Ecological Justice
Federal Court of Appeal overturns approvals for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project
September 14, 2018
September 5, 2018 “I’m glad today the courts heard the teachings of our culture and our spirit…” Chief Rueben George, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation KAIROS Canada recognizes the importance of the August 30 Federal Court of Appeal decision to overturn…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
Trailblazer: T’Sou-ke First Nation Solar and Greenhouse Initiatives
September 4, 2018
“In order to achieve sustainability, it needed to embrace traditional values, including deep respect for Mother Earth.” – Chief Planes In an effort to build a stronger, more sustainable economy the T’Sou-ke First Nation is “setting the table for future…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Trailblazer: Iron and Earth
July 18, 2018
Towards a Renewable Energy Economy Fossil fuel extraction creates a boom and bust cycle for the economy. Nowhere is this truer than in Canada, where workers in the oil, gas and coal industry are starting to look to renewable energy…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Trailblazer: Earth Quaker Action Team
June 21, 2018
Local green energy, unlocked by local green jobs by Rachael Warriner: performers with Hardwork Movement at a youth-led action. Is climate change a huge crisis or a huge opportunity? Some Pennsylvania community activists are answering: “Both, if we want it…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Trailblazer: The Great Climate Race
May 9, 2018
Environmental campaigner Ben West and his partner Mari McMillan initiated The Great Climate Race because they believed in encouraging people to make a difference. West’s personal experience of running gave him an idea for helping people to connect to the issue…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS joins Burnaby Mountain Trans Mountain pipeline protest, April 28
April 25, 2018
KAIROS Executive Director Jennifer Henry to stand in solidarity with members of T’sleil-Waututh, faith leaders and people of faith (Toronto, ON) – KAIROS Canada’s Executive Director, Jennifer Henry, will join members of Tsleil Waututh, faith leaders and other people of…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights, Media Releases, UNDRIP Blog Updates
KAIROS Statement: Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project
April 25, 2018
KAIROS is honoured to have been invited by members of Tsleil-Waututh to stand with them and alongside other faith leaders and people of faith in defence of the lands, waters, and climate we all share. The faith action planned for…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
Letter to the Editor: First Nations need to be at Trans Mountain negotiating table, says Lorimer
April 23, 2018
Re: “Prime Minister Trudeau’s decision to interrupt his foreign trip to help resolve Trans Mountain pipeline expansion issue a step in the right direction,” (The Hill Times, April 16). While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have been right to interrupt his trip to bring B.C. Premier John…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflection: For the beauty of the earth
April 18, 2018
Glistening pine needles, sunlight dancing; wind through trees, branches flailing wildly; chipmunks scampering over the forest floor; whitecaps whipping across blue waters; greyed white clouds scudding across blue skies; painters’ brush, daisies, poppies in woods and fields; green hills and…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Revaluing Creation – Looking towards Earth Day
April 9, 2018
Humans put value on Creation based on what it can do for us – how can it feed us? How can we sell it to grow the economy? This attitude – our present development model – has led to the…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Take Action: Ask Canada to keep its promise to end fossil fuel subsidies
April 6, 2018
Spring into Action before Global leaders meet for the G7 summit in June. Canada is preparing to host world leaders for the G7 summit in June 2018. This is a golden opportunity to call on the Canadian government to demonstrate climate…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
April 22 is Earth Day: Updated Worship Resource
April 5, 2018
The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth. Humankind did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever humankind does to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Canada Submission to the Arctic Policy Framework Consultation Process
March 29, 2018
KAIROS Canada made its formal submission to the Arctic Policy Framework Consultation Process on February 28, 2018. This submission comes a year after KAIROS participated in the NGO Roundtable on the Framework, on February 7, 2017. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Spirited Reflection: Renewing our relationship with the watershed
March 13, 2018
Wherever we live, we are part of a watershed. Watersheds are interdependent ecosystems nested within larger ecosystems, which are also watersheds. Tiny creeks and tributaries are nested within the watersheds around Hamilton, which are nested in the larger Great Lakes/St….
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
March 22 is World Water Day
March 12, 2018
If people feel a relational connection to the watershed in which they live, it is easier for them to act in an embodied way upon their responsibilities. – Denise Nadeau Wherever we live in creation we are part of a…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
World Day of Prayer 2018 focuses on climate change
March 2, 2018
Photo by Tali Folkins: Beth Lorimer, Ecological Justice Program Coordinator for KAIROS Canada, delivers a reflection at a service for World Day of Prayer 2018 at St. Andrew’s United Church, Toronto, Friday, March 2. Our exploitative attitude toward creation has…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Trailblazer: Sheila Watt-Cloutier
February 23, 2018
Looking back, Sheila Watt-Cloutier sees connections between her personal struggles as an Inuk girl and her public leadership decades later, addressing the environmental crises that afflicted her people. At the age of ten, when she was sent for schooling away…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS’ Ecological Justice Coordinator to deliver climate reflection at World Day of Prayer 2018, March 2 in Toronto
February 22, 2018
(Toronto, ON) – A reflection on the impacts of climate change and actions to preserve Creation for the next generation will be delivered by Beth Lorimer, KAIROS Canada’s Ecological Justice Program Coordinator during the World Day of Prayer 2018 at…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Media Releases
Water Song: Unlearning colonial geographic boundaries towards alignment with watersheds and reconciliation
January 20, 2018
Nibi, Gizaagi-igo Water, we love you Gimiigwechiwenimigo We thank you Gizhawenimigo We respect you Nibi Nagamowin (The Water Song) by Doreen Day When I first learned the Anishinaabe Water Song, I realized that I had never expressed those sentiments to…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Trailblazer: The Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative
January 16, 2018
Creating an Energy Revolution through Community Investing The Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative (OREC) is a leader in community-financed renewable energy. In realizing its goal to “generate decentralized renewable energy in Eastern Ontario,” it enters into partnerships with property owners, installing…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Letter to the Editor: Canada won’t make progress on GHGs if expansion of oil sands continues
January 15, 2018
Re:“Trudeau’s biggest challenge over next several years will be to cut GHGs,”(The Hill Times, David Crane, Jan. 8).There is no denying it. Canada will not make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions if exploration and expansion of the oil sands continues,…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Letter to the Editor: Canada doesn’t need more pipelines
January 7, 2018
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says the province’s carbon tax will diversify industry, reduce pollution and help Alberta win approval for pipelines. This thinking will not help Canada meet its climate targets. Although carbon pricing will reduce demand on fossil fuels,…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
COP23 and the Just Transition to a Clean Energy Economy
November 29, 2017
The twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) and UN Climate Change Conference was held in Bonn, Germany from November 6 to November 17. The talks focused on how to maintain momentum from the Paris Agreement and how…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Federal, Provincial Governments Must Fund Treatment Facility for Mercury Poisoning in Grassy Narrows
November 28, 2017
In an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, prominent human rights and environmental organizations today are urging the federal and provincial governments to ensure people from the Grassy Narrows First Nation have access to…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights, Media Releases
Reconciliation through the lens of our local watersheds
November 6, 2017
This fall, KAIROS brought together close to 200 people in workshops across the country to talk about reconciliation through the lens of our local watersheds. Through a series of presentations, small group discussion, mapping, and active reflection, participants built understanding…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Open Letter to the Government of British Columbia: Upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples means stopping Site C
November 3, 2017
The Site C dam is a project that should never have been approved. As the British Columbia Utilities Commission has now concluded after a long overdue review of the cost and purpose of this project, completing Site C offers little…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
Trailblazer: Melina Laboucan-Massimo
November 3, 2017
Growing up in a First Nations community in northern Alberta with neither paved roads nor running water, Melina Laboucan-Massimo noticed a pattern. Once young people reached their teenage years many would need to leave the community, either to find jobs…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Letter to the editor: Clean up pollution now in Indigenous communities
October 26, 2017
Decades of neglect, Oct. 24 The environmental commissioner of Ontario is right to condemn years of inaction by government in addressing toxic pollution in Indigenous communities. The lack of information being provided to communities about their exposure to deadly toxins…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights