October E-news - CFSC part of major symposium and much more

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Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00

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October E-news - CFSC part of major symposium and much more r1 We're part of upcoming events and symposiums and have some other exciting updates to share ... r33 August, 2017 Major Symposium on implementing UN Declaration
We’re pleased to be working with partners to plan and be a part of the symposium Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Priorities, Partnerships and Next Steps. Bringing together Indigenous Peoples' organizations, human rights groups, government, and members of the general public, this symposium will be a full day of learning and connecting with each other. The symposium is November 21 in Gatineau, Quebec. Admission is free. If you’re not able to attend you can stream content online. Find out more on Facebook: http://goo.gl/eKtHpz and EventBrite: http://goo.gl/byNYZ5

CFSC writes in support of Chelsea Manning
Chelsea Manning is a famous whistleblower. She disclosed diplomatic cables, videos, and documents, including classified information. She felt that this would expose potential human rights abuses by the US and its allies in Afghanistan and Iraq. For her actions, she served time in military prison, including significant periods in solitary confinement. The remainder of her sentence was commuted by outgoing US President Barack Obama. Last month she was denied entry to Canada and told she was “inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality.” CFSC is deeply concerned by this interpretation of Canadian law and has joined over 40 organizations and individuals in writing to government. Read our open letter at: http://quakerservice.ca/ChelseaManning
Blog post on peace
International Day of Peace was September 21. To recognize it, the ecumenical social justice agency KAIROS, of which Quakers are members, shared a blog post by CFSC Program Coordinator Matt Legge. The post reflects on some misconceptions about peace and how it’s built. It also briefly explains where Friends’ historical and ongoing concern for peace originates, and why the Quaker peace testimony is such a challenge to each of us https://www.kairoscanada.org/spirited-reflection-peacebuilding-ever-present-opportunity Photo: CC-BY Jeremy Board/Flickr
The long awaited changes to Bill C-51
CFSC joined Monthly Meetings and many individual Friends in expressing deep concerns over Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 (Bill C-51) and other aspects of Canada’s approaches to national security (see http://quakerservice.ca/C51 and http://quakerservice.ca/NationalSecurity).

Following consultations, the government has finally tabled a new bill aimed at addressing the important privacy and human rights problems with the Anti-Terrorism Act 2015. The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, of which we’re members, has joined 34 other organizations in producing an analysis of the new bill. While it offers some welcome changes, others seem like they’ll make things worse. Find out more at: http://iclmg.ca/open-letter-to-the-federal-government-on-c-59-new-national-security-bill-fails-to-reverse-c-51-and-introduces-serious-new-problems/


Synthetic biology podcast & upcoming events
CFSC Program Coordinator Matthew Legge recently sat down with Maria Simakova of the Canadian Council of Churches to chat about synthetic biology. The discussion focused on what synthetic biology is, why faith communities are interested, what current and possible future applications are, what some of the harms and possible benefits might be, and much more. You can listen to the podcast at http://faithandwitness.libsyn.com/redesigning-the-tree-of-life or via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/faith-witness/id1119633358?mt=2&i=1000393627282

Some tickets are still available for the multiday conference Redesigning the Tree of Life http://redesigningthetreeoflife.eventbrite.com/ and for the free public event Redesigning Life http://redesigninglife.eventbrite.com/

These are chances to connect with top thinkers in the field and hear from synthetic biologists, Indigenous farmers, public policy experts, and faith leaders who are all trying to figure out where we go from here. Both events will be live streamed for those who can’t make it in person, so check the CFSC website on November 2 and 3 for the links. CFSC supports nonviolent work in occupied West Bank
We regularly hear about violence in the Middle East, but there are many inspiring campaigns for peace that don’t get a lot of attention. CFSC is encouraged by the nonviolent actions being taken at the Sumud Freedom Camp where Palestinians, Jewish Israelis and internationals (largely Jewish youth from America) are coming together to challenge Israeli military displacement of Palestinians from the village of Sarura. Find out more about this campaign and see our open letter of support at: http://quakerservice.ca/SumudCamp
Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
On September 20, 50 countries signed the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Canadian Friends Service Committee joined many organizations in calling for Canada to sign too. The Canadian government was among the handful in the world that refused to go to the meetings leading up to the remarkably popular Treaty. Since Canada has failed to show leadership on nuclear disarmament many citizens, including individual MPs, have come out to sign the Treaty themselves. Find out more and see pictures from the citizen signing ceremony at: http://quakerservice.ca/NuclearBan
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