pwrdfblog

02:58 pm: Copenhagen Approaches, Burundi Waits
As the Copenhagen Climate Conference gets closer, more and more attention is being focused on global warming, the 350 campaign, CO2 levels, and other issues of global environmental concern. Gore, Suzuki, and others continue to push, and many scientists and justice activists say that even Gore's targets aren't going to be enough. I have been working to raise awareness and concern for these issues with a variety of agencies, including 100,000 on the Hill, Tck, KAIROS, and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. I have tried to meet with MPs to talk about Canada's stance in Copenhagen, although neither MP I have requested meetings and/or follow-up with has gotten back to me. Don't ask me how I feel about that! :)

But an article in the Church Times this week reminded me of an earlier post I had made about climate change and its effects in Burundi. Burundi isn't exactly a nation producing tons of CO2, but its people are paying a heavy price for climate change! Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, in the CT article, talks about the drought in Burundi this year- instead of the usual 8 months of rain, they have had 5.5 months. And the rains that have come have led to severe flooding, loss of property, and loss of life.

When 90% of the population relies on agriculture for their livelihood, and most people don't have enough to eat regardless, this kind of environmental change is devastating! And while people in Burundi, the Church included, are doing all they can to support people through programs like the Seed Multiplication program in Gitega and the agricultural research being undertaken at IRAZ (for more on these projects, see below), the reality is that if the major polluting nations don't come to an agreement and soon, and then back that up with action, millions more people will be starving in the next few years!

So, I encourage you to write to your politicians, call them, whatever you can- encourage them to go to Copenhagen and hammer out a deal. I'm sure my friends in Burundi will thank you!

( IRAZ and Seed multiplication projects )





Tags: burundi, climate, climate change, copenhagen, environment, gitega

03:39 pm: 50 Leaders Weekend is done... now the work can start!
The 50 Leaders weekend was an amazing experience! It was phenomenal to finally meet the 10 candidates for this year, who came from Nunavut, Alberta, Ontario, PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Every one of them brought skills, knowledge, and passion to the table, and left (hopefully) with a sense of where they could be working over the next year or so to further develop within the field of justice and leadership in the Anglican Church of Canada.

The process for 50 Leaders, while awesome and inspiring to me, is nebulous. I freely admit that :). "Using a process to identify your learning styles and to begin to focus on your gifts and passions within the field of justice, you will develop learning objectives to allow you to continue to develop as a leader and to be able to engage more effectively in justice work. You will be encouraged to engage in immersion experiences to enhance your learning."

It's a vague process, where people have to figure out what they are passionate about studying and working with, and then figure out how they can best learn about it. It took me until Sunday to figure out what I'm actually doing. I am like a professor working with 10 students undertaking an independent study course in justice and faith.

In an IS course, you prepare a proposal, detailing what you want to learn, and what kinds of projects you wish to undertake to explore the topic. The professor works with you to hone the proposal, to help to guide you on the way, and to support you through the projects.

So now I know, when I'm describing the program for people to join next year (after all, we have 10 of 50 in the process now) how I can help people to understand what it's about.

But now I get to roll up my sleeves and help these 10 people to develop their learning objectives, to find resources to continue their learning, and to help develop projects to fund raise and to work for justice at home and around the world. I love my job!


Tags: 50 leaders, justice, leadership, pwrdf, youth

08:18 pm: Packed and Ready... I Hope!
Manuals... check!
Resource books... check!
Desmond Tutu DVD... check!
Agenda... check!
Participant flight details... check!
Confirmed details with the Sisters of St. John... check!
Workshop notes... check!

Seems like I've got all the stuff done from my "to do" list. Now it's just time to do it!

50 Leaders weekend, here I come!

07:34 pm: 50 Leaders Work- The Crunch!
So the 50 Leaders orientation weekend starts in 8 days, and I'm starting to feel a little behind the 8-ball.

The weekend itself (along with the whole program) is so exciting, I can't wait! We have 10 participants this year from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI, Ontario, Alberta, and Nunavut. These people will come together for a weekend of gifts discernment, spiritual direction, learning about PWRDF, fundraising, and self-directed education.

This final piece is the one I am working on, as I will be teaching it. I will be helping people to think about their own learning styles, about what kinds of justice issues they are passionate about, and about what they want to learn to more effectively address those issues. The goal is that they begin to develop a plan of what, when, and how they want to learn, how it will be applied to leadership and justice, and where they will go next. I'm basing a lot of it on stuff I learned in my MEd courses a couple of years ago about how adults learn- it will be nice to get to apply that knowledge, and to see how it works in a real life situation!

Of course, I'm dealing with lots of administrivia as I prepare for the weekend, and am also pulling together lists of possible immersion experiences for people- things like Ask and Imagine, Justice Camp, CLAY (Canadian Anglican/Lutheran Youth), Equitas International Human Rights Training, and more. We're also pulling together lists of resources- books, movies, websites, etc. about justice, faith, leadership, and learning to share with participants. If you have any suggestions, I'm always HAPPY to receive them!

50 Leaders is such an exciting program, I just hope it all comes together in time!




Tags: 50 leaders, justice, leadership, pwrdf, youth

09:36 am: Churches and Unions
Last night I went out and saw Capitalism: A Love Story, by Michael Moore.  It was a really good look at capitalism in US society, calling for a move away from laissez-faire capitalism, and towards "socialism", or greater equitability for all.  Moore shared leaked citibank memos aimed at the rich which gloated at the fact that the richest 1% of Americans now own more than the bottom 95% combined.  It was a really good movie overall!  Here's a trailer:


One of the pieces which has been rattling around in my head is some of the pieces he showed about unions in the US.  He talked about how in 1936, during a strike at GM in Flint, Michigan, the President (Roosevelt) sent the national guard in  to protect the workers from the local police and the company bullies.  In showing a strike from a company in Chicago, he showed the local Catholic bishop talking to the workers, telling them that they were engaged in justice work, and were morally in the right.  He then celebrated Mass for those who wanted to participate.

These two scenes were striking to me, after my experience in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia this summer.  As part of Poverty Justice Camp, we visited one of the coal mines in Cape Breton, and watched a movie about the miners fight for a safe workspace, decent wages, etc.  In the Canadian case, however, the government sent in troops to support the mining company, and several workers ended up getting killed during the violence.  Where were the churches?  Silent.  Because the first thing to come off workers' paycheques after their company debt was a tithe to the Church.  Not exactly our finest moment!

And yet today (and for many years now), churches are at the forefront of fights for justice around the world.  The Liberation Theology movement, organizations like PWRDF, Development and Peace, Caritas, etc. are all working to build the world Moore talks about in this world.  A world where corporate bail-outs are not the norm, where there is enough for all, where we can live in equity, peace, and justice.

And I'm proud to be part of that work!



Tags: cape breton, capitalism, michael moore, mines, movie, pwrdf, strike, unions

03:20 pm: Thank God for Interns!
Well, thank God for my intern at least!  I haven't been posting much recently because things have gone and gotten very busy around here now that we know that Edmond is coming to Canada (at least we hope so- let's all pray that the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi gets him a Visa in time!) this Friday for almost three weeks.  This is meaning a lot of work trying to put together his itinerary, housing, etc.  And who is it all falling on?  That's right, the intern!

On top of all that, we have had near constant internet problems here at the office for three weeks now- e-mail and internet servers slow, spotty, or down entirely.  Try planning an itinerary for a Burundian guest, coming from New York, traveling to Toronto, Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, and Montreal without the benefit of e-mail and the web these days.  Not exactly an easy task.  But who is doing it?  The intern!

And who, on top of all that, is helping to get ready for the workshops in Halifax that I am running this weekend, the Youth Council meeting the following weekend, and the 50 Leaders orientation weekend in November?  You got it!

So a big "thank you" to Graham for all he is doing to get us through this month!



Tags: internship

04:32 pm: Emergencies!!!
It feels like every time I see the news in the last week there has been another earthquake or tropical storm hammering the Philippines or Sumatra.  Seeing footage and photos of the damage is horrific.  Hearing the casualty figures is numbing, until I make myself remember that each one of the victims was a member of a family and a community just like me.  Then it becomes overwhelming again.

I knew, as soon as I first heard about Ketsana hitting the Philippines, that PWRDF would be helping.  Every long weekend, I fill out a form telling our emergency response staff if I'm available should there be a major disaster and they need help at the office.  But I wasn't sure how much we would be sending to the Philippines initially, or if it would be through our partners in the country or Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

So when I got to work, I found an e-mail saying that donations were being received, and that an initial $15,000 was being sent to the Philippines through ACT International. A similar amount has been sent to Sumatra after the earthquake there.

But when I got to work, I thought I should read our booklet on response to emergencies to learn a bit more about what we do, and then figured I might as well share it with the rest of you, too!  :)

Our emergency response work is based on Matthew 25:35 (for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.)  When a disaster occurs, we generally release an amount in the $10-15,000 range through ACT or the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.  We then take donations as long as people care to donate, and pass on all donations to partner projects in the affected areas.  Last year's disasters in Burma and China brought in donations in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Because of our pre-existing relationships with agencies in Burma, we were able to get aid in before many western governments were given access to help, which impressed me no end when I found out about it!

Often in emergencies, people want to give food, clothing, sleeping bags, tents, etc.  They want to do something "more" than just giving money.  But the reality is that money is the most effective thing for several reasons:

• donations of things have to be transported and processed, often costing far more than the value of the goods
• money can be transferred around the world very quickly, allowing it to reach victims very fast
• enabling victims to buy what they need locally ensures that what is bought:
  
  • is culturally appropriate
  • supports the local economy (which is often devastated by the disaster, and needs all the help it can get)

Our aid goes beyond simply emergency survival help (food, shelter, water, etc.) into rehabilitation and reconstruction work, capacity building and emergency preparedness, long-term development work, and peace and reconciliation work.

For example, after the Tsunami in 2004, we worked to provide counseling to women in affected communities, to provide fishing boats to local people who had lost theirs in the storm, to help women (often widows) to create income-generating activities for themselves, their families, and their communities.  The tsunami was out of the public consciousness within a few months, but PWRDF's work in many communities affected by the tragedy continued for four years!

I'm proud to support our emergency response work, and I also firmly believe that our partner-centred approach, looking to local people to tell us their needs, is the best way to respond.  So, when I her the news reports, I am saddened, I am praying for those affected, but I am also hopeful, knowing that PWRDF will be resopnding immediately and effectively to aid those affected.


Tags: disaster, donation, emergency response, ketsuna, pwrdf

11:39 am: Wind Power and Politicians
OK, I'll avoid the obvious jokes about politicians and wind power.

I just wanted to say that I was struck this weekend by the amount of work that the government of Ontario has done on installing wind-generated electric projects.  I've been driving past the windmill farms in Dundalk (ask my kids what you plant to grow a windmill- they'll tell you!) for over a year now, and seeing images like this (photo by cachemania from Flickr):



This weekend, I drove from Sauble Beach down to the Ripley Fall Fair (Believe It, or Not!) and passed the Bruce power project near Kincardine, which includes even more windmills (photo by Jonathan Enns from flickr)!
Now, apparently I'm just a bit behind the times, since this windfarm has been there since 2002.  They even have their own website, with a lovely tutorial (yes, you too can learn about wind power from- I kid you not- Professor Propellerhead and his assistant, Motor Mouse!)  Despite the names, the tutorial is informative, and helps one to understand the environmental impact of fossil fuels, and how using wind can decrease our reliance on FF. 

In digging into the windfarms, I discovered that Ontario Power Generation (OPG) produces about 160 megawatts of wind-powered electricity, which, while hardly a drop in the bucket towards the 9372 Mw being produced this very minute, is a lot better than the 0 Mw it was producing 9 years ago!

So kudos to the Ontario government for continuing to expand its use of green alternatives to fossil-fuel driven electricity production!  Let's hope that we are able to continue this trend as we move towards Copenhagen this December!



Tags: electricity, environment, government, ontario, power, wind

02:17 pm: Christmas Shopping in September
Yes, it's the first day of Fall, which means that all our thoughts should be turning to Christmas shopping, right?  :)  Well, mine generally aren't, but I have found a great gift at work this year!  It's the new CD PWRDF has just released...

OK, I don't want to use my blog to flog our products, but I'm genuinely really excited about the One Voice CD that PWRDF has put together as part of it's 50th Anniversary!

I got a chance to listen to the CD over the summer, and decided that I would be buying them for all the non-kids on my Christmas list (oops!  If you're *on* my Christmas list, forget you read this!)  I was pleasantly surprised at the broad range of artists on the two-CD set, and the list plays really well!  Here's the playlist:

Disc 1: Celebration

1 Waiting for a Miracle • Bruce Cockburn
2 Never-Ending Road (Amhrán Duit) • Loreena McKennitt
3 Je T’aime • Roxanne Potvin
4 Ever Present Need • Steve Bell
5 Higher • Tara MacLean
6 Finger Lakes • Blue Rodeo
7 Just Another Day • Serena Ryder
8 Lovely Irene • Lucie Idlout
9 Let Me Be • Elizabeth Shepherd
10 Delivery Delayed • Stan Rogers
11 A Miner And A Miner’s Son • The Men of the Deeps • composed by Tony Aucoin
12 McNabs • Ashley MacIsaac
13 Dizzy Nest • Oliver Jones
14 A Better Place • Julie Crochetière
15 I Travelled • Jully Black
16 I’ll Never Understand (featuring Bernadette Kabango) • Shad

Disc 2: Inspiration

1 Amazing Grace • Chor Leoni Men’s Choir • arranged by Robert Sund
2 Can You Imagine? • Vancouver Children's Choir •composed by Rupert Lang
3 Hymn To Freedom • Oscar Peterson Trio • composed by Oscar Peterson
4 Inverness • Joe Sealy • composed by Joe Sealy
5 Balm in Gilead • Vancouver Chamber Choir • arranged by Jon Washburn
6 O Vivens Fons • Elektra Women’s Choir • composed by Hildegard of Bingen
7 Hymn Of The Cherubim • The Choirs of St. Thomas’s • composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
8 Os Justi • Pro Coro Canada• composed by Anton Bruckner
9 Ave Maria • CapriCCio Vocal Ensemble • composed by Anton Bruckner
10 Eternity • Hamilton Children’s Choir • composed by Michael Bojesen
11 Alleluia (from Exsultate Jubilate) • Rachel Snow • composed by W A Mozart
12 Abide With Me • The Three Cantors
13 Chorale Prelude On St. Columba • Angus Sinclair • composed by C V Stanford
14 The Cuckoo and the Hawk • Nathan Hiltz • composed by Nathan Hiltz
15 Evening Hymn • The Parish Choir of St. John’s Elora • composed by H B Gardiner
16 Hail, Gladdening Light • University of Alberta Madrigal Singers • composed by Charles Wood
17 The Ballad of Skipper Knight • Shallaway • composed by Stephen Hatfield

And, really, for $20?  With all proceeds going to support the work of PWRDF?  Seems like a good thing to me!  (Oh, and if you want to get copies for your friends and families, or even yourself, just let me know!  But if you're on my Christmas list, hold on a few months...  :) )

Tags: cd, christmas, music, pwrdf, shopping

02:37 pm: Happy 50th!
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Primate's World Relief Fund (now known as the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund- an even better name!  Next year, we'll likely be something totally different, as we work on our branding exercise!)

I've been thinking about how to commemorate our 50th on the blog without boring everyone to death with facts and figures about our work...  And I think the best thing I can do is to just share one story (from our Voices of Hope series) talking about a project we work on linking aboriginal peoples in Canada and on the Thai/Burma border to work on responses to drug addition among youth in their contexts:

When Geraldine Govender, the Language and Culture Coordinator at Moose Cree First Nation, was invited to join the PWRDF sponsored delegation to meet with Karen refugees on the Thai-Burmese Border in 2007 she saw the opportunity to strengthen her work for an indigenous approach to addictions and recovery. Along with her traditional pipe, she brought her many years of experience as one who has forged a path to find the “Indian Way” in child welfare and addiction recovery programs.

In the camps, Geraldine shared the Oji-Cree teachings that connect the values of kindness, honesty, sharing and strength with the traditional symbols of the pipe, the medicines of sage and sweet grass, the sacred colours of the four directions, and the four elements of life — earth, fire, water and air. The Karen people identified with her teachings and her stories of the impacts of colonization. Each partner shared their experiences of the ravages of drugs and alcohol on their communities and healing work that has begun.

Both these communities know that the survival of their traditional knowledge and their culture is critical to the health and survival of their communities. Gratified and humbled they parted having enriched each other’s journeys. Upon returning home, Geraldine was reminded of the words of Aleut elder, Larry Merculieff who described how we are so closely related to each other that there will come a time when all colours of the earth will come together and when we greet each other we will say, “Hello, my other self.”

Happy anniversary, PWRDF!  May the next 50 years bring about a cessation to the need for work in international development, peace, and justice!  But if it doesn't, it's nice to know that PWRDF will be there, helping.  To quote our intern from this summer:  "PWRDF: we're everywhere trying to do something"!


Tags: 50th anniversary, development, justice, pwrdf

10:55 am: Positive Politican Encounter
I know, it sounds like something from a Dungeons and Dragons game (Roll for initiative!  The politician attacks with his Incomprehensible Legalese!) but last Friday at Justice Camp in Halifax, I actually met and had a good conversation with a local Member of Parliament!

I was feeling kind of cranky about losing another piece of "free time" which was lunch that day, since the politician couldn't make it to the panel discussion we were having that night.  He was an observer at the national NDP convention, conveniently also happening in Halifax that week!  So Mike Savage, liberal MP for Dartmouth/Coal Harbour came to join us and have a discussion at lunch.

Much to my surprise, he was remarkably non-partisan for a politician!  I only counted 2 shots at the Conservatives in an hour of conversation, and *I* take more shots than that at the Honorable Mr. Harper most hours!  :)  Mike also knew enough about who we were to be able to reference the work of PWRDF for justice (along with Catholic Development and Peace and other religious development organizations) throughout his presentation.  He talked of the importance of religious groups advocating for justice locally and globally.

He answered my question about CIDA's seemingly more and more partisan mandate by saying that CIDA's priorities should be aiding the poorest of the poor in places like Africa rather than paving the way for Canada to make trade agreements with relatively affluent countries like Columbia.

After the presentation, I went over and introduced myself and asked him about what Canada was likely to do at the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Conference this December.  I talked to him about the refugees I had met in Burundi who asked us to help them to get cows to provide fertilizer for their crops because climate change has diminished their yields.  I have previously blogged about that experience here.  Mike took my business card and said he would get back to me about this, and about the 100,000 on the Hill campaign, aimed to galvanize the Canadian government into action at the Copenhagen conference.

We'll see if he actually responds.  If he does, I might consider moving to Dartmouth just to vote for him!  :)



Tags: climate, copenhagen, justice, justice camp, politician, politics, pwrdf

01:45 pm: Cape Breton Pictures
Here is a bit of a dump of photos from Cape Breton- I have edited to get rid of horrible shots, but have kept the 50+ shots of a cormorant who just wouldn't say "no" to another photo!  So feel free to browse them- see the spectacular beauty, but also see the fishing co-op we visited, as well as the reality of coal mining, and a few shots of different community organizations we visited.






Tags: cape breton, coal, fishery, justice camp, mining, nova scotia

09:17 pm: Justice Camp Day 5ish
I apologize for not posting, but internet access (not to mention free time) was sorely lacking during our trip to Cape Breton.  I know, I know- Cape Breton is incredibly beautiful, so I shouldn't complain about a lack of access.  And I'm not.  I'm just saying :)

Now, Cape Breton *was* absolutely beautiful!  We visited North Sydney, Ingonish, Neil's Harbour, Glace Bay, and Sydney.  Ingonish and Neil's Harbour are "North of Smokey", the mountain you have to cross on the Cabot Trail to reach those communities.  While there, we were hosted marvelously by local fisherfolk- we got to tour the local fishery co-op factory, and go for a tour of the harbour with one of the fishermen and his wife, who is on his crew.

We also learned about the horrendously complex rules for fish, licensing, etc that they deal with.  Did you know that the local fishers are voluntarily increasing the minimum size of lobsters they will keep in order to allow time for more molts?  Did you know that every time a lobster grows a half inch, it sheds its shell?  This is the only time that lobsters will mate ("the rest of the time, she'll tear him up" said our host).  by voluntarily increasing the size of the lobsters they will keep by 3/16", they allow 2-3 more molts, and thus several thousand more eggs to be fertilized per female.  Thus repleting (is that a word?) the local stock.

We met with various social agencies from food banks to citizen's action leagues to the local library.  We learned about coal mining and the formation of unions and the oppression of miners in the 19th and 20th centuries.  We learned about William Davis, an organizer of the early unions who was killed in a clash with police on June 11, 1925- an anniversary which is marked in Nova Scotia to this day, and a day on which no coal is mined anywhere.

We learned about the 35% functional illiteracy rate among adults on Cape Breton.  We met with people who are working to increase literacy to give people a chance to improve their lives by getting their GED and thus opening up doors to a broader range of job possibilities.

We learned about hospitality and community- people who opened their homes to us, who took time out to cook for and welcome us, who included us in their lives and humour (no matter how dry and cutting it might be.)

We are still processing the trip, and have made a presentation to the rest of Justice Camp about it.  I will have photos on Flickr soon, and will link them in here through slideflickr. 

Now it's time to go and celebrate the last night of justice camp- tomorrow it's back to Ontario and my family!  I'll be sad to leave the camp, but glad to see them!

Tags: cape breton, fishery, fishing, justice, justice camp, literacy, sustainable development

08:13 am: Justice Camp Day 2
Just a quick entry today, as I'm billeted in North Sydney and breakfast is almost ready.  Yesterday we got to hear from local poverty advocates, as well as our international theologian in residence- Francisco da Silva from the Anglican Church of Brazil. 

Then I found out that I got to do a 4.5 hour drive from Halifax to Cape Breton Island last night, which I did, arriving safely in North Sydney.  Today, we drive to the north end of Cape Breton to meet with local fishermen and other Cape Bretoners.  We will be learning about literacy in many forms- from the functional illiteracy of about 40% of Cape Breton adults to cultural and economic literacy (that is to say, a chance for us to learn about the culture and economy of Cape Breton Island.) 

I am very much looking forward to driving the Cabot Trail, to (hopefully) getting some good photos of this gorgeous landscape, as well as its wonderful people, and to learning about their lives and the issues they face, and about how the Church can be involved in working with them to bring Justice to their island and their lives.

10:01 pm: Justice Camp Day 1
Today was a day for sitting at the registration desk and greeting people as they arrived at Justice Camp.  Sitting at registration gave me a chance to say hello to most of the people as they arrived, and to get a good sense of who was from where. 

Justice Camp is built around the rule of 50%:

• 50% male/female
• 50% over 30/under 30
• 50% local/from away
• 50% Anglican/non-Anglican

They have done a fairly good job of keeping to the 50% rule- as well as you can with a self-registration process!  What has impressed me is that the leadership team has maintained the 50% over and under 30 rule, which has allowed the young people involved on the team to really be involved and have their ideas shape the camp.

Because I was at the registration table, I missed much of the program this evening, just arriving to answer a couple of get to know you questions (what was your most memorable meal and why, and what are your expectations for Justice Camp) and evening worship.  Nice as the worship was, I've got to say the seating at King's College chapel is the most uncomfortable I've seen in a church in a long time!  The seats have these cut-outs right in the middle of the back which make the pews look kind of like a row of chairs but poke your back unmercifully.  Above that is a ridge which, on me, sits just about at the shoulder blades, pushing forward there, too.  I suppose they were designed by a chiropractor looking to drum up more business...

Beyond that, I've had some friends show up for Camp who I haven't seen since Generation 2008 last June.  It's great to see people again, and watching the community form around some of those folks is interesting.  I am hoping that we can avoid falling into cliques, but can open up the community to include folks who haven't been to Ask and Imagine/Generation 2008 etc.  We'll see how that goes!

Oh, my happy time of the day was this morning when I went in search of breakfast and found a cafe called Just Us which is 100% organic and Fair Trade.  So I got to buy Fair Trade chocolate to get me through the days, have a really good ham and cheese croissant, and know that I'm supporting something I believe in.  I took a couple of friends back there for dinner tonight, too!

Tomorrow, I get to set up the PWRDF display, go and get a rental car so I can drive a group to Cape Breton Island on Tuesday, and- hopefully- be involved in some of the program for the day!

So, until then!


Tags: fair trade, halifax, justice camp, kings college

08:34 am: Justice Camp Day 0
Well, I had quite a day yesterday coming from Toronto to Halifax for Justice Camp 2009!  It started at 6:30am leaving the house to get to the airport, which was fine.  My wife and son drove me, which gave me a chance to say goodbye to them as I'll be away for a week.

After getting through check-in (did you know that if you have already web checked-in you don't have to stand in the check-in line?  I didn't, so I stood in line unnecessarily...) I found that every single person ahead of me was setting off the metal detectors, even after emptying their pockets.  I took advantage of the extra time this afforded me (watching each person get the wand over their whole body, and the pat down) to remove anything that might have once been in contact with metal: belt, watch, fillings, etc.  So I was able to get through the metal detector with no troubles.  They didn't even want to swab my camera gear this time, which is unusual!

Then, it turns out, one of our flight crew is sick, so we'll be over an hour late taking off.  Grr.  But still, what can you do when someone is sick?

The flight itself was uneventful- although WestJet's choice of TV channels to give you access to is a little odd...

I landed in Halifax to find Cydney and Rachael waiting for me at the airport.  This was when I got to start to feel bad about the flight delay- Rachel had been hanging around Halifax airport for almost 3 hours waiting for me...  :( 

Now, Rachel and I have never been to Halifax before, so Cyd decided to take us across the MacDonald bridge to get  us from Dartmouth into Halifax.  Of course, we reached the base of the bridge to discover that it was closed for construction.  Sounds like driving in Toronto!

We found another bridge, and got to cross into Halifax proper.  The architecture in this city is wonderful!  Lovely old homes all over the place!  Very few high rises.  King's College itself, what I've seen of it, is also beautiful.  Reminds me of University or Trinity colleges at UofT.

Back to the story...

Cydney and I ended up going to a work meeting for Justice Camp for dinner last night, where we got to prove the value of our educations: stuffing nametags, separating meal tickets, and filling bags of swag.  It was also a chance to meet Andy and Katie, the co-chairs of Justice Camp (as well as their spouses, Katie's mom, and Katie's 8-week old son who shares my name...) 

I have been having conference calls with the planning team for most a year now, so it was great to finally have a face to put with the voice over the phone!  So, after a wonderful meal in Andy's backyard, and after much scutwork preparing for registration and the opening of Camp today, I returned to King's to spend my first night in Halifax.

Today I will be working on the Registration table for the afternoon, and will try to get the PWRDF display set up either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning, so that I can start to plug all the wonderful work that we do, and to recruit people to the 50 Leaders program, youth network, etc.  But for now, I should go and find some breakfast before all that starts!

I'll try to update from Camp as much as I can, but there isn't a lot of internet access here...  And I'll try to include pictures...  I might even get my camera out of my bag today!



Tags: camp, halifax, justice, justice camp, kings college, travel, westjet

03:18 pm: The Power of Words
When I was a child, I learned the old rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."  I used to repeat it when someone insulted me, to help myself to feel better.  As I grew, I realized more and more that this rhyme is untrue.  Words are incredibly powerful.  Another old saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword" points to the power that words have.

No, I'm not just trying to cover off old cliches, nor do I intend to regale you with stories of being insulted as a child.  But I got to thinking about the power of words when I read this article from Embassy magazine today.  In the article, the author (Michelle Collins) argues that the change in language used by Canada in its foreign policy reflects a subtle but potent shift in our understanding of and work for justice. 

Certainly, the words that we use to describe things affect how we view them.  There's a reason that whenever I describe God, I try to avoid using the word He, but use gender-neutral terms like God or Creator.  It may make things sound awkward, but it helps me (and, hopefully those who listen to me) to move beyond the image of God as an old, white man sitting in the clouds- beard, white robe, the works. 

And the words that we use in situations where we are dealing with issues of justice are just as important.  I often find myself automatically using the words "fight" and "combat" when talking about justice- the fight for rights, combating oppression, etc.  And yet I know that many in the justice field refuse to use those words in order to move away from a militaristic approach. 

So, when the conservative Canadian government removes such words as "gender equality", "child soldiers", and "humanitarian law" from their lexicon, they are changing the way in which we think about justice.  They make certain issues more or less important.  Calling child soldiers "children in armed conflict" gives a different sense of the situation.  And it isn't necessarily a better or more accurate one.  Part of the frustration is that Canada was one of the countries which fought for these words to be included in international law in the first place!

As Collins says in the article, "Removing references to "gender equality" and "gender-based violence" from Canadian foreign policy are particularly sensitive because it is Canada who, in the past couple of decades, has led the fight to bring these terms into the international development and human rights agenda. "

I think I'm mainly frustrated to see our government back-sliding.  I don't know what I can do about it, other than to post my thoughts and hope that others will start to talk about this issue as well, and that we can encourage our government to return to a more justice-focused stance!



Tags: canada, foreign policy, justice, language

11:22 am: Hybrids! Yay!
I've been watching the prices of gas yo-yo in the last year as oil shot up to close to $150 a barrel last year, dropped again, and then began a slower climb.  I know how much it costs to fill my mini-van.

I've also been following the development of the Tar Sands in Alberta (the oil companies call them the Oil Sands, but the rest of us know what they are...)  And the more I see of the environmental degradation, the more I learn about carbon emissions, the more I want to not burn so much gas!

The problem is that I am a family man.  I have two small children (aged 5 and 3) and two large dogs.  In order to get the whole family in one vehicle, we need a mini-van.  So, what am I to do?

I've been saying since I bought my first car (a mini-van, when we had our first child) that I wanted to find a hybrid mini-van.  The Prius had been out for a bit, and I liked what I was seeing.  I figured it wouldn't be all that long before a hybrid van was on the market, and then I could wait a couple of years for the prices to come down, or to get one used, and I'd be set.

The problem has been that the vans just haven't appeared!  Toyota makes 3 models, none of which are available in North America.  Chrysler is talking about putting one out.  But nothing has been realized on this continent.  So I've been frustrated with the whole thing.

But today I thought I'd put in a google-search on Hybrid mini-vans, and what did I find but HybridMinivan.net.  My dreams aren't realized yet, but they're getting closer! 

One day, I too, will be plugging in my mini-van to charge overnight!  :)



Tags: environment, gas, hybrid, minivan, oil sands, tar sands

01:59 pm: Of Consumption and Garbage
I have been thinking about this blog post for several days now, and intended to write it on Monday, but that little thing called Life got in the way (and the city of Toronto reached a tentative deal with the striking indoor and outdoor workers' unions, so I didn't want to jinx it).  But now that the ratification deal has been postponed today, I feel it is safe to get into my deliberations.

As the City workers' strike has continued in Toronto this summer, no issue has gotten more press than the garbage issue.  I want to stress that trash collection is not the ONLY service provided by the city workers who are on strike (although the media would have us believe it).  City programs, daycares, camps, and much more have all been shut down, not to mention pools, street repairs, and more.

But garbage is a huge (and smelly) problem.  From the NIMBYism of neighborhoods not wanting a temporary dump in their back yards to issues around health and safety of garbage sitting for weeks in Christie Pits, garbage has been the poster child of this strike.  Images like this one:


have showed us the mounting piles of garbage we have accumulated.  Yesterday I heard a story on the news about concerns that the liquids coming from this mountain of trash in Christie Pits could be damaging the park well into the future.

And it got me to thinking again about consumption.

I've been patting myself on the back that it was more than 4 weeks into the strike before I had to take a bag of garbage to one of the temporary dump sites, and that bag was quite small.  And that's with two small children (one in diapers) and two large dogs in my house- all of whom produce greater than normal amounts of compostables, which are not being picked up either.

But our garbage hopper took over a month to fill- our recycling one was filled much faster, and my 5-year old son has had a good time playing garbage masher and stomping down the papers and stuff to make room for more.  "Yay me!" I thought.

And yet, in just over a month, my family has produced a full garbage hopper, about 1.5 full recycling hoppers, filled 3 green bins full, and are now starting to have garbage and recycling build up in the house to the point where I really hope the ratification vote passes soon so that I can finally get rid of this stuff.

Then the magic trucks will come around again and my life can get back to normal, where I don't have to think about what I throw out much, and my city can be clean again.

And I'm not sure I want to go back to that way of thinking.  The city workers strike in Toronto has caused me, at least, to confront the issue of how much stuff we throw out in our society.  I got to thinking about the video The Story of Stuff where Annie Leonard talks about American consumer society.  One of the things she says in the video is that for every bag of garbage we put on the curb, seventy bags of garbage are created in the course of resource extraction, production, shipping, etc. of products.  Look back at the picture of Christie Pits.  No imagine seventy more ice rinks full of garbage, which that one represents.  Kind of depressing isn't it? 

So what can I do to try and curb my consumption?    The solution to the problems of consumption, garbage, etc. isn't as simple as "don't buy anything."  Because if we all just stopped buying things flat out our economy would fall apart.  People's jobs rely on the things they made being bought and consumed by someone. 

A simple part of my current solution to the problem is to go back to the 3 Rs of recycling (reduce, re-use, recycle.)  A few years ago, a fourth R was added: refuse.  When I heard people touting the refuse part of the Rs, they were talking about extra packaging, bags, etc.  But I think it needs to be deeper than that.  When I'm buying something I am trying to stop and think, "do I actually need to buy this?  How many times will it get used?  Can I get it from Craigslist or e-bay rather than buying a new one?"  In the case of magazines, I've pretty much stopped buying them, because I read them once and recycle them.  But my stopping buying them means that people whose living depends on writing for them is in jeopardy.  So, can I purchase the magazine online?  Do I need a paper version of it?  Or can I download the articles I'm interested in from their website?

I'm not going to solve the garbage problems (or the garbage strike for that matter) by myself.  But I'm certainly more aware of some of the deeper issues around our patterns of consumption because of the reality of living in Toronto this summer!



Tags: consumers, environment, garbage, garbage strike, justice

08:39 pm: Away for a While
I just wanted to let you all know that my silence isn't due to my falling off the planet or having nothing to say, but rather due to my taking some time to be with my family during the first half of July.  The first week of my time off allowed me to send my wife away for a vacation for 4 days to the Sisters of St. John the Divine while I took my boys strawberry picking, to a playground, and to Ontario Place.  It worked- the boys are exhausted, and my wife is rested!  Now to have some rest myself before I'm back to work on July 20.  I will post more then!