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Another call for action
Our November newsletter indicated that one of the reasons MCC Canada engages in advocacy through its Ottawa Office and other channels is because advocacy makes a difference. This month highlights another reason why we do this work: because our partners request it.
Sarah Adams, recent MCC representative for Lebanon and Syria, just completed a speaking tour across Canada. She also visited our Ottawa Office and spoke to elected officials and civil servants about the grave humanitarian situation of Syrians, both those who remain in the country, as well as those who have fled for safety to Lebanon.
Everywhere she went, Sarah stressed the two key things that Syrian partners ask of MCC supporters in Canada: prayer and advocacy. Even more than food, shelter or medical care, they ask that Canadians pray for them and press our government to do all it can to urge a ceasefire and a political settlement of the two-year war.
Please pray for the people of Syria. And please send a message to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, calling for peace in Syria. A sample letter and instructions are available here.
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Bill C-6
When it comes to MCC's long-standing work on cluster bombs, November has been busy! Since the beginning of the month, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development has been studying Bill C-6,
An Act to Implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions. MCC Ottawa Office staff have attended each of these Committee hearings in order to follow developments on this important piece of legislation.
 In four of the five meetings
held on the bill, the Committee heard from various witnesses, including foreign affairs and defence officials, as well as John Baird, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Only a few civil society representatives were invited to testify in-person. One of them was Virgil Wiebe (an international law consultant who has worked alongside MCC on cluster munitions).
While MCC was not invited to witness before the Committee in person, we submitted a written testimony providing our perspective on the bill and offering recommendations for strengthening Canada's implementation of the Treaty.
On Tuesday, December 3rd, the Committee ended its hearings with a clause-by-clause study of the bill. In a significant moment half way through the meeting, the government moved to set aside Section 11--the most contentious clause in the legislation--for a special study.
We are hopeful that the Committee will strengthen the legislation when it meets next on Tuesday, December 10th.
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New resources:
If you are looking for Advent inspiration, visit the online Advent calendar prepared by our friends at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Each day features a different food security project, as well as related prayers.  Or check out Growing Justice, an Advent resource produced by our colleagues at KAIROS. MCC Saskatchewan Program Director Eileen Klassen Hamm wrote a portion of this rich ecumenical resource.
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Quotation
of the month
"The pain and suffering of the millions of displaced and traumatized people has often left me without words. Yet, in the face of such tragedy, I have seen hope and thanksgiving and selflessness beyond measure."
-- Sarah Adams, former MCC Representative for Lebanon and Syria.
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Opportunities
A tentative schedule and other details for our annual Student Seminar have now been posted. The seminar takes place February 13-15, 2014 in Ottawa. The theme this year is "Inconvenient" relationships? Indigenous rights, reconciliation, advocacy. For more information, click here.
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Staff update
Esther Epp-Tiessen
Public Engagement Coordinator
Esther's new book, entitled Mennonite Central Committee in Canada: A History, was recently published by CMU Press.  The book will be launched December 13th at a Winnipeg conference commemorating MCC Canada's 50th anniversary. If you are in Winnipeg, come on out!
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Ottawa Office Newsletter archives
Read previous editions of our newsletter here. |
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