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

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This article was published 16/09/2019 (2515 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.

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