Folks, we here at GAoG know that we’ll soon be hearing, globally undoubtedly, about crimes that are horrendous. When I think of only what I’ve seen, which was more than I could bear, it feels like I’m sitting in an electric chair. I start shaking and crying. This is what secondary traumatization feels like. With […]
Giving Land Back and Other Ways Canadians Are Making Reconciliation Personal
These settlers are going beyond orange shirts and land acknowledgments. Land Back is an Indigenous-led movement to reclaim traditional lands for Indigenous stewardship. By Sarah Treleaven, Broadview, November 8, 2022 Last June, Margaret Drescher prepared herself to finally pass along Windhorse Farm, a beloved retreat deep in the forest about an hour-and-a-half drive west of Halifax. […]
Needed: A Spiritual Perspective on the Law
I spent eight years interpreting a Canadian statute – the applicable paragraphs of the Immigration and Refugee Act, as it then was (1998-2006). That involved preparing for a hearing with a refugee claimant and their legal representative, presiding, and issuing a decision based upon the facts of the case, the country literature, applicable treaties and […]
Stop. Just Stop
Editorial One of the values that has been systematically attacked since the Second World War is the value of decency. On the scale of values, “decency” for me ranks higher than, say, “reasonable.” Can we discuss? To my way of thinking, reasonable is like the cake and decency is like the icing. Decency is a […]
Pope Francis to Visit Canada for Indigenous Reconciliation
Pope to visit Canada to help reconciliation over indigenous schools scandal By Philip Pullella, Reuters, October 27, 2021 https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/pope-visit-canada-help-reconciliation-over-indigenous-schools-scandal-2021-10-27/ VATICAN CITY, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to visit Canada, where he faces calls for him to apologise for the Catholic Church’s role in former schools for indigenous people where children […]
Human Decency and the Honest Center
I actually don’t want to talk about Trump and Biden supporters, right or left. But I do want to talk about what I call the “honest center.” In any rally there’ll be that group of decent people. They’ll be sincere, concerned enough to protest, and yet all the while straightforward in their relations with other […]