Issues, ethics, memory
Israel has launched another bloody invasion into Gaza Strip. In response to rocket attacks by the group Hamas, Israel has shelled and bombed targets in tiny coastal region — including homes, hospitals and a United nations school — and has unleashed a ground offensive. The fatality count is about 20 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Most... Continue Reading →
One hundred years ago this month Europe stumbled into a catastrophic war after a Bosnian Serb assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne along with his wife in Sarajevo. The great powers lined up in their alliances and when Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, Canada, as a British colony, was automatically... Continue Reading →
People in New Brunswick have launched two lawsuits in an attempt to stop shale gas development, commonly known as fracking, in their province. One of the actions was launched against the Crown in the persons of the Health Minister and the Attorney General by individuals who belong to the New Brunswick Anti-shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA), an organization... Continue Reading →
No one was surprised when the Harper government approved the 1,200-kilometre Northern Gateway pipeline, which would move diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to Kitimat, B.C., along the west coast. There, the product would be loaded onto supertankers that will ply the pristine Douglas Channel and the coast before making its way to export... Continue Reading →
Canadians are being urged to respond to Syria’s humanitarian crisis by accepting at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next two years. In one event calling attention to the issue, a group called The Coalition in Ottawa for Refugees recently held a noon-hour rally at the human rights monument adjacent to city hall. Organizers handed... Continue Reading →
Doug Gruner is a doctor at the Bruyère Family Medicine Centre in Ottawa and a member of Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care. He says that the Harper government was wrong when it decided in 2012 to deny many refugees access to health care in Canada. “These cuts were irrational and basically irresponsible, and the right thing... Continue Reading →
In 2010, I visited Syria with my family and we found the people there to be friendly and gracious. But a cruel civil war has now forced an estimated two million Syrians to seek refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and even Iraq, neighbouring countries ill-equipped for such a surge. The UN has pleaded with countries,... Continue Reading →
I have participated in numerous discussions about climate change and usually they veer off into talking about recycling, composting or church greening. But those efforts, while personally commendable, are completely inadequate. "The key is scale," according to the editors of the book, Living Ecological Justice. "The problems lie with how we have organized our economy... Continue Reading →
IPCC scientists say climate change is real, Polaris Institute image Early in April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its fourth - and most urgent - report on the dangers posed by climate change. The IPCC was created in 1988 by the United Nations, and its reports present the best thinking of hundreds... Continue Reading →
Our telephone rang early one morning a couple of years ago. “Hello, this is George Tomita calling. You have a wedding anniversary coming up tomorrow. You are on my list.” Indeed we did and it was good to be reminded by this kindly retired United Church minister. This is a lovely story that... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 