Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
A national faith-based organization that supports Unitarian values through action
Religious leaders from all faiths, through the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), are encouraging the Canadian Government to take action and exercise leadership in the area of climate change. The science is solid, telling us that if we do not turn this boat around and reduce our greenhouse gases, there will be dire consequences around … Read more
CUSJ Supports Supreme Court Challenge to First Past the Post November 7th, 2011 The board of CUSJ declared its support, today, for L’Association Pour La Revendication Des Droits Démocratiques, the Quebec organization that is taking it’s challenge to the first-past-the-post voting system to the Supreme Court of Canada. The suit has made its way through … Read more
CUSJ has added a new page on Food Security. There are many important issues facing our society on our food system, food prices, the quality of food, the way it is produced, and the way food is distributed. Our food security page outlines the basic issues and then links you to groups that are trying … Read more
BRAVO THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT! You are acting for many Canadians from all walks of life who share your frustrations. Canadian Unitarians For Social Justice support your action to protest growing income inequality and corporate greed. You are exposing the underlying unfairness of an economic system that has left a tiny elite with a disproportionate amount of wealth … Read more
Discussion Paper No. 22 on Equality – Oct 2011 Discussion paper #22 is a summary of the book The Spirit Level by Richardson and Picket. It demonstrates using the best epidemiological approach that societies that are more equal have better outcomes in most of the factors that make a good society. Both the paper and … Read more
By Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett Bloomsbury Press, New York, Berlin, London ©2009 This post is a backgrounder by Frances Deverell Chapter 10 – Violence: Gaining Respect P132 tells us that the majority of violence is committed by males, and mainly between the ages of 15-29. After that it declines sharply. It also shows that in England … Read more
On September 26, hundreds of people from across Canada risked arrest in Ottawa to send a message to Prime Minister Harper that we must turn away from the tar sands, respect treaty and Indigenous rights, and start building the green energy future all our communities deserve. CUSJ President Rev. Frances Deverell and Board Member Ahti Tolvanen participated … Read more
CUSJ joined with Elizabeth Fry Society and John Howard Society to ask Harper and the Minister of Justice to make changes to the Omnibus crime bill. We would like to emphasize a harm-reduction approach to drug crimes, and to ensure measures are included that support crime prevention as well as punishment. Resources See our letter … Read more
e-mail To the Ottawa Action Network Organizing the September 26th Rally against the Tar Sands September 21, 2011 Dear organizers of the Ottawa Action on the Tar Sands. At its September 16th board meeting, Canadian Unitarians For Social Justice voted to support this action against the tar stands and that it agrees with the following … Read more
Sisters in Spirit are walking again with other aboriginal women from Vancouver to parliament hill, seeking justice and solutions for the extreme violence against aboriginal women, especially the many women who have just disappeared across the country. Ottawa Unitarians provided dinner for the final feast on September 19th, 2011. As they walked, more and more people … Read more
North Shore Unitarian member, Jon Cooksey, a writer and show runner for television, has recently been nominated for a Best Documentary Gemini award for his one hour film, How to Boil a Frog. A number of other NSUC members/friends worked on it, and part of it was shot in our sanctuary. The film is still being broadcast from time to time … Read more
CUSJ Calls for a Complete Environmental Review from both the Provincial and Federal Governments on the Highland Quarry Project in Dufferin County. CUSJ wrote letters in August 2011 to both the Federal and Provincial Governments asking them to hold full environmental assessments in their areas of jurisdiction: CUSJ Request for a Provincial Review CUSJ Request for a … Read more
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
July 31st, 2011 After an extensive discussion on the board and the publication of a special discussion paper on Nuclear Power, CUSJ has decided to support the Greenpeace Darlington Declaration calling for renewable energy, not nuclear, to be the centre of Ontario’s future energy policy. CUSJ Nuclear Page
Margaret Rao and Rev. Frances Deverell presented the CUSJ Brief on Nuclear Power to the Darlington Review Panel on March 31st, 2011. We asked the Panel to say NO to new nuclear reactors and to tell the province to put their money and effort into renewable energy. The Nuclear Home Page contains references to all … Read more
On March 31st, 2011, Margaret Rao and Frances Deverell attended the Darlington Review panel and presented our brief. This brief came out of extensive discussions on the listserve, among individuals, and at the board level. We did not have 100% consensus on the position to take, but the majority of the board wanted to take a … Read more
CUSJ calls on all its members to bombard the Senate with requests to expedite the passage of Bill C-393 before any election may be called. Let democracy be respected. Let Senators rise above party politics and do the right thing. We have the opportunity to remove the roadblocks and have inexpensive generic drugs sent to … Read more
Protect the Integrity of Parliament: Fire Bev Oda CUSJ is concerned about the loss of integrity in parliament as ministers feel free to mislead parliament with false information and change documents after senior civil servants have signed them without acknowledging where the changes are coming from. For the full letter calling Harper to accountability see: … Read more
Canadian Unitarians For Social Justice call on the Harper Government to meet the standards of Canadian and International Law in their treatment of refugees — including those who arrive by the boatload. Support Bill C-49 For the full letter go to: Letter to Harper on Refugees
Canadian Unitarians For Social Justice appeals to Senators of all stripes. Do the right thing. Pass Bill C-389 and include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination under the law. For the full letter see: Letter to Senate on Transgender Rights