All posts by stephanie

http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/catholic-schools-1.4680200

This article is currently up on CBC, and I thought that you might be interested in. The author makes several valid points – the current system is unfair, and unbalanced in many ways. There are a variety of options available. In my opinion, the simplest option to equalize the situation would be to extend funding to other schools that fully meet the provincial requirements, as many independent schools do. However, I believe that a constitutional amendment would also be in order, as there is simply no reason why the Catholics need constitutional protection that no other group receives.
I disagree with the author on one key item: He states that he sees no reason to believe that things have changed since 2007. I believe that, with every decade that passes, discriminatory situations become more clear and less desirable, until, eventually, a tipping point is reached. I believe that, with a mass of public, grassroots support, change could move ahead in the near future.
As long as the government can take the easy route, and maintain the status quo on an issue like this, there is no incentive for them to change. This petition is one key option that we have to show the government that it’s time to act. Please share widely in your circles, and let’s make change happen!

There are various campaigns, started in different countries and by different groups, encouraging people to go plant-based for a short period of time, including at the start of a new year, beginning of summer etc. These are a great way to nudge our food choices in a new/different direction and/or to expand our horizons with things that we are already trying.
I don’t know of one that is specifically for the whole summer, so I’m going to put it out there here to get things started.  Summer, especially in countries with colder winters, is a time when there is an abundance of local fruit and veggies, as well as almost endless opportunities for BBQs and other gatherings – all of which are great and should be enjoyed thoroughly!
At the same time, this is a great opportunity to switch to plant-based – either to go 100% or simply to increase from what where we are currently at. With June 1 around the corner, I am proposing a summer challenge, for June, July and August. Choose the level that suits you, where you are at, and where you want to head in the future.
Plant-Based Summer Challenge Options:

• 100% plant-based: enjoy an abundance of grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, fruits and veggies this summer.
• 100% vegetarian, with some dairy and eggs (perhaps reduced from current consumption)
• Flexible: Increase the plant-based foods that you are eating, in a combination that works for you for this challenge.
• For all three options, the end of the summer is an opportunity to assess next steps and see what excites you about moving forward, and what direction feels right for you.

NOTE: For health and environmental reasons, I advocate that, if  animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) are being consumed, that they not be mainstream/processed/red meat, because of the added hormones and other factors. 
Local, organic animal products can be more expensive than their mainstream counterparts. However, plant-based is the most cost effective of all, in many ways, in my experience. Many societies have made grains, legumes and veggies staples of their diet throughout history, and it is surprisingly easy to do the same thing now.
If you are picking up a coffee when you are out, many chains now offer almond or soy milk. Lots of restaurants and grocery stores have great plant-based options. It is getting easier every year to get plant-based options in a variety of places, and that is, in my opinion, a direct response to consumer demand. All that it takes to have mainstream meat etc reduced or eliminated from the market is to reduce the demand, and all that takes is for people to stop buying them and putting their dollars somewhere else.
Happy start of summer everyone! Let me know in the comments below if you are doing the challenge, and how it is going for you. 🙂

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/vancouver-votes-to-ban-single-use-straws-foam-cups-and-take-out-containers-1.3933955
Great news from Vancouver! Hopefully this will spread to the rest of Canada, and other places as well. So much plastic and styrofoam is ised and thrown out unnecessarily. It’s past time for some major systems changes, and this is a step in the right direction. Hope they can beat their anticipated schedule. 🙂

This is from the UK – although just as applicable everywhere else. I will include a few key quotes, but can’t fit them all in here:

“The ‘Western’ diet, high in animal and processed foods, is the leading cause of illness and death contributing to high rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
We know from many scientific studies that the longest lived, healthiest populations are those eating a predominantly plant-based diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. ” (Bold added here, not in original text.)

Note the clear inclusion of whole grains and legumes – as far as I know (although I will note that I am not an expert here) no group in history has even promoted a low carb diet (before the current fad). Rice, and beans (and variations including various breads etc), have been staples for most of the world for most of history, and is still being proven to be the healthiest, most environmentally sustainable and cost effective way to eat.

“The World Health Organisation undertook an extensive scientific review of the impact of processed and red meat on health.
The report, published in 2015, concluded that processed meats are a group 1 carcinogen i.e. they cause cancer, and red meat is a group 2a carcinogen i.e. probably causes cancer. Cancer Research UK estimates that 21 percent of colon cancer cases in the UK are caused by eating red and processed meats alone. ” (Bold added here, not in original text.)

Even short of moving to a fully plant-based diet (which I have done, and found surprisingly easy), it is clear that red meat (hamburgers, steak etc) as well as processed meat (bacon, pepperoni, deli meats etc), no longer have a place in a healthy diet. Perhaps the evidence wasn’t as clear or widely dispersed in the past, but it is now, and must be taken into account as food decisions are made in our households, schools, restaurants, hospitals, airlines and other places.
https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/doctors-environment-secretary-michael-gove-meat-balanced-diet 

What Good Is ‘Community’ When Someone Else Makes All the Rules? https://nyti.ms/2qFV0no
Summary: Community implies joint ownership and responsibility in some kind of joint activity eg members of a neighbourhood or family. What happens when that ownership is transferred into private hands (eg Facebook or other tech/social media companies) and manipulated for profit? What does this mean for how we find genuine community and connections in the world that we are operating in?
What needs to change and what might those changes look like? Interesting discussion to dig deeper into.
 

https://www.change.org/p/kathleen-wynne-end-discriminatory-funding-for-catholic-public-private-schools-in-ontario
We have now reached 500 signatures (actually 517 signatures) – a strong start towards pushing the government towards much needed change.  Next goal: 1000 signatures.  Hopefully, soon, we will be at 10,000 signatures! 🙂
To help achieve the next goal (and others after that), I am asking for your help in two ways:

1. Please spread the word in your circles: family, friends, coworkers, social media and/or others. Sharing really does help to bring in additional support.
2. Contribute to the campaign. Every donation – even $1 or $2 – helps to share the petition with more people on the Change.og website. (NOTE: All of the funds go to change.org. I do not receive anything personally.)  As far as I can tell, every time that there is a donation, there appears to be a corresponding spike in signatures – so it really does help, whether that is a few dollars, or if you are able to give more.

Thank you for your support so far, and for your continued support on this important issue.

The Forrest Trump Presidency https://nyti.ms/2J6ylZn
Never thought that I would see a comparison between Trump and Forrest Gump, but the author makes some good points. At the core, one is fundamentally good, and striving for peace, justice, equality and love. The other is openly spreading hate and divisiveness for personal and financial gain at the expense of the common good.
Let’s hope that all parts of the world where divisiveness and isolationism is currently growing reorient towards peace and justice before things get any worse for everyone. Let’s match electing peaceful leaders with a massive grassroots movement to strengthen civil society and create the peaceful world that we want, deserve and need. 🙂

Right now, Trudeau is considering using your tax dollars to bail out Texas oil giant Kinder Morgan’s floundering pipeline and tanker scheme. [1]
Dozens of First Nations still don’t have clean drinking water. We’re facing a housing crisis. Renewable energy projects are desperate for more funding. But Trudeau thinks there’s enough extra cash lying around to hand over as much as $2 billion to bail out a corporation from Texas? [2]
We need to show the Trudeau government that taxpayers won’t let them get away with using our hard-earned money to bail out a billionaire oil corporation. But secret talks with Kinder Morgan are starting this week, so there’s no time to waste. [3]
Will you sign the petition right now to stop Trudeau from giving billions of our tax dollars to Kinder Morgan?
https://act.leadnow.ca/stop-the-kinder-morgan-bailout/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blast2018-04-16 

Just saw this petition/letter-writing campaign in a newsletter from Citizens for Public Justice. Appears to be a joint effort with several groups. I can’t imagine why a country like Canada is still charging refugees for travel expenses – it is definitely time to make some significant changes to this system, and give our newcomers a warm welcome to Canada. 🙂
See text and link below.
“We all want refugees to settle well in Canada–to learn one of our official languages, find jobs, become integrated into communities. But Canada currently asks refugees to pay back the money that the government spent on their travel to Canada.
The evidence shows that these immigration travel loans have a negative impact on refugees’ ability to settle well. The pressure to pay them back can make it difficult to pay for necessities, push refugees to find jobs before they’ve completed their language training, and add unneeded stress to already stressful transitions.
The government knows this–which is why they just stopped charging interest on the loans. But it would cost just 40 cents per Canadian to stop asking refugees to repay these loans entirely.
We all want refugees to settle well in Canada–and for just 40 cents per Canadian, we can do it.
Ask the Minister of Immigration and your MP to exempt refugees from travel loan repayment!”
https://p2a.co/MZlo7zc?utm_source=justicENEWS&utm_campaign=7184a5d597-JEN_CAMPAIGN_2017_11_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_00b7fceacb-7184a5d597-100929949

http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/peace-everyone%E2%80%99s-business
Love this article from Lowell Ewert for CM.  Great summary of the value of peace education. Worth reading in full.  🙂
Here are a few highlights:

The political scientist Harold Lasswell once defined politics to be “who gets what, when and how.” If that is politics, peace studies in contrast can be seen as an attempt to answer the question “why” things are given to whom, when and how.

Work to achieve the goal of dignity for all requires creative thinking and mobilization of many resources. Imagine, for example, that the physical structure of a house symbolizes the laws, institutions and customs of society that are designed to regulate how we live with each other. These rigid and not easily changeable laws, institutions and systems—the floors, walls, roof, doors and windows—are set in place to protect the occupants from the arbitrary use of power or violence against them.

Figuratively, imagine the roof as protecting the occupants from the hail of persecution, the walls from the driving winds of hate, the floor from the seeping cold of discrimination, while the windows allow them to look at other options they may wish to explore safely, and the doors allow one to come and go yet be protected from interference from others.

Peace studies programs serve as one of many architects of a just society by helping to analyze the impact and design of the figurative house in two different ways.
First, peace studies architects analyze how a house may better serve its occupants and, through nonviolent conflict resolution, begin remodelling as needed.
…
But a house, even a very nice one with a kitchen and pantry (adequate food), living room (place for people to meet) and a bedroom (safe place to sleep), does not create community for the occupants.
…
Second, peace studies programs therefore complement structural analyses with an emphasis on what are referred to as soft skills—the study of mediation and negotiation, the appropriate use of rights and power, restorative justice, trauma healing, forgiveness, religious and cultural understanding—many of the same things that are central to our faith. These skills are an essential part of a vibrant civil society.

Constructing a house of peace that is inclusive, containing a healthy and safe environment in which the human soul can thrive, requires the involvement of all vocations and disciplines.