CFSC has been honoured to work consistently with international human rights lawyer, Paul Joffe (pictured in Jenn’s article), who has recently retired after 50 years at the bar. Paul’s extraordinary commitment to the UN Declaration and Indigenous peoples’ human rights is humbling. CFSC staff Jennifer Preston hosted a small retirement dinner for Paul in Montreal.…
In 2023 Canadian Friends Service Committee hired me for a newly created job based in Ottawa: Government Relations Representative. Components of the work I’m doing have been done by program staff and volunteers at CFSC before me. But my role as a full-time staff person in Ottawa makes this a bigger priority for CFSC than…
As you may know, CFSC’s Reconciliation Fund supports the grassroots, community-based efforts of Indigenous peoples in Canada working on cultural and language revitalization projects. Modest grants of up to $2,500 are typically awarded to individuals or groups that have not found funding elsewhere, and contribute towards the costs of cultural ceremonies, Elder or knowledge holder…
Every day brings new possibilities for peace. We are all connected. Our world has an urgent need to focus more on preventing violent conflict, particularly through emphasizing the importance of peace education. Peace education is how I first became aware of CFSC. I joined CFSC’s Are We Done Fighting? workshop series and met participants who…
Bill Curry and I became Quakers effortlessly. We just got sucked into the Canadian community, attracted by its actions assisting US draft resisters, army deserters, and others objecting to the Vietnam war. In 1968 we attended a peace retreat led largely by Murray Thomson. Murray was enthusiastic about a new project. He was thrilled about…
Our Indigenous rights staff have travelled a lot lately. Jennifer Preston went to Geneva in late September to support partners at the Human Rights Council’s 54th session, where their resolution on human rights and Indigenous peoples was drafted. In early November, Jeremy Vander Hoek went to Costa Rica to support the work of the Expert…
Lastest joint statements The Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples issued a statement on the 16th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: We repeated our call for Hassan Diab not to be extradited from Canada for a second time: CFSC joined multiple letters and statements…