“What does it mean to build a ‘whole society?’ What is the purpose of secularism, and what are its limits? How can we re-conceptualize the role of religion in Canadian public life? What is the role of religion and spirituality…
We live in the shadow of a colonial era, a time when according to the European Doctrine of Discovery, any lands not occupied by white Christians were free for the taking. The complicity of the church began with the epic…
I was getting desperate. It was the last of four days at the Montreal Truth and Reconciliation Commission meetings (in April). Sorrow, despair, hope, anger, defeat, defiance and confusion washed over me like waves buffeting a message bottle destined for the…
Bill Chu has been active for many years on a number of social justice issues – including opposition to gambling, support for aboriginal rights and stressing the importance of recognizing historic injustices to the Chinese community. Following are two current…
Japanese and Korean churches in the Vancouver area are finding periodic ways to come together for both worship and outreach. And one of those churches has an event set for this Saturday (May 3), called Glimpse of Japan. (More information…
The recent screening of a film that reveals through disturbing eyewitness accounts the horrors of the residential school system could become a catalyst for healing between First Nations people and Asian evangelicals. “People have been working hard at that already,”…
Any week called Reconciliation Week has got to be a good one. We’ll start with what that’s all about, and then look at some other highlights around town in next few days. Reconciliation Week The historic nature of the week…
On Tuesday morning, Nisga’a tribe member and residential school survivor Alex Watts will embark on his most noteworthy canoe journey to date. He will lead the ‘Nisga’a Friend’ in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s All Nations Canoe Gathering. Not only will Alex…
It is surprising to many Canadians that 150,000 Aboriginal children were forced to attend Indian Residential Schools from 1831 to 1996 as part of Canada’s official efforts to assimilate Indigenous people. It is not surprising that many victims did not…
Deans of several law schools across Canada have maintained that Trinity Western University’s faith-based community covenant asking students to commit themselves to certain behavioural standards is discriminatory, particularly toward LGBT people. Janet Epp Buckingham, a lawyer and director of Trinity’s…