[Yhjusticenet] United Action for Justice, Volume 3, Number 4

[United Church of Canada]

UNITED ACTION FOR JUSTICE NEWSLETTER - THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Volume 3, Number 4 - Fall 2006
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Dear friends,

Welcome to the November 2006 edition of United Action for Justice. Please feel free to circulate this newsletter in your Sunday worship bulletin. There is lots going on this fall to get involved in, with government debates on gun registration, climate change, overseas mining, and same-sex marriage. We also have information about a family seeking sanctuary in a church in Manitoba, and an update on the ongoing human rights violations in the Philippines. There are also fresh resources available for study and action, including an exciting workshop in B.C. on mission trip planning. Please find a way to get involved, and let us know what you're doing!

  
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Action Needed on Climate Change
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On October 20, 2006, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives issued a statement on the Canadian government's Clean Air Act. The United Church, an active member of KAIROS, helped draft the statement. This Act lacks the vision and courage to seriously tackle climate change.

Write or telephone your MP, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Minister of the Environment, using information from the KAIROS statement.

Related Links:
	» KAIROS statement on the Clean Air Act: www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/statements/smtCleanAir061020.asp
	» United Church's background information on climate change: www.united-church.ca/ecology/climate/


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Call on the Canadian Government to Regulate Canadian Mining Companies Overseas
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Canadian mining companies overseas have been responsible for human rights violations and environmental disasters in more than 30 countries for many years, as our partners have repeatedly told us. A major cause of this is that corporate accountability is not enforced by the Canadian government.

Since June 2006, the government has been consulting with the public and the industry on ways that Canadian mining, oil, and gas companies can meet human rights and environmental standards overseas. 

Omega Bula, Executive Minister of the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit, made a presentation at the Toronto roundtable, calling for mandatory and enforceable international human rights and environmental standards for all Canadian corporations operating abroad.

Learn more by reading statements and letters about Canadian and global resource extraction.

Sign the petition at www.halifaxinitiative.org/index.php/CNCA_Endorsements and circulate it to others—make your voices heard!

Write a letter to the government using our info, addresses, and sample letter found at: www.united-church.ca/action/philippines/061109.shtm

Read presentations from groups across Canada to the government roundtable: geo.international.gc.ca/cip-pic/current_discussions/csr-roundtables-en.asp
	

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Support the Gun Registry in Canada: Act Now
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Since January 2006 the federal government has been taking regulatory measures to dismantle the long-gun portion of the Canadian Gun Registration Program. In August the United Church took a stand against this weakening of gun control because of its conviction that all guns are potentially dangerous, and that gun registration "promotes responsible gun use, [and] gives a record of where guns are located." 

The General Council of the United Church is calling on the Government of Canada to

	- continue to require registration of unrestricted rifles and shotguns
	- send the amnesty for gun owners who fail to renew their licences
	- prohibit the sale of semi-automatic military assault weapons to civilians
	- support increased awareness of the real threats of firearms

Write or phone the Prime Minister, your MP and your provincial Attorney General using our background information and addresses at: www.united-church.ca/action/canada/061101.shtm


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The Raza Family Needs Your Support
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The Razas, a Sunni/Shia family from Pakistan with six children under 13, who sought sanctuary in Winnipeg's Crescent Fort Rouge United Church in August 2006, urgently need your support.

The Razas, who have four of their six children born in Canada and the U.S., and a guaranteed job for Hassan, the father, are waiting for a second decision after their refugee claim was turned down. The United Church is committed to resolving this situation to both government and church satisfaction. However, the Minister of Immigration, Monte Solberg, and the Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, do not respond to church leaders' attempts to begin a dialogue.

Take Action:

	- Visit, write, or call your Member of Parliament to get her/his support.
	- Write or call the Minister of Public Safety (Stockwell Day), asking that the children not be apprehended if they leave the church building to attend school, and Minister of Immigration (Monte Solberg) asking him to speak with the United Church re a future for the Hassan Raza family.
	- Order postcards to support the Raza Family.

Order postcards from Maria Morales in the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit at: mmorales at united-church.ca

Visit Take Action page on this issue on the United Church website at: www.united-church.ca/action/canada/061101b.shtm

 
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Are You Thinking of Going on or Leading a Misson Trip?
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The United Church is offering support to people and groups considering or planning short-term mission travel. Training is offered through The Canadian Churches' Forum on Global Ministries and you can work on planning your particular trip in B.C., March 16-18, 2007, at Naramata Centre. Some funding is available through the United Church's People in Partnership program.

Learn more by visiting our website or contacting Rivkah Unland, Program Coordinator, People in Mission at: runland at united-church.ca

Visit the United Church's Mission Trip page on our website at: www.united-church.ca/justice/news/canada/060714.shtm
	
	
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Update: Political Killings Continue in the Philippines *************************************************************************
Another church person has been murdered in the Philippines. Bishop Alberto Ramento, of Iglesia Filipina Independiented, was killed October 3. Police findings that Bishop Ramento was killed by robbers is challenged by many groups in view of the reported death threats he had received. The United Church and churches around the world call for an immediate and just investigation.

Continue to write to the government using our info, sample letter, and addresses at: www.united-church.ca/action/philippines/060724.shtm


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United Church Says No to Reopening Same-Sex Marriage Debate in House
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The United Church of Canada is again speaking out in defence of the Civil Marriage Act protecting equal marriage for gays and lesbians as the federal government considers revisiting the legislation. Moderator David Giuliano says that, as Canada's largest Protestant denomination, "we are speaking against the reopening of the Act in affirmation of our support for same-sex marriage and religious rights and freedom."

	- Write or phone your MP to express your views and concerns. 
	- Learn more by reading the United Church's statements on same-sex marriage.
	- Order resources "Of Love and Justice," or "Mariage unique, couples divers."

Read the news release about the United Church's response to the proposed debate at: www.united-church.ca/news/2006/1024.shtm

Learn more about the United Church's values and resources on the subject of same-sex marriage at: www.united-church.ca/humanrights/030516.shtm

Visit Affirm United's website and learn more about becoming an Affirming congregation at: www.affirmunited.ca


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For more information on our work,see: www.united-church.ca/justice.
For suggestions on improving United Action for Justice, contact the editor at uaj at united-church.ca.

This newsletter is developed by:
	Justice, Global & Ecumenical Relations Unit
	The United Church of Canada
	3250 Bloor St. West, Suite 300
	Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M8X 2Y4

	Tel: 1.800.268.3781 or 416.231.5931
	Voice Mail: 416.231.7680
	Fax: 416.231.3103
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United Action for Justice and the work of the General Council's Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit is made possible by your generous gifts to the United Church's Mission and Service Fund.

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