WEATHER ALERT

National organization to ask question of a ‘just Canada’ with fall election stop in city

Advertisement

Advertise with us

What does a just Canada look like? That’s the question that will be asked Wednesday, when Citizens for Public Justice brings its fall election tour to Winnipeg.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2019 (2498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What does a just Canada look like? That’s the question that will be asked Wednesday, when Citizens for Public Justice brings its fall election tour to Winnipeg.

“We want to ask what kind of country we want to be part of,” Karri Munn-Venn, senior policy analyst for the Ottawa-based organization, said of the goal of the free public tour.

For CPJ, three important issues in this election are the climate emergency, eliminating poverty in Canada, and refugee rights, she said.

“How should we, as people of faith, respond to these issues?” said Munn-Venn, noting when it comes to climate change Canada is heavy emitter, and as a wealthy country it should be able to eliminate poverty.

As for refugees, “What does it mean to be a welcoming country?” she said, noting Canadians should ask how Canada is contributing to issues such as climate change that cause people to flee their homes.

During the event, which will be held 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at Marpeck Commons at Canadian Mennonite University (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.), participants will also be able to meet Willard Metzger, CPJ executive director.

The Winnipeg stop is one of 11 on the tour, which is visiting cities from B.C. to Newfoundland.

Patricia Fitzmaurice is CPJ’s board member for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. For her, the event is important since its about “our responsibility and privilege as citizens of Canada to be involved in politics.”

It’s also important to talk about issues such as poverty, the environment and refugees “from a Christian point of view” in order to “work towards the common good of all,” she said.

Fitzmaurice, who is also the social justice co-ordinator for the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, noted elections often revolve around economic self-interest. But they shouldn’t just be “about what’s good for us, but what’s good for the whole community, for our children and for the future.”

That isn’t easy, she acknowledged, “but sometimes, we have to rise above ourselves.”

With roots in the Christian Reformed church, CPJ is a national organization inspired by faith to act for justice in Canadian public policy. It has about 50 members in Manitoba.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.

Donate now to support our reporting on religion.

Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt. BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER

John Longhurst

John Longhurst
Faith columnist & reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.

More Stories

Fringe reviews #7: Quicksave before the next show

Free Press review team 9 minute read Preview

Fringe reviews #7: Quicksave before the next show

Free Press review team 9 minute read Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

50% Nonverbal, Brilliantly Awkward, A Curated Exit, Four Hearts, A Kid Napping, A Life in 60 Minutes, Love is Blank, Lover Girl, Somewhere Up There, Tango After Midnight.

Read
Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

Main Street crash involving motorcycle linked to speeding

Morgan Modjeski 2 minute read Preview

Main Street crash involving motorcycle linked to speeding

Morgan Modjeski 2 minute read Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

Speed appears to be a factor in a serious four-vehicle collision, including a motorcycle, on Main Street Friday.

Police did not immediately release information about the crash, but at around 7 p.m., a large section of Main Street was taped off between Jarvis and Dufferin Avenue. Traffic was redirected and pedestrians were told to stay clear.

Behind the tape, a crumpled white sedan was smashed into the side of a building, and a damaged motorcycle was on its side in the middle of the street. Two SUVs were also damaged.

The Free Press watched video captured from cameras at the nearby Northern Hotel that shows the two vehicles involved in the crash — the motorcycle that had a rider and a passenger, and the white sedan — speeding side-by-side southbound on Main Street. The speed limit in the area is 50 kilometres per hour.

Read
Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

Outreach centre rife with drug use, needles, but daycare, community members say safety concerns go unheard

Scott Billeck 7 minute read Preview

Outreach centre rife with drug use, needles, but daycare, community members say safety concerns go unheard

Scott Billeck 7 minute read Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

Children at an Osborne Village daycare are routinely exposed to discarded needles, human feces and drug use, prompting growing safety concerns from parents, residents and business owners.

The concerns centre on Augustine Centre at River Avenue and Osborne Street, where SPLASH Child Care shares the building with Oak Table, a drop-in operated by 1JustCity that provides meals, wellness and addiction supports, along with programs that help people build skills, and secure housing and employment.

The daycare looks after 132 children, from just a few months old to age 12.

Lesley Massey, executive director of the daycare, said parents fear for their children’s safety.

Read
Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

City denies teen received ‘life-altering injuries’ from police dog bite in lawsuit defence

Erik Pindera 2 minute read Preview

City denies teen received ‘life-altering injuries’ from police dog bite in lawsuit defence

Erik Pindera 2 minute read Yesterday at 12:14 PM CDT

City officials have denied a 17-year-old girl’s claim she received life-altering injuries when a Winnipeg police dog bit her, arguing her lawsuit over last year’s incident should be rejected.

The teen, whom the Free Press is not naming because she is a minor involved with a police matter, seeks unspecified damages from the City of Winnipeg, in a statement of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench in March.

The teen, described as “a small, slightly built girl,” claims she was “attacked, arrested and detained” by several Winnipeg Police Service officers around 1 a.m. on June 4, 2025.

The girl’s court papers say that in order to detain the teen, officers first deployed “a large, vicious and dangerous, non-human, canine animal,” which the lawsuit calls the “beast” in subsequent references.

Read
Yesterday at 12:14 PM CDT

Fringe reviews #4: The next boss battle begins

Free Press review team 9 minute read Preview

Fringe reviews #4: The next boss battle begins

Free Press review team 9 minute read Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

1-Man No-Show, Louis Riel, Book Lovers, First Vampire, Grimm's Fairer Tales, Mother's Secret, Naked Mennonite: Genesis, Short King, Summer I Turned Sparkly, Thor's a Dick

Read
Friday, Jul. 17, 2026

Fringe reviews #12: Game over? Not even close

Free Press review team 8 minute read Preview

Fringe reviews #12: Game over? Not even close

Free Press review team 8 minute read Yesterday at 5:15 PM CDT

52 STORIES 

Dave Morris

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to July 26

👾👾👾👾 ½

Read
Yesterday at 5:15 PM CDT