Op Eds
Women peace-builders: an investment Canada cannot afford to overlook
September 15, 2023
Investing in women peacebuilders is not just a moral and effective thing to do, it’s a good financial investment we cannot afford to overlook. The returns are vital and invaluable for all of us and for the planet. A few…
Post filed in: Op Eds
African and Indigenous women voices essential for climate action
December 20, 2022
Post filed in: Africa, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
Our messages were loud and clear at COP27: KAIROS
November 28, 2022
Re: “Little to celebrate so far from Canada’s COP27 attendance,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 16, editorial). Global summits are what participants make them, and who participates in them, too. I have just returned from COP27, where I accompanied a 10-member…
Post filed in: COP27, Ecological Justice, Op Eds
Land defenders’ human rights continue to be violated – this must change
February 28, 2022
On February 6, Gidimt’en land defenders made a submission to the UN denouncing Canada’s violation of Indigenous rights in the development of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. In recent days, there have been several key events pertaining to water and land…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Decolonization is at the heart of effective climate action
February 25, 2022
Photo: Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, pictured on the Hill on Jan. 31, 2022. Decolonization is at the heart of effective climate action. This means giving space to Black and other racialized people, particularly women, to have a…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Climate change’s assault on ecosystems is violence against women
December 7, 2021
To be truly feminist, Canada must fully consult women — particularly land and water defenders — to lay the groundwork for community-driven and inclusive clean energy economies, writes Jane Thirikwa with @kairoscanada. #16StoriesofCourage
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Op Ed: Canadian LNG is full of hot air
December 11, 2020
LNG development will prevent Canada from meeting its emissions reduction targets. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is lauded as a transition fuel, a replacement for coal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. The Canadian government has gone so…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds
Women peacebuilders call for a voice at the table despite threats and lock downs
December 3, 2020
The pandemic has been particularly cruel to women, disproportionately impacting their wellbeing and safety, not only in Canada but also abroad. KAIROS’ international partners, operating in some of the most protracted conflict areas in the world, report dramatic increases in gender-based…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Centering Black, Indigenous, women of colour in a post-pandemic recovery
June 12, 2020
It was a year ago, on June 3, when Canada received the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which delivered 231 individual calls for justice to governments, institutions and Canadians, based on…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
Women peacebuilders key to just recovery towards a post-pandemic world
June 8, 2020
These days in Canada we often hear the phrase “We’re stronger together.” But stronger how? And who, precisely, are “we?” COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of certain communities and, in my work in Canada and globally with Indigenous peoples, migrant…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Post-pandemic Canada should centre the needs of Indigenous women
June 1, 2020
The month of June barrels towards us with an important reconciliation anniversary, a recent lack of action in support of the approaching one year anniversary for the #MMIWG calls for justice, and a worldwide pandemic raining down on what would…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
An act of care: reframing global efforts to contain COVID-19
May 13, 2020
The narrative of war and rallying support for the battle of our lives and those of our fellow citizens excludes anyone who does not conform to a dominant masculine/feminine binary narrative. We are waging war , we are told. We…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
From disposable to indispensable: providing foreign migrant workers with a pathway to permanent residency
May 11, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic reveals how foreign migrant workers contribute to Canada’s economy and society by doing the jobs that too few Canadians want. Their work ensures that our food industry thrives, that young, elderly, and at-risk Canadians receive proper care,…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice, Op Eds
Large-scale resource extraction exacerbates the threat of COVID-19 across the American hemisphere, especially for Indigenous peoples
May 4, 2020
Across Abya Yala and Turtle Island, territories otherwise known as America, governmental and corporate responses to and amid the spread of the novel coronavirus have put into sharp focus the crisis of the status quo. This is especially true of large-scale resource extraction. The grave threat…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
Was, is, and will always be a saint: Celebrating the life of Oscar Romero
March 24, 2020
On March 30, 1980, I was one of at least half a million people who attended a funeral in San Salvador. It was the funeral of Oscar Romero. For those who may not know, Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of…
Post filed in: Op Eds
World Water Day 2020: Taking a watershed approach to climate change
March 20, 2020
“Your watershed is your lifeboat.” In this time of climate emergency, these words by permaculturist Brock Dolman are particularly revealing. The theme of this year’s World Water Day explores how climate change and water are inextricably linked. The impacts of climate change such…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds
Letter to the Editor: Trump’s peace plan for the Middle East should be rejected, says NGO
February 12, 2020
Re: “Trudeau should leave the fake diplomacy to Donald Trump,” (The Hill Times, Feb. 3, p. 4). KAIROS Canada urges the prime minister to publicly reject the U.S. president’s “Peace to Prosperity Plan” for Israel and Palestine, which contravenes international…
Post filed in: Middle East, Op Eds
Women land and water defenders are the real peacebuilders
November 28, 2019
Large-scale resource extraction often perpetuates violence, even in countries with peace accords. Those who mobilize to protect the land and water to build peace are often women. Such is the case in Guatemala and Colombia, where extractive mega-projects with Canadian…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America, Op Eds
Climate crisis requires industrial mobilization on scale not seen since Second World War
September 23, 2019
The climate crisis requires industrial mobilization on a scale not seen since the Second World War. While Canadian governments have moved at snail-like speed to fully address the emergency, in just a few weeks last spring, thousands of Canadians gathered…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Les femmes qui construisent la paix valent l’investissement
December 20, 2018
La consolidation de la paix a l’air noble et est souvent perçue comme relevant de la responsabilité des dirigeants mondiaux et des acteurs armés. Elle se manifeste aussi assez souvent dans le travail inlassable des femmes et de leurs alliés…
Post filed in: Africa, En français, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Human rights ombudsperson will bring long-awaited accountability to Canadian mining
February 14, 2018
The government has an opportunity to entrust the ombudsperson with the responsibility to ensure that the rights of women and girls are respected, that resource extraction does not result in increased gender-based violence, and that the unique perspective and concerns…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
Foreign workers should be eligible to apply for permanent residence prior to or upon arrival to Canada
October 9, 2017
This past weekend we gathered around the dinner table with family and friends to give thanks. Often we acknowledge the delicious bounty that’s before us. If grown in Canada, this bounty is often tended to and harvested by people like…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice, Op Eds
NAFTA renegotiations must be done through the lens of climate change
April 20, 2017
Canada, and not just Mexico, may be in for a rough ride when it renegotiates NAFTA with the United States. A draft letter from the U.S. Trade Representative to Congress outlining renegotiation objectives, which was leaked on March 30, reveals…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds
Championing peace by making Canadian corporations accountable
April 13, 2017
Can Canada champion world peace while simultaneously supporting Canadian extractive companies that are accused of human and ecological rights violations? This question is of course rhetorical. Yet despite its stated interest in becoming more engaged in international peace and security,…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
How Canada can better its brand in the Philippines
March 22, 2017
Communities in the Philippines would benefit from the appointment of an independent extractive-sector ombudsperson to monitor Canadian mining operations overseas. Canadian mining companies are often the face of Canada in the Global South. For those affected by these companies, this…
Post filed in: Asia-Pacific, Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
Women building peace in Colombia: Isabel Polanco and Organización Femenina Popular
March 7, 2017
This year KAIROS is celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8) with the launch of a video on Isabel Caicedo Polanco and the work of KAIROS’ partner, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP) in Colombia. Isabel Caicedo Polanco is a woman of…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Op Eds
How farmers can fight climate change and hunger
February 15, 2017
Can improved agricultural practices help fight both climate change and hunger? Yes, according to one the world’s most esteemed climate scientists. In fact, when meting out money for mitigating climate change, Canada should prioritize supporting small family farming. James Hansen,…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds
2017 KAIROS wish list
February 1, 2017
Last January, KAIROS released its wish list for the year – ten plus one hopes for the federal government and the provinces to fulfill. Two of these were realized: the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was…
Post filed in: Calls To Action, Indigenous Rights, Op Eds
