressing dismay over the federal government’s decision to issue permits for the construction of the Site C dam in British Columbia without the free, prior and informed consent of the peoples whose ancestral lands will…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights

Spanish KAIROS Blanket Exercise connects colonial dots

August 4, 2016

Despite the parallels between the history of colonization in North, Central and South America, if you ask Latin American expats what they know about Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indian Residential Schools, most will answer “not much.” In an…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

KAIROS statement into the inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women

August 4, 2016

The Government of Canada officially launched the long-awaited National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on August 3, 2016 “to identify and examine the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls.” KAIROS Executive Director Jennifer…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

Patchwork of colonization: Blanket Exercise explains colonization effectively

August 4, 2016

About 200 people took part in the Blanket Exercise at the Manitoba Legislative Building in early June.   On a Saturday in early June, about 200 people gathered in front of the steps of the Legislative Building to participate in…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Voices for North-South Solidarity at the World Social Forum

August 4, 2016

The 2016 World Social Forum is quickly approaching. Speakers are planning their arrival and the schedule is being finalized. KAIROS is excited to have a team of knowledgeable panelists to speak on their diverse experiences with social and ecological justice….

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights