Among the gifts of the pandemic, I would suggest, is our increasing attentiveness to everyday work and workers. Over past months there has been a new energy given to our congregational prayers for front-line medical workers, for those who deliver online orders, and for staff in grocery stores. As we enter the new normal of…
What makes humans unique, and is this uniqueness a matter of degree or a qualitative difference? Is it our intelligence, language ability and consciousness? As Christians, we argue that we hold a special place in creation because we are made in the image of God. Two areas of research approach this question from very different…
Tulips are poking through the soil. My seed order has arrived. Even the thought of returning to the garden renews my spirit. Fresh, nutritious food during the summer and fall, with enough to share, is an extra blessing. Easy access to local, nutritious food should be true for far more people than it currently is….
So far in this series, we’ve talked about the basics of budgeting and of borrowing. Now it’s time to discuss saving and investing. Here, as usual, the government has both blessed and cursed us with their complex programs. Canada’s charities program is in my view a world-class piece in our tax regime. Once you give…
Turn your eyes upon JesusLook full in his wonderful faceAnd the things of earth will grow strangely dimIn the light of his glory and grace That was the chorus of my conversion. When I began my life of following Jesus in 1969 we sang that hymn over and over again. The piety rang (mostly) true…
Maybe you’ve seen the “I stand with farmers” bumper stickers or the tweets from celebrities like Rihanna. Maybe you drove past the hundreds of people protesting in Vancouver last December or the thousands in Toronto. Maybe more recently the protests in Brampton or Edmonton have stopped traffic for you. Or, like me, you came across…
Waste reduction motivated two major initiatives in my early social justice work. Both became national success stories; over time, however, both enabled more waste and had other unintended consequences. Reflecting on that, I wonder if more than stewardship is needed to ground our approach to care for God’s creation. Edmonton’s Blue Box program was cutting-edge…
Canadians waste thousands of dollars of food each year. Roughly 60 percent of the food grown in Canada is never eaten, and 30 percent never even makes it to grocery stores. This latter group, known as “lost food,” is often thrown out because it is deformed, too ripe or costs more to harvest than it’s…
What does Sabbath mean when we can’t worship together physically because of the dangers to physical health? Do we take a break, essentially “fasting” from celebrating the Sabbath? Are we in “a time of eucharistic fasting, in which we join with the whole communion of saints in longing for the bread of new life and the wine of the age to come,” as the Anglican Church of Canada’s website suggests?
Canadian farmers are used to risk, but those who export their goods are facing additional strain this year. Market risks have increased with trade embargoes while the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ability to settle disputes appears to be compromised. Countries including the U.S. and China are in disputes with each other, and each is also challenging the WTO’s authority in managing the rules that support international trade stability.
IN JANUARY LAST YEAR, an Ontario farmer was convicted of four counts of animal cruelty, after the deaths of more than 1,500 pigs near the small town of Tavistock, Ont. Police officers arrived on the farm to find 1,265 pigs already dead, and another 250 pigs in such distress that they had to be euthanized.
In Canada, steadily rising energy costs can cause financial hardship. The Fraser Institute reports that over a million Canadian households now spend more than 10 percent of their income on electricity and heating, which, it says, “should be of central concern when policies regarding energy are being devised.” Globally, many people have no access to an electrical grid; if this affects their quality of life it’s known as “energy poverty.”
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