Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
A national faith-based organization that supports Unitarian values through action
CUSJ is a proud sponsor of the #NoWar2021 virtual conference starting June 4th, From Weapons Fairs to War Zones: Unravelling the War Machine. #NoWar2021 includes diverse representation across the anti-war/peace movement, with 270+ registrants from 24+ countries and 100+ endorsing/sponsoring organizations. To get more information, have a look at this new 60-second video.
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On January 27, 2021, France’s court of appeal ruled that Canadian professor Hassan Diab must stand trial for a 1980 bombing outside a synagogue in Paris. This decision comes three years after a lower court dismissed the case, citing a lack of evidence, and released him. Diab returned to Canada. The latest court decision is … Read more
CUSJ endorses the following webinar and encourages its members to attend. Background On October 19, 2020, an open letter signed by Noam Chomsky, Roger Waters, Ken Loach, former MP Jim Manly, as well as poet El Jones and author Yann Martel, and more than 170 Canadians as well as several others, has been delivered to … Read more
Bob Van Alstyne First President of CUSJ Photo of Bob Van Alstyne and his life partner, Bert McBain, also a CUSJ activist. We are sad to report the recent death of the first official president of CUSJ, Bob Van Alstyne, Nov. 22, 2020. Born in Wetaskwin, Alberta, in 1932 Bob ended life with both a … Read more
CUSJ Supports the Council of Canadians in its campaign to promote the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for the Cuban Medical Teams, known as the Henry Reeve Brigades, who have mobalized thousands of Cuban medical personnel who have the skills and training to deal with a variety of global calamities including pandemics. The program to train … Read more
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Langevin Block Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P. Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Minister of Finance House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 CC. Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister Catherine McKenna, Minister Steven Guilbeault Dear Prime Minister and Deputy Prime … Read more
Lift the Closure CUSJ as an organization has signed on to this petition to lift the closure of the Gaza Strip. The imprisonment of Gazans has gone on too long. Thanks to those organizations which have joined the Gaza2020 call. This is TIME URGENT as it will be delivered to the United Nations Human Rights … Read more
CUSJ Outraged at Brutal Murder of George Floyd. 2020 06 04 For Immediate Release As Canadian Unitarians we are touched profoundly by the events in the U.S., arising out of the murder of George Floyd by police. The massive uprising of anguish and rage that has gripped the U.S. has moved people around the world. … Read more
CUSJ joins with a coalition of activist groups including our partner, the Climate Action Network, and the Council of Canadians to affirm and promote the following roadmap to a Just Transition to a Green Economy: PUT PEOPLE FIRST, DEMAND OVER 150 CANADIAN ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE LAUNCH OF SIX PRINCIPLES FOR A JUST RECOVERY Joint Media … Read more
CUSJ members were delighted at the news that Frances Deverell, long-serving board member and former president of the CUSJ, received the Knight Award at the May 16 online CUC annual meeting. The Victor and Nancy Knight Living Tribute Award is presented at the CUC National Conference. The Award is made annually from the income of … Read more
Below is Frances Deverell’s acceptance speech upon receiving the Knight Award. Well, you’ve done the impossible. I’m speechless. Thank you for this great honour, this very special recognition. First let me say that nobody does this work alone. I have been most fortunate to have many brilliant people and caring activists working tirelessly at my … Read more
Social Justice in the Time of COVID-19 by Leslie Kemp At the beginning of 2020, social justice advocates were mobilizing in support of the Wet’suwet’en and their fight against the Coast Gaslink pipeline. Unitarians were among them. Both CUSJ and the CUC sent out a statement of solidarity. In addition to Indigenous rights, many Canadians … Read more
Editor’s note: Former JUSTnews editor Philip Symons published this timely op-ed in the CUSJ Googlegroup, and we felt it was so informative we had to share! Why do elected and hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs disagree on whether pipelines should go through their territory? Just like our elected members of parliament, Wet’suwet’en elected Chiefs and Councils keep … Read more
Letter of January 21, 2020, from CUSJ President Bill Woolverton TO: Honourable Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources; Premier John Horgan; Adam Olsen, Interim Leader, Green Party of BC; Andrew Wilkinson, Leader of the BC Liberal Party; Federal Justice Minister David Lametti; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Jagmeet Singh, New Democratic Party of … Read more
CUSJ is a member of the Climate Action Network and signed on to this long but informative letter detailing what is needed in a government oriented to acting on the climate emergency. Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Congratulations on your re-election to lead Canada’s government at this pivotal time in history. The next few years are … Read more
On September 11 2019, a Quebec judge ruled that parts of both the federal and Quebec assisted dying laws are too restrictive and violate people’s rights. Specifically, Quebec Superior Court Justice Christine Baudouin struck down the controversial “reasonably foreseeable” rule in Canada’s federal assisted dying law, as well as the “end of life” clause in Quebec’s … Read more
The CUSJ Board welcomes a new Board member and Webmaster, Terri Palmer, who happened to be sitting right beside Cym at our 2019 AGM. This was her first time attending a CUSJ AGM! I consider this to be marvellously serendipitous, and hope that she will enjoy the chance to connect with and serve UU social-justice … Read more
Note: This post was updated on April 27th to show that CUSJ had joined the campaign. CUSJ has joined the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that is working to ban fully autonomous weapons. Lethal autonomous weapons are independent artificial-intelligence-driven weapons such as drones, that can make decisions to kill … Read more
CUSJ member Philip Symons’ concise guide, Surviving Civilization’s Collapse, explores humanity’s history, its quirky psyche, and its options for survival. I recently attended a small group video presentation (Regeneration by Daniel Wahl) and discussion on the subject of climate change. It was evident from the reactions of the attendees, that for some (activists and news … Read more
How sad that the BC Ballet chose to support Israeli war crimes and apartheid, by performing as a Canadian cultural ambassador to the Zionist Israeli state in January 2019. The Canadian BDS Coalition, of which CUSJ is a member, has decided that, since B.C. Ballet will not boycott Israel, we will boycott BC Ballet. BC … Read more