January 2015   

Haiti - 5 years later

 

Five years ago a catastrophic earthquake killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians and devastated the city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns. Despite assistance from MCC and other agencies, many Haitians continue to struggle to rebuild their lives.

Many Haitians lament the nearly non-existent relationship they have with their government.  

 

One rural leader told an MCC advocacy delegation that "the rain is our government." The people receive so little support or services from their government, they are more likely to be kept alive by the rains.

 

Read Ted and Kathryn Oswald's blog post about how MCC is helping to build bridges across the rift that separates ordinary Haitians from government officials.  

 

Read also about MCC's $16.9 million investment in education, livelihoods, housing, water and agriculture over the past five years.

Parliamentary business    

 

When Parliament resumes on January 26, Bill C-26 is set to be studied in Committee.

 

Known as the Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, this legislation - tabled last February by Justice Minister Peter MacKay - proposes nine different measures. In addition to such things as increasing maximum and minimum prison sentences for certain child sexual offenses, Bill C-26 proposes establishing a publicly-accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders.

 

MCC affirms the Government of Canada's interest in making our communities safer, but with our two decades of experience assisting high-risk individuals with sexual offending histories reintegrate back into the community, we are concerned that an accessible database will be counterproductive as a public safety measure.


Our work with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) has convinced us that risk of re-offense is greatly reduced when public safety measures foster integration and accountability, rather than isolation and marginalization, of high risk offenders.
New resource:
Intersections on conscientious objection 
Conscientious objection has been a strong and central conviction of Anabaptist groups in history. What is the cutting edge of conscientious objection today? Find out by reading the latest issue of Intersections, MCC's quarterly publication on theory and practice.
Ottawa Office Newsletter archives
Read previous editions of our newsletter here. 
Links
In This Issue
Feature Article
Parliamentary Business
New Resources
Opportunities
Staff Update
 
Quotation
of the month 

"May there never again be wars, but always the desire and commitment to peace and fraternity among peoples." 

-- Pope Francis, New Year's Day message   
Opportunities  

Our office is hiring a permanent director. Applications are being accepted until March 2. Please help us spread the word.

***************** 

There's still time to register for our annual Student Seminar taking place February 12-14, 2015 in Ottawa. The theme this year is Citizens. Disciples. Advocates. Christian faith and political responsibility.
 

Office update:

Cory Funk, Advocacy Research Intern

    

  Cory Funk, Advocacy Research Intern, MCC Ottawa Office  

Cory Funk is the new advocacy research intern for January to April. From Winnipeg, Cory just completed a B.A. in History and Religion from the University of Winnipeg.  

While living in the Ottawa/Gatineau area, Cory will also be working casually at Mountain Equipment Co-op to indulge in his love of running, hiking, biking, skiing, and the general outdoors! 

 
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