Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
A national faith-based organization that supports Unitarian values through action
Above: (left to right) Bob Stevenson, Marlene Campbell, Jane Lindsay and Bill Van Iterson holding the CUSJ banner. Did you know that First Nations children on reserve receive far less funding for education, child welfare and health services than all other Canadian children? On Wednesday, February 14th over 500 schoolchildren gathered on Parliament Hill for … Read more
Top photo: CUSJ Québec Chapter members Susan Czarnocki, Cym Gomery, Genevieve Patterson and Christina Duvander with the speaker, Elisabeth Patterson. On February 11, 2018, I made my way through the icy streets of Montréal to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, to attend Elisabeth Patterson’s talk on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of … Read more
We also connect Unitarians to larger coalitions who share our values and work to increase our impact on the issues we care about. Over the years we have actively supported: Aboriginal Rights Coalition Association of Community Organizations For Reform Now (ACORN) Canada without Poverty (formerly the National Anti-Poverty Organization). Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) Canadian Council for … Read more
Thanks to the French justice system, Hassan Diab is finally free today, January 12, 2018. Tim McSorley of International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group states, “This time is different. The other times were orders to release him on bail, not to end the charges. This decision actually ends the charges and orders his unconditional release. Apparently … Read more
I chatted with our outgoing editor Philip Symons, to explore what it has been like being editor of JUSTnews all these years. The questions, and Philip’s answers, appear below. How did you come to be Editor of JUSTnews? I took on the job of editor of JUSTnews when I retired as president of CUSJ at the … Read more
Editor’s note: Margaret Rao’s letter has been updated to correct the date, as per Christine Johnston’s comment. This season of ‘extreme’ cold weather from coast to coast to coast is just one version of the “climate of change” that Canadians are facing, in every season, and every sense of the phrase. No doubt, there will … Read more
What a year 2017 was. As we contemplate the events of the past 12 months, what fun it is to pretend that we progressives could have our own Social Justice awards, a bit like the Oscars, minus the glitz and glamor, and with the understanding that the awards in this case are, virtual. Drumroll, please! … Read more
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. – Desmond Tutu On December 21, 2017, an historic vote took place in … Read more
Two-thousand seventeen has been a roller-coaster year for progressives (and I write this as someone who dislikes amusement parks). We started the year on a high note, eager to usher in electoral reform, only to learn that Liberal PM Justin Trudeau was backing out on his electoral reform promise. A big lie. However, we took … Read more
You have probably heard or read at least one comment, recently, to the effect that Trump is ‘out of touch wth reality’. Why should that surprise anyone? Because, when you think of it, what the Trump administration serves to do, is shine a bold, unflattering light on the flaws of our own society. Trump shows … Read more
On December 9 2017, CUSJ President Margaret Rao attended a Toronto rally in defense of Jerusalem’s continued status as a shared capital city and spiritual home to Jews, Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike. This is her report. A large crowd of Palestinian Canadians and Palestinian-friendly Jewish, Christian and labour leaders were on hand. It was … Read more
CUSJ was shocked to learn of US President Donald Trump’s sychophantic plan to recognize occupied Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel”. We echo the sentiments of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), whose statement appears below. [This] plan to recognize occupied Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel” is an appalling attempt to give legitimacy to Israel’s … Read more
CUSJ’s JUSTnews editor Philip Symons has just published a new Discussion Paper from the July 10 2017 New York Times article on Climate Change, providing example after example of what awaits us. To summarize: Doomsday ‘Over the past decades, our culture has gone apocalyptic with zombie movies and Mad Max dystopias, perhaps the collective result of … Read more
On November 2, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a ski resort could be built in Jumbo Valley, on land sacred to the Ktunaxa Nation. The Ktunaxa Nation had opposed the ski resort near their community in southeastern British Columbia, arguing that it would affect a grizzly-bear habitat and drive away the Grizzly Bear … Read more
Update: Public Response has created a video that highlights some of the actions taken on Sept. 20th. Look closely and you will see CUSJ’s logo! Our September 20, 2017, NDP Global Affairs Critic Hélène Laverdière announced a Day of Action in Support of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. CUSJ is one of many organizations participating in … Read more
Note: The topmost image was added on March 13 2018. This article was updated on Nov 28th 2017, to add Keystone XL information and to add links to Trans-mountain pipeline news items. Prior to that, the article was updated on October 5th to show the news that the Energy East pipeline was cancelled. I have been … Read more
This op-ed is part of a series inspired by CUSJ’s resolution to explore ways to reform Canada’s criminal justice system. What if psychoactive drugs were legal in Canada? No need to wonder what would happen–we have only to look to countries like Portugal and New Zealand , which have legalized psychoactive drugs. Here’s the scoop: … Read more
CUSJ has added its voice to the No Way to Treat a Child – Canada campaign, coordinated by Defense for Children International – Palestine, which aims to influence Canadian voters and decision-makers in an effort to end Israeli military occupation and secure a just and viable future for Palestinian children living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Palestinian … Read more
On July 7th, the United Nations member nations held a vote on a global treaty that, if successful, would lead to the destruction of all nuclear weapons and forever prohibit their use. Negotiators representing two-thirds of the 192-member United Nations finalized Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons this week after months of talks. Canada did … Read more
Left to right: Rachel Garber, John Mackley, Adele Ernstrom, Sheila Laursen, Phyllis Baxter, Nancy Graham, Patricia Phillip, Rev. Carole Martignacco, Christina Duvander, Cym Gomery On July 2nd 2017, the CUSJ Québec Chapter met in a bucolic setting–at the home of Uma Nigam in Canton de Hatley, the site of the UU Estrie summer picnic. The picnic … Read more