After 27 years with the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), including two terms as General Secretary from 2018-2026, Peter Noteboom will step into semi-retirement at the end of June. Ecumenism – working for the visible unity of the church across denominational lines – has been his calling and life-work. “This job of General Secretary is…
The federal government announced in mid-April that it was going to suspend its excise tax on gas, diesel and aviation fuel. This is meant to address the problem of affordability in the light of increasing fuel costs resulting from the U.S.’s war with Iran. But the problem is that fuel is scarce, which is why…
On March 25, breaking news that the RCMP used tax dollars to spy on First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders grabbed headlines for one day. It warrants more attention, especially by Christians committed to reconciliation. Non-Indigenous citizens should be just as angry as Indigenous people, who were treated as enemies rather than fellow citizens trying…
There is a concept in Catholic Social Thought called “the principle of subsidiarity.” It’s a bit like the Reformed concept of “sphere sovereignty” but not exactly. The idea is that human dignity in all its richness is best served by a variety of communities – ranging from families to schools, neighbourhoods to churches – and…
The proposed new law to combat hatred, Bill C-9, is creating animosity instead of bringing together various groups who could help to address the increase in antisemitism that led to its introduction. Bill C-9, with amendments, has now received a third reading in the House of Commons, by a vote of 186 Yeas and 137…
“A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney in his speech at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, on January 20, 2026. Less than four days later, the federal government announced plans to reduce its workforce and shut down seven research stations…
When the City of Toronto released its 2026 budget, 30 percent of bike lane projects in Toronto’s 2025-2027 plan had been amended, paused or deferred indefinitely. This wasn’t in response to budgetary constraints but new legislation: Bill 212 (passed in 2024) and Bill 60 (passed in 2025). Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, a Data Sciences Institute Postdoctoral Fellow…
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. . . . The old order is not coming back.” Prime Minister Mark Carney’s diagnosis of our current global context has drawn broad agreement across Canada and the world. But does it go far enough? Is his prescription to repair the rupture adequate? Those…
When politicians make policies specifically targeting transgender kids, as they are doing in Alberta, what is their aim? Who wants you to be preoccupied about trans kids, and who benefits when you are? Politics is about principles, rights and formal justice, but it’s also about emotion, power and competition. Though we need to ask “principled”…
In the west end of Ottawa, the Parkdale Food Centre (PFC) is transforming responses to food insecurity with unique initiatives that offer choice and dignity. Clients of their PFC Grocery Program (Food Bank) are given monthly credits which can then be used towards “purchasing” food items of various kinds (fruit, dairy, etc.), as well as…
It has been a confusing time in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) since Synod 2022, as members of the denomination continue to wrestle with the implications of the CRCNA’s position on human sexuality. Fourteen churches in Canada have left the denomination, with a dozen or more others having disaffiliation discussions. The rest…
As I write, we have just learned that Donald Trump has captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, following several weeks in which American forces had been destroying seagoing vessels in the Caribbean on the pretext that they were shipping contraband drugs to the United States. This is the latest development for an administration…
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