Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on implementing sanctions against Libya

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today made the following remarks announcing Canada's implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 adopting sanctions on Libya:

"Canada had called for the Security Council to act and we are pleased that it has done so. The unanimous passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 yesterday sends a very clear message: the murder of its own citizens by the Libyan regime, and the gross violations of the population's human rights will not be tolerated by the international community, and will carry serious consequences.

"Therefore, Canada earlier today implemented the following binding sanctions contained in the Resolution:

• An arms embargo requiring all states to prevent the sale or supply of arms into Libya, or the export of arms from Libya;
  
• The inspection of cargo going into Libya;
  
• A travel ban on Muammar Qadhafi and 15 individuals closely associated with him; and
  
• An asset freeze against Muammar Qadhafi and members of his family.

"Canada also welcomes the creation of a Security Council sanctions committee that will monitor implementation of Resolution measures, designate additional individuals under the travel ban and asset freeze, if warranted; and will report within 30 days to the Security Council on its work.

"In addition, Canada has decided to go beyond the Security Council Sanctions. Our Government will impose an asset freeze on, and a prohibition of financial transactions with the Government of Libya, its institutions and agencies, including the Libyan Central Bank."

To read the entire statement, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Church of Canada Moderator Calls on the Government to Restore KAIROS Funding

In a letter to Minister of International Cooperation Beverley Oda, United Church of Canada Moderator Mardi Tindal called on the government to act now to restore KAIROS funding.

According to the letter, "Funding was removed despite very positive evaluation of KAIROS and its work by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), and no credible reasons for this action have been provided.

"KAIROS partners, who work on human rights and sustainability in the global south are suffering because of your decision. Canadians are deprived of the excellent educational work that KAIROS carries out in this country. Beyond these losses, KAIROS has also had its good name attacked --again with no credible explanation."

To read the full text of the letter, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Border Conference/Experience Inspires Participants

On February 10 - 13, pastors, activists, staff and young adults from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ participated in a Border Conference in San Diego and Tijuana. The theme of the conference, hosted by Iglesia Cristiana Casa De Oracion, was "Turning Walls into Tables: A Border Experience."

The conference included visits across the border to Casa de los Pobres (where 5 Roman Catholic nuns manage a charity that distributes food and provides basic medical care for thousands in need), Las Memorias Center (a charity dedicated providing a place of welcome, lodging, education, and job training to persons infected by HIV/AIDS and/or alcohol or drug dependency), an extremely poor neighborhood named "City of Hope," and a nearby beach where the border extends out into the Pacific and is lined with thousands of crosses commemorating those who have died trying to cross the border. These visits were led by the Rev. Dr. Carlos J. Correa Bernier, Director of Centro Romero, a border ministry of Justice and Witness Ministries and the Southern California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Among the many speakers at the conference were the Rev. Dr. Daisy Machado (Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary), Ms. Fernando Morillon (Interim Executive Director of BorderLinks), Ms. Jen Smyers (Associate Director for Immigration and Refugee Policy with Church World Service), and Rev. Daniel Romero, Rev. Manuel Tovar (President of the Alliance of Evangelical Churches (Disciples of Christ) in Mexico).

Participants in the conference worked together to create a statement about immigration and the border which reads, in part, "As members of the Community of Faith we have come together as a diverse group interconnected by the fact that we are all created in the image of God. Yet we confess that we build walls where we should build bridges. We create barriers of division because of our perceived differences. We acknowledge that we have helped build this wall and many others that cut across God’s creation.

"We confess as the Body of Christ that we have failed to live out the words of Jesus, to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31), and to offer hospitality to the Stranger as we would Christ (Matthew 25:35). We have not done enough to turn the walls of our world into tables of shared love and reconciliation."

To read the entire statement, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

President Obama on a Egyptian President Mubarak's Resignation

To read the transcript, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

PM Harper on Mubarak's Resignation

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation:

"Canada respects President Mubarak's decision to step down in order to promote peace and stability in the country. The future of Egypt is for Egyptians to decide.

"Canada wants to see free and fair elections; we want to see the rule of law and stability; we want to see respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities, including religious minorities; we want to see the transition to a democratic Egypt.

"Our Government encourages all parties to move forward with a peaceful, meaningful, credible and orderly democratic reform process towards new leadership, including free and fair elections in order to build a brighter future for the people of Egypt.

"Canada will continue to support Egypt in implementing meaningful democratic and economic reforms. We will also continue to encourage and support Egypt's efforts to promote regional stability and peace, including with Israel as well as continued respect for peace treaties in the Middle East."

First Lady Speaks About Let's Move! on 1st Year Anniversary

At an event co-sponsored by Dr. Cynthia Hale, Senior Pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church in Atlanta, GA, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a major address focused on the efforts of the Let’s Move! initiative to help parents raise healthy children.

To read a transcript of the First Lady's remarks, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

United Church of Canada Calls for an End to Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks

The Canadian federal government continues to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to the companies producing oil and gas in Canada.

Climate Action Network has created a Fossil Fuel Subsidies Counter that shows the amount of money going every second in tax breaks for some of the wealthiest companies on the planet.

To take a look at this counter and learn more by visiting the Subsidies page on the Climate Action Network Canada website.

When the federal government passes a new budget in March, these subsidies for dirty fuels must come to an end. By doing so, Canada will meet its 2009 commitment made in Pittsburgh, along with other G20 leaders, to phase out subsidies and tax breaks to companies producing oil, gas, and coal.

Learn more from:

• the open letter signed by the United Church calling on Prime Minister Harper and Minister Flaherty to end to tax breaks to dirty fuels;
• Climate Action Network Canada's report: Fuelling the Problem: Why it is time to end tax breaks to oil and gas companies in Canada;
• Untold Billions, an in-depth analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development that shows a total of $1.4 billion per year in federal tax breaks alone, with a disproportionate share going to the Alberta Oil Sands.

Follow up by contacting your MP to find out if they support ending the giveaway of over a billion Canadian taxpayers' dollars a year to oil companies.

Contact Climate Action Network and let them know where your MP stands, and let others know how it went on the Climate Action Network Facebook page.

Prime Minister Harper on Southern Sudan

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the results of Southern Sudan’s Referendum on Self-Determination:

"The people of Southern Sudan have voted overwhelmingly for self-determination in a referendum that was judged free and fair by the international community. This is a historic moment for the country and a critical step in implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"Canada congratulates all parties involved for the peaceful and respectful manner in which the referendum took place and the commitment by the government in Khartoum to respect the outcome of the vote.

"Our Government has been a strong proponent of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan, contributing more than $800 million towards humanitarian assistance, development and peacebuilding since 2006.

"In the coming months, Canada stands ready to assist the parties in Sudan in charting their post-referendum future.

"Canada is prepared to recognize Southern Sudan when it becomes an independent state in July of this year."

White House Names Three Heads of Communions to Faith-Based Council

Three heads of National Council of Churches member communions are among a dozen White House appointments announced February 4 to President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood partnerships.

The NCC-related nominees are the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and H.E. Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The nominees were named in an email Friday from Joshua P. DuBois, White House staff for the advisory council. DuBois said other appointees being vetted by the White House are likely to be announced soon.

The previous advisory council, which included NCC President Peg Chemberlin, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, past president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., concluded its work in March 2010. In November 2010, Mr. Obama signed an executive order to implement many of the recommendations of the original council.

Prominent Jewish organizational leader Susan Stern will chair the advisory council. She is Special Advisor on Government Affairs to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a humanitarian assistance organization helping Jews and non Jews in more than seventy countries around the world.

Leif Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Nancy Wilson, head of the Metropolitan Community Church, are among the appointees to the panel, which was launched by President Obama in 2009.

Lynne Hybels, wife of Pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, and Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative and Masorti Rabbis, are also on the list.

President and PM Discuss Border and Trade Issues

To read a statement about the meeting from the Prime Minister, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Health Care Repeal Vote Fails In Senate

A Republican drive to repeal the year-old Affordable Care Act ended in party-line defeat in the Senate on Wednesday. The vote was 47-51.

Moments earlier, the Senate had agreed to make one relatively minor change in the law, voting to strip out a paperwork requirement for businesses.

President Barack Obama, who has vowed to veto any total repeal of the health care law, has said he would accept the change because it does not directly affect health care.

President Obama on Transition in Egypt

To read the President's remarks, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Events in Egypt

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement today on recent events in Egypt:

"Following President Mubarak’s announcement today that he will not seek re-election, Canada reiterates its support for the Egyptian people as they transition to new leadership and a promising future.

"Canada supports universal values – including freedom, democracy and justice - and the right to the freedom of assembly, speech and information. As Egypt moves towards new leadership, we encourage all parties to work together to ensure an orderly transition toward a free and vibrant society in which all Egyptians are able to enjoy these rights and freedoms - not a transition that leads to violence, instability and extremism.

"We commend the many groups, such as the Egyptian military, who have worked hard to support freedom of assembly and to minimize violence during recent demonstrations. We stand by the people of Egypt, young Egyptians in particular, for their steadfast support for the fundamental values that Canadians profoundly share with them.

"We also extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured during recent events.

"We urge all parties in Egypt to renounce violence and allow peaceful and meaningful dialogue between the people and government to address political, economic and social concerns. This dialogue should lead to free and fair elections and a government that supports universal values."

Interfaith Anti-Toture Coalition Responds to Events in Eqypt

Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement today sharing concern about the past U.S.-Egypt torture program and expressing hope for a torture-free Egyptian future.

"There is strong evidence that in the past the U.S. rendered suspected terrorists to Egypt with the knowledge that they would be tortured. It is our hope that this time of change in Egypt ensures that no government of Egypt will allow the use of torture. Further, we call upon the U.S. government to create a Commission of Inquiry to investigate all aspects of its past use of torture. The U.S.-Egypt torture program was a disgrace for both countries and should be fully investigated."

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, 300 religious groups have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.

Both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and DJAN (Disciples Justice Action Network) are supporters of NRCAT.

For more information about Egypt's connection to torture and the U.S. rendition program, go to "The Torture Career of Egypt's New Vice President: Omar Suleiman and the Rendition to Torture Program," by Stephen Soldz.