MCCC Ottawa Office, Mid-Year Report, September 1, 2006 - February 15, 2007

“The Ottawa Office is there to help with the governmental aspects of other MCC activities.” This brief statement of purpose explains why our work touches on a wide range of subjects and why it tends not to have a stand-alone character. The report that follows is a survey of our activities - additional information is available on request. 

International:

On the Middle East, Tim Siedel, an MCC worker from Bethlehem, came to Ottawa and we arranged meetings for him with civil servants, Members of Parliament, and NGOs. We also participate in Kairos’ Middle East Working Group, and we drafted a letter on the Middle East for Project Ploughshares.

In October, Bill was privileged to join other MCCers in a trip to Uganda, South Sudan, and the Congo. That led to meetings, as well as to written communications, with government people in Ottawa. It also helped his involvement with the coalition, Sudan Inter-Agency Reference Group, in making collective representations to the government.

We supported Project Ploughshares in hosting an ecumenical forum on Afghanistan, participated in a meeting of the Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee with Foreign Affairs and CIDA officials, and attended the Foreign Affairs Department’s annual Human Rights Consultation.

On Colombia, we received Rebecca Bartel, an MCC worker from that country, and arranged various meetings for her. On international development, we continued to participate in the Advocacy Committee of Micah Challenge and remained in contact with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC). With CCIC, MCCC signed on to a letter to the Prime Minister urging action on climate change and support to developing countries for adaptation. And Monica supported Deo Namwira in his CIDA related work.

 Domestic:

MCCC contributed a written brief to the Human Resources Parliamentary Committee study on employability issues. Sandra’s research on the work of MCCs in addressing poverty in Canada led her to most of the provincial MCCs. Her report will help the MCCs to plan for the future, including future advocacy work. She helped plan an Ottawa event where groups including the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), mainline churches, and people living in poverty, shared from their experience and created action plans to address poverty in Canada. This also led to discussions with some MPs.

On criminal justice Sandra helped James Loewen-Malloy, MCCC Restorative Justice Coordinator, with his presentation on Bill C-9 before the Justice, Human Rights, and Public Security Parliamentary Committee. Together with Eileen Henderson from the MCCO Circles of Support and Accountability, she appeared before the same committee on Bill C-10. She also helped to plan to a public event “Not Throwing Away The Key” which led to discussions with an interested MP.

On refugee issues, Sandra supported MCCC Refugees Coordinator Ed Wiebe in his appearance before a Parliamentary Committee and in planning other advocacy work With Sue and Harley Eagle, MCCC Co-Coordinators of Work with Aboriginal People, she wrote follow up correspondence to the Prime Minister on the UN Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She did some preliminary work towards an election readiness kit. And she supervised Chuck Wright, who is with us for six months as a half-time intern. His main task with us is organizing a seminar for Mennonite University students, although he has also written a substantial paper on water on reserves and several smaller pieces.

Low German Documentation Work:

We’ve kept in close touch with documentation workers in Canada, the US, and Latin America, organizing a telephone conference, sending out memos with information about legal developments, and responding to many inquiries. This work has taken considerable time. A key difficulty is that on some issues the law is not clear. Early this year the government took some positive steps. This led to extensive media interest. But significant grey areas remain. Fortunately, we continue to have remarkably good relations with officials.

Other Activities:

We prepared a letter of support for a Muslim conscientious objector from Turkey who is seeking refugee status in Canada. We sent information to Mennonite Church Canada with regard to its interest in “fiscal conscientious objection”. We responded to an inquiry from some Old Order Mennonites about their interest in being exempted from the CPP and EI and were in touch with citizenship officials about the implications for this group of requiring passports to cross into the United States.

We try to monitor Ottawa developments on a number of issues and to send reports about things we learn to colleagues elsewhere. We respond to inquiries from staff and assist them in their governmental work. We did some writing for MCC Communications and gave a workshop at the MCCC AGM. And we continue to serve on the boards of Project Ploughshares and Kairos as well as on a Kairos governance sub-committee, and we continued to be involved with Mines Action Canada.

We met with representatives from a range of groups including: the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, the Christian Reformed Church, Citizens for Public Justice, the local Quaker International Affairs office, the EFC, the Salvation Army, the United Nations Association of Canada, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations.

Looking Ahead:

The most immediate developments include the seminar for students and a hearing before a Parliamentary Committee on citizenship issues. Sandra’s research on poverty in Canada, and on the MCC response it, will lead to a significant report and focussed advocacy. There may well be an election, in which case materials will need to be disseminated. In Africa, several of the peace processes that seemed to be progressing last fall are running into problems. In other places such as Darfur, they never really started. The realities of poverty, be it in Canada or abroad, and the suffering of war, be it in Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan, or Colombia, must continue to inform our efforts, meagre though they may be.

Bill Janzen

Monica Scheifele

Sandra Elgersma (half time)