KAIROS - "Social justice group says Ottawa cut its funding..."

from the link in the OP:

excerpt: Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said Kairos has a long history of promoting human rights and sustainable environmental policies in developing countries. It's also worked hard to educate Canadians.The funding cut is meant to send a message to non-government organizations ...that depend on the federal government for funding, she said."I believe that Kairos is being punished for taking a position on the eve of Copenhagen and on the tarsands," Barlow said."I think this is a declaration that they are not welcoming any criticism. They offended the agenda of the Harper government."

It looks like there are lots of issues with CIDA at present;

http://www.embassymag.ca/page/view/cida-11-11-2009

namely political interference by the Harper gov't.

CIDA's website, under 'About Us', and regarding its 20 countries of focus, shows a focus on eg Afghanistan where it is subsidizing SNC Lavalin to rebuild a dam originally built by the US, and also on projects to control agricultural processing.  In the context of the rampant privatization inherent in the current Canadian 'trade' regimes, this will mean SNCLavalin also controls the water data, the distribution, effectively controlling the water, and electric power, in Afghanistan's central agricultural valley.  Further controlling agricultural processing through other projects will put Afghan farmers in the same position as farmers here- struggling under Big Ag companies that profit from and run the integrated seed and fertilizer and processing chain.

In Ukraine CIDA is giving millions of dollars to the "International Financial Corporation" and other entities to introduce the kind of agricultural insurance which farmers in Canada are rejecting. They're also pushing to promote a 'trade' model which has failed farmers miserably here.

In Haiti CIDA, with Bev Oda's picture everywhere, is giving money to 'improve governance' which is incredibly hypocritical given the fact they helped depose the elected president there in a coup.  Why not just help get the elected president back in power?

Oh, and though I don't often watch TV, I did see Wendy Mesley do a bit on the news the other day, saying that CIDA is giving 50 million to China, which as a global powerhouse at present, doesn't actually need that money, and one of her interviewees indicated the money was to grease Harper's political wheels.

So we have a picture where the Harper government is using CIDA to push it's own very narrow agenda, which has nothing to do with helpful development.  And its cutting funding to groups which do real good.

Yep not religiously right wing enough, watch for McVety's org or one he is affliated with, to get this money

[url=http://news.anglican.ca/news/stories/2141]Coverage from [i]The Anglican[/i][/url]

[url=http://www.wfn.org/2009/12/msg00022.html]Christian Reformed Church protests[/url]

[url=http://www.elcic.ca/news.cfm?article=193]Evangelical Lutheran church stattement[/url]

[url=http://www.presbyterian.ca/pcconnect/daily/4847]Presbyterian Church statement[/url]

[url=http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/general/091202c]United Church press release[/url]

Boom Boom wrote:

from the link in the OP:

 

excerpt: Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said Kairos has a long history of promoting human rights and sustainable environmental policies in developing countries. It's also worked hard to educate Canadians.The funding cut is meant to send a message to non-government organizations ...that depend on the federal government for funding, she said."I believe that Kairos is being punished for taking a position on the eve of Copenhagen and on the tarsands," Barlow said."I think this is a declaration that they are not welcoming any criticism. They offended the agenda of the Harper government."

This should have Harper and crew howling:

Church leaders from across the world unite against climate change

Kinda where you are on this HS....

However, if the government is funding "other" distinct groups, for whatever societal function, then why not faith groups who are doing what they do...

swallow wrote:

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-DhxTONUFg]Ridiculous buffoon foams at mouth in question period[/url]

I notice that his "Canada supports human rights" response is framed entirely in terms of support for Israel. That may be significant.

hsfreethinkers wrote:

remind wrote:

However, if the government is funding "other" distinct groups, for whatever societal function, then why not faith groups who are doing what they do...

Well, I don't think government funds should be used to support religious institutions. By providing funding for groups like KAIROS, the government is subsidizing the church. If government did not provide such funding, then the UCC and other members of KAIROS would have to foot the entire bill for the work they do. That is as it should be, for it is the church providing the services, and that is seen to be providing the services.

Then government funds should not be used to support arts and cultural endeavours either, nor sports etc.....

swallow wrote:

[url=http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=2e5f8e01-98... Post: "Funding for leftist group to be cut"[/url]

Wow - what's next, I wonder? Haven't the Cons already made cuts to, for example, women's advocacy groups?

hsfreethinkers wrote:

Frustrated Mess wrote:

If anyone thinks government dollars are not acknowledged by NGOs, they ain't get out much.

Irrespective of whether faith-based NGOs draw attention to their sources of funding, the NGO itself is seen to be doing work and providing the service. Most of the goodwill will accrue to the NGO and by association the faith and religious institution(s) it is associated with.

That's true. And given they are doing the work, so what? And what religious institution is associated with a multi-faith organization? Also, if this was a matter of a government policy not to fund religious organizations at all, I might agree with it. But that's not what it is. It is a decision not to fund an environmental and development organization that has been critical of government policies on the environment and the impacts that has on the people the organization serves. So let's quit pretending this is anything other than the vindictive act of a mean spirited government led by small minded assholes.

hsfreethinkers wrote:

It isn't a question of whether people are "into" the group being considered for funding. Faith-based groups should not receive government funding, for reasons to do with the separation of church and state. Religious institutions are hardly comparable to arts, culture and sports organisations.

All manner of faith based groups receive government funding.

Why aren't they comparable?

Sorry about any misperceived thread drift initiated by myself above. I just thought I caught a possible inconsistency, and tried to widen the discussion not pull it askew.

I happened to be watching CPAC yesterday as Bev Oda fairly capably, on her government's terms, dealt with the repeated questions re Kairos.   I don't support the result.  But is it impossible that, for "international" development, a one-sided and misguided stance not be counterproductive to, let's call it, wholesome  intl. development?  If it's in part about Kairos' waywardness re Israel, why does supporting fair trade olive oil (I'm told it is of excellent quality, too bad not certified organic as well, I'd offer it, much as I am delighted to occasionally distribute Egyptian organic produce) need to go along with problematic anti-Israel rhetoric?  But it can't be about olive oil, or tar sands opposition; it's the culture of it all again, and the Cons. are getting away with bit by bit revamping of things.

Jason Kenney in Jerusalem: Government defunded KAIROS over its Israeli Apartheid boycott. (Still waiting on the full text; that headline may not be fully accurate but the spirit of it sure is.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htRrQBjDpqU

KAIROS knew this was being floated in the Conservative caucus, but so many equally unreasonable reasons for the funding refusal are being floated by MPs and government sources that it was not clear which one was going to stick. At least this nasty little one is now out in the open.

hsfreethinkers wrote:

Any thoughts on why the Conservatives cut funding for KAIROS? The original Globe article (I believe it was updated since I posted the link) emphasized KAIROS's position on the tar sands as the likely reason. I wonder whether it's broader than that, and perhaps [URL=http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/rights-and-trade/focus-countries/palestin...'s involvement on Palestine-Israel[/URL] is a factor. KAIROS seems much more balanced on that issue than our Conservative government.

This occured to me as I was reading the [URL=http://www.united-church.ca/files/communications/news/general/091201_bri... Church of Canada's submission to the CPCCA[/URL]. According to the UCC it was well-received, but I wonder...

I think you're right and that Palestine as much as Tar Sands (both involve Indigenous genocide) is responsible:

A Moment of Truth with Christians in Palestine:

http://www.kawther.info/wpr/2009/12/17/a-moment-of-truth-with-christians...

"Here is a brief of the Kairos Palestine document, which was signed on Dec 11, 2009 in Bethlehem city by a group of Palestinian Christians. If you are the member of a Christian church of any denomination please disseminate this information as widely as possible..."

Interesting:

I had never heard of KAIROS until I read Colby Cosh's analysis of their partisan politics. That led me to some further reading, and I discovered that KAIROS had issued a denunciation of Alberta's oilsands, and then they went on their fact-finding trip to Fort McMurray. One might have thought it would have been in the reverse order.

A quick visit to KAIROS's website shows that their most important goal now is not actually anything to do with religion, let alone with Christianity. It's about getting back to the taxpayer trough. I say let them raise their own money through bake sales, like everybody else's church or synagogue has to do.

Poke around their site and try to find any substantive difference between their views and the NDP's foreign policy platform. They both have an unhealthy obsession with denigrating Israel, natch. And KAIROS has a special hate-on for, of all places, Colombia. That's no surprise -- Colombia is the Latin American country most resistant to Hugo Chavez's malign influence. (KAIROS obviously hasn't had a chance to add brave little Honduras to its hit list.) Between criticizing Israel and Colombia, KAIROS doesn't have a lot of time left to criticize, say, China and its brutal treatment of Christians and other religious minorities. But then, neither does the NDP.

But enough political debate -- this is about free money, not ideas. KAIROS has a massive staff of around 20. That's a helluva full-time political campaign squad. Without recession-weary taxpayers paying for all those "ecological justice" coordinators, a lot of sociology majors are going to have to find real jobs, and Greenpeace and the Canadian Arab Federation can only absorb so many of them.

KAIROS wanted $1.8 million a year from the government -- that's basically a fully-staffed political war room, dedicated to their radical point of view. If KAIROS really is, as its website boasts, the political voice of the Anglicans, Catholics, Mennonites, United Church, etc., that money should be a snap to replace -- not much more than a dime per member of its constituent churches, really. Because KAIROS really is speaking for its members, isn't it?

If you remain unpersuaded of the case to let KAIROS's members support it, rather than taxpayers, perhaps I can draw your attention to their last annual report. Here are some of the things they spend your money on:

Fundraising and overhead: $800K

"Energy justice": $500K

"Public engagement": $400K

That's all pure politics -- and it just happens to equal the amount of dough they're demanding from the government. By contrast, "anti-poverty grants" only account for $148K, or just 3.7% of their budget.

It's pretty grotesque when a so-called Christian organization is so busy beating up on Alberta, Israel and Colombia that it only has 3.7% of its money left over for Jesus-y things like helping the poor. But then again, according to KAIROS's honcho, Bill Phipps, Jesus wasn't God anyways.

An e,mail I just received from the ACC

KAIROS responds to federal minister's comments on anti-Semitism

December 18, 2009 - The Minister of International Cooperation, Bev Oda, has been telling KAIROS, Parliament and the Canadian people that funding to KAIROS was cut because its work did not fit current Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) priorities of economic growth, food security and children and youth.

On Wednesday, however, a completely different reason was given in a speech by Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration. Addressing the Global Forum to Counter Anti-Semitism in Jerusalem, Minister Kenney described his government's fights against anti-Semitism and, as an example, said the government had "defunded organizations ...  like KAIROS for taking a leadership role in the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign" against Israel.

Minister Kenney's charge against KAIROS is false.  KAIROS did not lead this campaign. In 2007, KAIROS took a public position opposing sanctions and a boycott of Israel.

(A recently released document, Kairos Palestine, 2009: A Moment of Truth, is not a document of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.  Kairos is a Greek word meaning "God's time" and is commonly used by Christian groups.)

A Minister of the Crown says that his government decided, for a highly political reason, to cut funds for a proposal developed in consultation with and approved by CIDA.

Canadians need the truth.

Two points must be made: criticism of Israel does not constitute anti-Semitism; and CIDA was developed to fund international aid and not to serve political agendas.

Minister Kenney's statement, in a highly charged environment, raises very disturbing questions about the integrity of Canadian development aid decisions.  If aid decisions are based on political rumour rather than on due diligence, development criteria and CIDA's own evaluation process then this is a matter of grave concern for the entire international development sector -- and for the Canadian people who pay for this aid.                                   

Many non-governmental organizations have proposals befo re CIDA that have been on Minister Oda's desk for months.  Others are about to apply for funding.  How can they possibly trust this decision-making process in the future?

In the past two weeks, Canadians from across the country have called for the restoration of CIDA funding to KAIROS.

People working for human rights are the true victims of the funding cut to KAIROS.  This decision cuts funding for a new legal clinic in the Congo to help women who have been raped in the brutal conflict there.  The 5,000 members of the Women's Popular Organization in Colombia will lose funding for life-saving protection against rampant human rights abuses in their country.

To label KAIROS criticism of Israeli government actions as "anti-Semitic" silences dissent and honours no one.  KAIROS has a clear position of support for the legitimate right of the Israeli people to a safe and secure state.

KAIROS asks that its funding be restored.

KAIROS does have international development as part of its mandate.  But their overall focus is social justice. 

“Anti-semitic” is a very heavy charge.  A month ago Harper was in China, and he criticized the state for human rights issues.  Would that make him "Anti-Chinese" then?

I'm hoping this issue brews into another PR disaster for the Tories  like the Richard Colvin affair has. All the more reasons why they cannot be trusted and should not form the next government.