Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

Kairos National Office

KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
310 Dupont Street, Suite 200
Toronto, ON Canada
M5R 1V9

Phone: (877) 403-8933, (416) 463-5312
Fax: (416) 463-5569

Link to email form

Kairos Member Churches and Religious Organizations

• Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)
• Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP)
• Canadian Conference of catholic Bishops (CCCB)
• Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Canadian Religious Conference (CRC)
• Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA)
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)
• Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
• The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC)
• Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF)
• The United Church of Canada (UCC)

Kairos was formed from these former inter-church coalitions

• Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC)
• Canada Asia Working Group (CAWG)
• Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice (ECEJ)
• Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility (TCCR)
• Inter-Church Action for Development Relief and Justice (ICA)
• Inter-Church Coalition on Africa (ICCAF)
• Inter-Church Committee on Refugees (ICCR)
• Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA)
• PLURA Ten Days for Global Justice (Ten Days)

Kairos Staff

Kairos employs approximately 25 staff to help carry out its commitments to justice. With offices in both Ottawa and Toronto, staff members draw on their knowledge and expertise to implement Kairos program priorities. Staff that are members of the Animation, Communications and Education team have particular responsibilities for nurturing and supporting the Kairos cross- country network.

A Network of Kairos Communities

Kairos is committed to promoting education and action campaigns across Canada and to building a strong faith-based movement to support action for justice. There are roughly one hundred Kairos ecumenical groups across the country and many more denominational committees and individuals of faith and conscience who collaborate with and through Kairos in the work of justice. Some local Kairos communities have a specific focus for their work, such as Aboriginal rights or antipoverty. Others take a more general approach and respond to a range of justice issues.

Kairos communities reach out into their geographic communities through public events and cooperation with other church and community groups.

Congregational or parish outreach committees often make use of Kairos educational materials for justice education at the local level. The intent is to make justice come alive for Canadians and to facilitate a response that reflects a way to live out our faith in the world, day by day. Local Kairos communities and denominational committees come together for greater power and effectiveness through regional networking.

The Kairos regional structure consists of five regions and a Quebec-based francophone partnership.

• BC/Yukon
• Prairies- North
• Cambrian-Agassiz
• Great Lakes/St. Lawrence
• Atlantic
• Reseau Oecumenique justice et Paix.

Each region has a coordinating committee to organize regional meetings, to provide national input, and to encourage action and communication throughout the region. Each region also has a representative on the Education and Animation program committee. Elected at regional meetings, these representatives are a vital link between Kairos communities and the national office and serve a two year term on the committee.

For information on the terms of reference for regional coordinating committees and representatives, send an email to:

infokairoscanada.org

and receive a copy of the committee and representatives roles and responsibilities.

Kairos Partners

Kairos works with partners in every aspect of its work, partnering with community allies at the local level, First Nations and like-minded organizations at the national level, and Southern organizations at the global level.

Kairos provides funding to strengthen the capacities of community antipoverty groups in Canada, as well as social justice and human rights groups in the Global South.

How can I get involved?

Justice seekers are invited to join the Kairos network in many ways. A few examples:

• If you need information and research, Kairos offers print, video and website resources on specific issues of concern. Consult the website at www.kairoscanada.org
• If you are looking for skills and resources to help animate your justice work, consider attending a skillsbuilding training workshop (check the website for information).
• If you want to take action, watch for urgent action requests and alerts on our website or in Kairos Times, a biweekly electronic bulletin.
• You can also order resources related to the annual education and mass action campaign.
• If you want support and community, consider joining or starting a Kairos local group. See the list of existing local groups below in Local and Provincial Kairos Groups.

 

Kairos has five national regions. The Cambrian-Agassiz Region covers Manitoba, Nunavut and Northwest Ontario.

For listings of local Kairos events visit the website of Kairos: Cambrian-Agassiz

Regional listings are also maintained on the national Kairos website.

 

Fletcher Stewart, Regional Coordinator	fletch1mts.net
Ted Chell, Regional Coordinator	chell8mts.net
Audrey McClelland	mcclellamts.net
Kwame Barko	fletch1mts.net
Melvin Cook	cookmelvinhotmail.com
Gisele Saurette-Roch	Gisele.Saurette-Rochgov.mb.ca
Sheila Palson	spalsonmts.net
Terry Lynn Jewell	jewellgosiouxlookout.com
Dayna Weiten	daynaweiten.com
Debby Coombs	DCoombswcgwave.ca

 

The website for the current Kairos action and education campaign is: Re-energize

Download the Kairos energy justice framework paper: Re-energizing the Future: Faith and Justice in a Post-Petroleum World.

Download the Kairos background paper that accompanies the framework paper: Re-energizing the Future Background Paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Debbie Coombs

Debby Coombs was until 2007 the regional representative for Kairos: Cambrian-Agassiz (Manitoba, Nunavut, and NW Ontario). She attended the Tu Cho Indigenous Water Conference in June 2006 on behalf of Kairos.

On my way to the Tu Cho Indigenous Water Rights Conference I travelled from Edmonton to Yellowknife with Nelson Hart, a United Church Minister from Nelson House. He talked about the big Hydro contract that was in negotiation at the time in his community. The NCN band was proposing to be a partner in the Wuskwatim hydroelectric generating project and the community was to vote on the project.

It was causing great conflict in the community. The band council was accused by some of not representing the best interests of the community. There was a lack of information among band membership of all the details of the agreement. It had not been translated into Cree as promised, so members were being asked to vote on an agreement that they hadn’t read. There were concerns that the financial commitments which the band was taking on in the agreement were not in the best interest of band members, and the long term benefits being discussed were outweighed by the costs to the people and the environment.

The other side dismissed the concerns of long-term impacts, and stressed the financial benefits to the band, the economic development the project brought to the community, and the jobs to address the high unemployment rate. They pointed out the concessions that Hydro had made to respect the environment and cultural issues that had been raised. Nelson shared that he was concerned about the divisiveness the project had caused in his community.

As we flew further north, the expanse of Great Slave Lake was like nothing I had ever seen. It was late afternoon and the sun reflecting off that water was truly beautiful. I later read words from Chief Addie Jonnasson who said, “As a child I can remember that my parents taught me to respect the land and respect the water. I was taught that whenever I was to go out on the lake I was to make an offering. Those are the things that our Elders continue to pass onto our young generations”.

Flying in over Great Slave Lake that day, it was impossible not to stop and thank the Creator for the gift of such a beautiful body of water.

Although Great Slave Lake looked perfect and untouched, as it must have looked when Chief Addie’s ancestors made an offering before going out on the water, we were to learn over the next few days, of course, that it was not. Even in this far northern place, man’s greed and exploitation of creation have contaminated water, left contaminants in the earth, and impacted the lives of those who depend on and care for the environment.

During the Tu Cho Indigenous Water Rights Conference in Yellowknife from June 21- 23, at the Weledeh River Site, chiefs, elders, environmental leaders, indigenous leaders, treaty negotiators, Church representatives, and indigenous youth gathered to talk about sustainable practices and human rights to water.

The people of “Treaty 8” territory would make a story for the 06-07 Kairos resource book on water and mining. Elders from the Akaitcho First Nations which make up the Treaty 8 territory attended the conference, and spoke intensely of their history in the area. Prospectors came to their camps and saw that they had gold (in their tents!), and then took credit for discovering gold and starting a white man’s gold rush! As mining developed, the Municipal, Territorial and Federal Governments received tax and royalty revenues so were complicit in allowing corporations to move into Akaitcho territory.

The mines that were created in the 1950’s were given permission to use water, and to divert it into a creek leading into a bay in Great Slave Lake. Gold and diamond mining practices release toxins such as ammonia, sulphur dioxide, mercury, and arsenic into the water and air. In the late 50’s the arsenic released into the air by one such mine, Giant Mine, lay over the snow on Yellowknife Bay, and in the spring all the Aboriginal peoples’domesticated animals died. The arsenic was in the water, and as a result two children died, and an elderly woman.

Today that mine is closed, but it the Aboriginal people who live on the surrounding land are left with its legacy. Two large tailing ponds of arsenic dust remain open and on a windy day the arsenic dust blows into the air. Four inches of arsenic mud lines the bottom of Yellowknife Bay. And there are 16 underground chambers of arsenic, eleven stories deep, buried on the site, equalling 270,000 tons of arsenic. The area is prone to earthquake movement so could release this dust to the atmosphere at any time. The surrounding community has high rates of cancer. The Dene blames this on the toxins in their environment.

The Municipal, Territorial and Federal Governments do not accept responsibility for clean up of the toxins and environmental damage and the corporations are long gone. Recently the Department of Fisheries has agreed to freeze the arsenic underground, but because it is the cheapest option, not the most sensible. As the Dene ask – how long can they maintain the giant freezing system required to keep the mass frozen? A permanent solution should be found. The Dene call the project the “giant arsicle”!

There is renewed interest in mining in the Akaitcho Territories, and the Indigenous people want to protect their land and resources this time. The NWT Treaty 8 Tribal Corporation is a coalition of Akaitcho nations that signed a treaty with the Crown in 1900. They talked about this as a peace treaty, not a “surrender” treaty. They want to exert their jurisdiction over their lands, and have created an “interim measures agreement” which will ensure that they are part of any decisions made regarding development in their territory. They want the Government to recognise their right to determine how their land is developed, and for any development to be based on environmental, cultural, spiritual, and economic factors that are relevant to the Dene people.

A couple of young men sit with us over a great traditional meal cooked over an open fire. They are bright, articulate, here with their elders, talking about important issues of treaty rights to water, indigenous jurisdiction to their waters, mining and its impact, watersheds and ecosystems.

The lunch is sponsored by one of the mining companies.

When asked what they will do now that they are done school, the young men reply “work for the mine, I guess”.

Back in Manitoba, after the Water Rights Conference, the band at Nelson House votes narrowly in favor of joining Manitoba Hydro in the project to dam the waters that run by their community.

What we must do, as churches, is stand in solidarity with Indigenous people to ensure that they are in control of the path that is taken on their land – that it is taken with respect and care for the land, and this includes all water, animals, plants, and air. We must recognize and respect the diversity of Indigenous peoples, and that our support is rooted in human rights values, principles and beliefs, including that rights are inalienable, universal and non-discriminatory.

And as churches we must pray for the Treaty 8 Tribal Corporation and communities like Nelson House, as each community makes decisions which are best for their people, as they move into a future that is full of contradictions, compromises, and hope.

Useful Links

www.akaitcho.info/index.html

 

Kairos Anti-Poverty Fund Committees Kairos works through provincial committees of church and low-income representatives to fund anti- poverty projects that:

• address the structural roots of poverty
• encourage community participation
• deepen our understanding of the causes and effects of poverty
• increase resources to bring about change
• and develop alternative community-based economic models.

To view the application form go to:

http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/antipoverty/funding.asp

Note that the form must be sent to your provincial committee by mail or email.

 

Kairos educational materials

• Ordering Kairos materials
• Download Kairos worship resources

Kairos Resources for local Clusters

• Materials for local Kairos Clusters

Subscribe to Kairos Email Bulletins and Newsletters

• Kairos Times subscription form
• Poverty E-Update: email mpolanyikairoscanada.org
• Refugees and Migrants Newsletter: email jdevrieskairoscanada.org
• Trade Bulletin download
• Drop the Debt Newsletter: email John Dillon at jdillonkairoscanada.org

 

Kairos National

• Listing of Regional activities and events
• Kairos national website
• Kairos urgent actions
• Kairos national staff directory
• Kairos Anti-Poverty Fund application form and contact list

Kairos Energy Campaign

• Re-energize
• Oil Change International

Water Campaign

• Sierra Club of Canada
• Council of Canadians
• Polaris Institute
• Blue Planet
• Sierra Club USA

Health Care

• Canadian Health Coalition
• Canadian Council of Churches
• Ecumenical Health Coalition Factsheet
• Canadian Institute for Health Information
• Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada
• Council of Canadians

Links to Other Justice Organizations

• Make Poverty History
• Citizens for Public Justice
• National Anti-Poverty Organization
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives