Project reveals "healthy complexity" of advocacy
When it comes to MCC's advocacy to government, certain topics are bound to raise concerns among some of MCC's constituents: namely, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, First Nations issues, and mining justice.
Interestingly, MCC's advocacy on those same topics also generates support, particularly when it highlights the human dimension of these issues.
This is just one example of the "healthy complexity" uncovered in a six-month-long research project undertaken by the Ottawa Office, in collaboration with the provincial MCCs. The project, guided by the Centre for Community Based Research in Kitchener, Ontario, was intended to gauge levels of support for MCC's advocacy to government, in order to make this work more effective.
The research involved interviews with 13 "key informants" across the country, 17 focus groups involving 130 participants, and a literature review.
A final report concludes that support for MCC's advocacy to government is stable and growing, despite ongoing questions and concerns. An executive summary is available.
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What to watch this fall
As Parliament resumes on September 15 after a three month recess, our Ottawa Office staff will continue to track motions and bills moving through Parliament that directly relate to MCC's priorities, approaches and values.We will monitor a wide range of issues, including private members' bills on conflict minerals, and corporate social responsibility for extractive corporations in developing countries. The Cluster Munitions Act has moved to the Senate, and there will be several "crime bills" including one on tougher penalties for child predators. We'll also be following the debate around missile defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development's consultations on the civil society partnership policy. Feel free to contact us about any of these bills.
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Ottawa Office Newsletter archives
Read previous editions of our newsletter here. |
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Quotation
of the month
"The job of the peacemaker is ... to stop war, to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty and riches ... to heal the sick, to comfort the sad, to wake up those who have not yet found God, to create joy and beauty wherever you go, to find God in everything and everyone."
-- Muriel Lester, 1885-1968, international ambassador for peace
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Take action:
Support CO in Colombia
MCC partner Justapaz urgently requests solidarity and action on behalf of Colombian conscientious objector Jhonatan David Vargas Becerra, who was once again detained for refusing to perform obligatory military service.
MCC wrote to the Ambassador for Religious Freedom on Jhonatan's behalf in 2013, when he was first arrested.
Colombia's Constitutional Court has established that CO is a right, but this ruling is not respected by the Colombian military.
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Staff update:
Rebekah Sears
Policy Analyst
The Ottawa Office is pleased to announce that Rebekah Sears will be joining our team for a nine month position as Policy Analyst, from Sept. 15, 2014 to May 31, 2015.
For the last two and a half years, Rebekah has been working as Policy Educator and Advocacy Worker with MCC in Colombia. We look forward to welcoming her back to Ottawa where she has previously worked and studied.
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