Author Archive
Bathurst United United on helping foreign migrant workers
March 13, 2019
For Reg McQuaid and his fellow congregants at Bathurst United Church, Toronto, support for foreign migrant workers is personal. Migrant workers at fastfood outlets serve him coffee, and he buys produce grown by migrant workers at the food co-op where…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice
KAIROS attends Canadian reception at the UN Commission on Status of Women (CSW63)
March 13, 2019
Agnes Petia, the Coordinator of the South Sudan Council of Churches National Women’s Programme (SSCC-NWP) and Jane Thirikwa, Global Partnerships Coordinator, attended a reception hosted by Marc-André Blanchard, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, for Canadian…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
Spirited Reflection: This land’s not my land, This land’s not your land
March 7, 2019
The First Sunday in Lent “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor” …. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) So begins a recitation of the history of the people who wandered, were enslaved in Egypt, and then, through the Exodus, eventually came to the promised…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Balance for Better = Equilibrium for all
March 6, 2019
This International Women’s Day we will march under the banner, Balance for Better. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this slogan, given the current environment. What does balance mean in a context of growing extremism, patriarchy and…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
Spirited Reflection: Transfiguration Sunday—From the Mountain to the Streets
March 1, 2019
From Luke 9:28-36 When Jesus took Peter, John and James up onto the mountain to pray, Jesus’ face and clothes became dazzling and bright. Then Moses and Elijah also appeared with Jesus, also in glorious splendor. When these Disciples witnessed…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice, Spirited Reflections
Why a blanket exercise made me disappointed, uncomfortable and angry
March 1, 2019
SHINING A HARSH LIGHT ON THE IMPACTS OF COLONIZATION On a cloudy, fall afternoon at NAIT Main Campus, a circle of chairs are arranged around five patterned blankets laid flat on the floor. It’s a homey scene – one of…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Canada’s announced pathway to permanent residency is good news for migrant caregivers
February 28, 2019
KAIROS is greatly encouraged by the recent announcement that in November the Government of Canada will replace its problematic Caregiver Pilot Program with two 5-year pilot programs that will provide migrant caregivers with a pathway to permanent residence and the…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice
NEW VIDEO: Bill C-262- a step towards reconciliation in Canada (2:17 min)
February 27, 2019
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates, Video Playlists & Photo Albums
MP Laverdière presents the “Women of Courage” petition in the House of Commons
February 25, 2019
KAIROS had started an online letter campaign to ask Canadians to send a letter to their Member of Parliament asking for an increase in international assistance and an increase in funding to women peace builders. Our goal was to ensure that…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
Spirited Reflection: Finding safety and justice for migrant workers
February 20, 2019
Epiphany continues February 24 with KAIROS reflections in Light of a Star (digital) (print), the Epiphany Resource. Heide and Richard’s Story Two workers at a McDonald’s in Fernie, B.C. ‒ Heide and her boyfriend, Richard ‒ alleged that the owner,…
Post filed in: Migrant Justice, Spirited Reflections
Communities coming together for Reconciliation
February 19, 2019
Reflections on the Blanket Exercise On June 9th, 2018, Vancouver Monthly Meeting gathered with the Vancouver Unitarian community on unceded Musqueam and Coast Salish territory in a beautiful intergenerational Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is a teaching tool developed by…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflection: From the Doctrine of Discovery to the killing of Colten Boushie
February 15, 2019
When an apparently all-white jury acquitted Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley a year ago of any wrongdoing in the August 2016 killing of 22-year-old Cree man, Colten Boushie, their action pierced the hearts of Indigenous people and their allies across Turtle…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Federal, provincial and territorial interpretation and implementation of FPIC must be aligned with Canada’s human rights obligations
February 14, 2019
In December, in two separate letters issued under their Early-Warning Measures and Urgent Action Procedures, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on Canada to seek independent, expert advice on implementation of the right of…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Ecumenical letter to Senators on Bill C-262
February 8, 2019
Ten faith based organizations urge Canada’s Senators to support Bill C-262, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. In a joint letter released on February 7, the Senators were reminded that the time for action is now. KAIROS…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
Spirited Reflection: When called to paths toward reconciliation
February 6, 2019
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 5 – February 10, 2019 Luke 5:1-11 we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets. (Luke 5:5) For me, 2018 was a year…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Transparently opaque rigged DR Congo presidential election
February 1, 2019
The long-awaited presidential election that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) on December 30, 2018 was mired in inconsistencies, contentiousness and deception. Congolese civil society, including KAIROS partner, Héritiers of Justice (HJ, Heirs of Justice)…
Post filed in: Africa
A cry for peace – statement of solidarity of the Jolo Bombing
February 1, 2019
On January 27, 2019, in one of the deadliest attacks in the Philippines in recent years, a bombing of a church in Jolo, Sulu, Mindanao, during a Sunday Mass, claimed the lives of more than 20 worshipers, including civilians and…
Post filed in: Asia-Pacific
Christians working on global issues can be a thankless job
January 17, 2019
Finding pathways to truth and reconciliation has become the latest focus for Christian activists in Canada. The nation’s churches and church members have been active on social justice issues over many decades, a Lethbridge audience was reminded Thursday. But Joe…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Feminist Foreign Aid: Women peace builders are worth the investment
January 16, 2019
Peace-building sounds lofty and is often seen as the responsibility of world leaders and armed actors, but quite often it is manifested in the tireless work of women and male allies in communities caught in a conflict’s cross-fire. Héritiers de…
Post filed in: Africa, Gender Justice/Women of Courage
KAIROS Blanket Exercise a sad journey into Indigenous history
January 8, 2019
It was like gazing at a map of the world, but one turned upside-down. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a two-hour journey through 400 years of tragedy, and it evokes a powerful sense of the wrongs Indigenous people have suffered…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
