2021 marks 90 years since Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) was founded. In preparation for our 90th anniversary, I have spent much of the last six months searching out and speaking with some of the Friends that have made CFSC’s work possible. Hearing these stories of triumph, persistence, and heartbreak has reaffirmed what I already…
None of us have gone anywhere during the pandemic, but we’ve covered great virtual distances in our witness for justice and peace. Jennifer Preston presented on Indigenous peoples’ human rights to Global Affairs Canada in a briefing session for officials going on international placements. She presented to graduate students at New York University on how…
In the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the Israeli regime implements laws, practices and state violence designed to cement the supremacy of one group—Jews—over another—Palestinians.” So says B’Tselem, the premier Israeli human rights organization.1 The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines apartheid as…
In June, it will be six years since the formal closing events commemorating the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the release of the 94 Calls to Action. Many thousands of people at the closing event heard the words of TRC Chief Commissioner Murray Sinclair: “If you thought the truth was hard, reconciliation…
Supporting Bill C-15 CFSC has been very active promoting Bill C-15, The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Together with our partners we’re helping to counter alarmist, misleading, and outright false statements that some are making about this Bill. This has taken the form of educational events, a piece in The…
During my years working in the youth justice field, I was often stunned by the repeated gaps I encountered between policy and practice. Policy was regularly recited as assurance that legal obligations were being met (all necessary medical and dental care was being offered, prisoners were free from physical punishment, and so forth). Frequently, the…