Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
A national faith-based organization that supports Unitarian values through action
Unitarians have long been peace activists. We don’t hold any consensus on specific issues such as total passivism vs. the possibilities of just war. Nevertheless, in a spirit of dialogue, we lean strongly towards anti-war solutions and non-violent conflict resolution. We have a strong presence at the United Nations through the UU UNO, and were instrumental in helping with the formation of the International Criminal Court. Our second principle — “to promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations” and our sixth principle — “the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all” guide us.
Zatoun is a Canadian registered non-profit organization, run mostly by volunteers, to promote peace and understanding of Palestinian society, history, culture and art, to establish commercial links, and to support the economic viability of a Palestinian state. The best-known Zatoun product is its fair trade extra virgin olive oil, but Zatoun also produces olive oil soap, za’atar (a mix of … Read more
Communiqué FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 17 September, 2015 By: Margaret Rao, CUSJ President Changes to refugee process needed if Canada is to make real impact on refugee crisis TORONTO – Key changes are urgently needed if Canada is to open its doors wide enough to make a difference in the current Syrian refugee crisis. “Amendments to … Read more
CUSJ Endorses Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium 2015 It calls for an end to Uranium mining, and opposes the use of Uranium for Nuclear Power or Nuclear War. It identifies the harm caused by Uranium to people, plants, and animals and in particular to First Nations people, and calls for full support for the … Read more
Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice P.O. Box 40011, Ottawa, ON, K1V 0W8 President, Margaret Rao president@cusj.org www.cusj.org Communiqué FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 16 April 2015 CIVIL SOCIETY REJECTS CRIMINALIZATION OF CRITICISM OF STATE OF ISRAEL CUSJ joins other civil society organizations in defending freedom of speech Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ) has issued a … Read more
By: Anita McLean There were eight sessions on Israel/Palestine from October 2014 to February 2015. Due to very positive feedback, Ria Heynen and I decided to offer one more event on April 28, 2015. This was a film night to view the newly produced movie “Enduring Roots” which presents a very critical view of the … Read more
(The Discussion Paper will open in its own window. Comments can be submitted here) CUSJ joins with many other faith communities to support an active search for peaceful solutions to the on-going crisis in Israel and Palestine. It is time that both Israel and the International Community came to the table to honour the commitments … Read more
The Council of Canadians been working with 47 organizations (Idle No More, all key labour organizations affiliated with the CLC, Canadian Federation of Nurses, Greenpeace, National Farmers Union, Voices, Alternatives, Canadian Peace Alliance, Lead Now, many, many more… including Oxfam,) to pull together a common front to tackle the social issues of our day and … Read more
CUSJ signed on to a letter from many groups, including the Human Survival Project, encouraging Obama to stick with his goal to destroy nuclear weapons and set an example for all countries by doing so.
CUSJ Opposes C-4 Refugee Bill July 31, 2011 CUSJ signed on, today, to the Canadian Council of Refugees campaign against Bill C-4. (Formerly Bill C-49 and re-introduced into the house as Bill C-4 this spring.) This Bill would exempt the Canadian Government from honouring the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Constitution. It … Read more
Discussion Paper #15 (opens own window & keeps this page open for convenient commenting whilst reading) Those members who do not subscribe to the e-list and were not present at the AGM may be unaware of the CUSJ resolution, and perhaps of some of the reasons occasioning it. This Discussion Paper therefore presents the resolution … Read more
Discussion Paper #13 (opens own window & keeps this page open for convenient commenting whilst reading) Spring 2007 This Discussion Paper contains two articles by authors who propose different ways to return Canada from a war-promoting nation to its more historic and honourable role as a peacekeeping and peace-building nation. The articles were written specifically … Read more
Justnews Vol. 10 #2 WarResistors LoRes Cover Story The War Resistors Support Campaign by Valerie Lannon : The current version of Draft Dodging is War Resisting. Since there is no draft, the current resistors have usually seen the field of action for themselves, and decided not to play anymore. This is the story of Jeremy … Read more