Justice Buzz: new and intriguing resources
Compiled by CCG

• Haiti: The devastating earthquake in Haiti has resulted in an impressive and speedy response from the Canadian government and the international community. CRWRC and other NGOs have also mobilized quickly to save lives and bring hope in the midst of utter horror. Healing and justice in Haiti will take a sustained and costly response by global citizens and the international community—matters for persistent generosity, prayer and advocacy, like this:
  
  
  • The Christian Reformed Church's Help Haiti Pages: come with news on CRWRC's relief efforts and donation information
    
    
  • Petition to Drop the debt: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has a significant debt-servicing burden. Cancellation of Haiti's international debt could be one significant contribution to rebuilding . . . and escaping poverty.
  
  
• Child Welfare on Reservations: There is a case in front of a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that addresses a very troubling reality: More than 10% of Aboriginal children are under the supervision of child welfare systems. And further, because of jurisdictional fights between provinces and the federal government, child welfare on reservations is seriously underfunded. Still further, the Human Rights Tribunal has, for reasons unknown, postponed hearings on this issue. The First Nations Caring Society is leading the I am a Witness Campaign to address this issue.
  
  
• 2.5 perspectives on the Prorogation of Parliament: Prime Minister Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament has been the subject of much controversy and punditry. Here at CCG we believe strongly in the importance of sound Parliamentary and public debate—so, not to be wishy washy, good arguments can be made on either side of the prorogual debate:
  
  
  • on the pro side it allows a cooling off period from the very heated debate around the detainee controversy and perhaps a better context for needed debate on broader aspects of Canada's mission in Afghanistan.
    
    
  • on the con side suspension of Parliament hinders accountability and postpones deeply urgent policy making on a range of national and international issues.
  
  The great British political thinker Bernard Crick (1929-2008) said that the rule of law comes out of civil debate among political actors who can express their disagreements and work towards a decision. Simply put: politics is a process of conciliation. So rather than pronouncing on the good and evil of prorogual we at CCG will be working with policy makers and shapers now, and when parliament comes back, for sound and civil public debate. For more insightful perspectives on either side of the prorogual debate see these perspectives from some of our partners: http://www.cpj.ca/en/content/prorogation-diminishing-canada%E2%80%99s-democracy and http://www.raypennings.com/2010/01/am-i-missing-something.html.

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