We warmly welcome new CFSC members Joy Morris (Calgary Meeting) and Linda Taffs (Vancouver Island Meeting) who were both approved to join CFSC at Representative Meeting in November. For a complete list of CFSC’s current members visit http://quakerservice.ca/contact
 
We were saddened to learn of the death of Cree Elder Jerry Wood whose picture was on the cover of the last issue of Quaker Concern. Friends who
were at Canadian Yearly Meeting in August 2016 will remember Jerry’s generous sharing of wise and gentle teachings with us.
 
CFSC staff person Jennifer Preston (Hamilton Meeting) and associate member Paul Joffe have been busy giving presentations about Indigenous Peoples’ human rights. In October they were at the BC Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Chiefs’ meeting speaking about implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In November they presented to several First Nations’ and environmental organizations at a workshop on free, prior and informed consent. Then in December they joined the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly, participating in a dialogue session on the UN Declaration and using international mechanisms to advance Indigenous Peoples’ human rights. This year Jennifer represented Friends at the UN Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues expert meeting on implementation of the UN Declaration, held in New York City in January. 2017 marks 10 years since the adoption of the Declaration, and CFSC joins with many partners and the UN in planning events to recognize this decade.