KAIROS ATLANTIC

 Evangelism, Social Action and Missions Committee Report  

     The Presbytery of New Brunswick April 24, 2010.

 The Evangelism, Social Action and Missions Committee has composed letters to be sent to The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, pm@pm.gc.ca  or harper.s@parl.gc.ca  and

The Hon. Bev. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, oda.b@parl.gc.ca to voice the concern of our Presbytery and it’s congregations over the cutting of CIDA funds to KAIROS.  These letters are included in the report.    

Recommendation 1.  That the Presbytery approve these letters to be sent through the Clerk to the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper and The Hon. Bev. Oda with copies to KAIROS at info@kairoscanada.org.

The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper

Prime Minister of Canada

Prime Minister Harper

On November 30th, a senior official with the Canadian International Development

Agency called KAIROS Executive Director Mary Corkery to inform her that

CIDA would no longer fund KAIROS, despite a 35 year collaboration. On December 4th, following media reports and questions in the House of Commons, international Cooperation Minister Bev Oda faxed a brief letter to KAIROS stating that CIDA was focusing its resources on three themes: food security, children and youth, and economic growth.

KAIROS represents seven of Canada’s largest church denominations, works on a range of social justice issues, including human rights in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. CIDA and KAIROS had an agreement through which CIDA funds matched KAIROS’ contribution by a ratio of three to one. Following a very positive CIDA evaluation and audit, KAIROS submitted an application for renewal in March 2009.

This proposal was approved at all levels of CIDA up to the Minister’s desk. At no point was KAIROS told that their agreement with CIDA was in jeopardy because of new priorities. In fact, in May of 2009, speaking of new priorities in a speech at the Munk Centre, the Minister affirmed that “…governance, the environment and equality between men and women will not be ignored…they will from now on be integrated into everything we do. And of course, we will also continue our work to promote…human rights….”  KAIROS’ program fits exactly with the priorities the Minister affirmed.

Since 1973, KAIROS and the church coalitions from which it was formed had received funding from CIDA to support partners in countries with the world’s worst human rights violations including Sudan, the Philippines, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

KAIROS supports 21 ecumenical and civil society groups overseas. CIDA funded work would directly benefit an estimated 250,000 women and men from four regions and eight CIDA focus countries over the proposed four-year agreement. Hundreds of thousands of people would be indirect beneficiaries.

KAIROS denies allegations by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney that it is anti-Semitic and stated; “Minister Kenney’s statement, in a highly charged environment, raises very disturbing questions about the integrity of Canadian development aid decisions. If aid decisions are based on political rumour rather than on due diligence, development criteria and CIDA’s own evaluation process then this is a matter of grave concern for the entire international development sector — and for the Canadian people who pay for this aid”.

As the Presbytery of New Brunswick, The Presbyterian Church in Canada and a member of KAIROS we call on your Government to reverse this controversial decision.

The Honourable Bev Oda

Minister of International Cooperation

Dear Minister Oda,

The Evangelism Social Action and Missions Committee of  the Presbytery of New Brunswick, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, is writing on behalf of the Presbyterian congregations in all of New Brunswick to urge you to review your Ministerial decision not to approve CIDA funding for the KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiative 2009-2013 co-financing proposal.

KAIROS member churches, of which we are one, have expressed their concern regarding your ministerial decision and have asked for a meeting with you. The decades-long relationship between churches and the government of Canada through KAIROS and its predecessor coalitions of churches is very valuable and should not be ended prematurely.

The programs of a number of councils of churches- essential to the peaceful development of their countries and regions- are adversely affected by your recent decision, including programs of The All Africa Conference of Churches, The Latin America Council of Churches, The Pacific Conference of Churches, and The Sudan Council of Churches.

Continued dialogue with the leaders of KAIROS would be in the best interests of  the citizens of Canada and the government of Canada, and would especially be in the interests of those whose lives and well-being depend on the financial and program support from KAIROS and its funding partners.

The Canadian Council of Churches and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, as representative bodies of our Church and a wider fellowship of churches and ministries, seek an opportunity to meet with you or senior officials from your ministry to discuss how the relationship can be restored.  We share their concern.

As the Presbytery of New Brunswick, The Presbyterian Church in Canada and a member of KAIROS we call on your Government to reverse this controversial decision.

                                                                                                Respectfully Submitted,

                                                                                       Lorne MacLeod

I thought I would share this discussion I had with one of the directors at the Department of Social Development in N.B.

Did you all know that Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland/Labrador all have poverty reduction legislation on the books? Why doesn’t NB?17 June at 17:47 ·
We are in the process of developing our plan, but we are doing it differently. It’s not just a government plan, but a plan for all of us. Legislation may well be one of the things that NBers decide needs to be done. Cathy Scott at 23:12 on 17 June
Cool, can I share that info at the gathering?

Of course. NB is doing something very unique. Our initiative is co-led by business, non-profits and government. We are all sharing in the development, the actions and the responsiblity.

Have a good week!

Cathy Scott, Fredericton Area