Minutes of Fall 2018 KWPeace Potluck Meeting

Date
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Location
Peace and Justice Room, Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church, 57 Stirling Avenue North, Kitchener Map

Reports From Groups

Bob Jonkman

WR Greens, Fair Vote Waterloo, WR nonviolence

  • YES Cambridge
    • Ranked ballots are being looked at for Cambridge
    • looking for a location for an information session on ranked ballots
    • the question would be are you in favour implementing ranked ballots next election in 2022
    • fairvote sees this as a step to proportional representation
    • needs have 50% turnout of Voters, regardless of how they vote on the issue
    • and usually much lower
    • so they’re working on getting the vote out
  • Greens are starting the nomination process for the next election
    • in all 5 electoral districts in Waterloo Region
  • WR Nonviolence
    • IDOPAN ( International days of peace and nonviolence) days this past week
    • and they had had a discussion night, and a movie showing

Sandee Lovas

Amnesty International Group Nine, Alliance Against Poverty

  • Amnesty’s fundraiser went well
    • the next campaign is write for rights
    • so no need worry postage now
    • 5 million letters last year
    • it will be Dec 8 at seven shores
  • Alliance Against Poverty
    • the conservatives plan to cut basic income prog etc
    • AAP will be having meetings with mpps around this issue

Aleksandra Petrovic

Social Development Centre

  • next Waterloo Meet the Candidates Oct 14th
    • First United Church, 15 William Street, Waterloo
    • roundtable discussions — they will be transcribing notes on how candidates responded and publicizing This
  • Civic Hub update
    • KWPeace is one of the leads
    • so we would be able to meet for free
    • hoping to get funding from the community foundation, and hope to hear about this by November
    • hoping that the Hub will be at St. John The Evangelist church, downtown Kitchener
  • Every Voice Counts is a fundraising campaign so that be Social Development Center can do more

Sue Klassen

MCC and Stirling peace and justice committee, Alternatives to Violence program

  • MCC have a program called the raw carrot
    • people on ODSP who aren’t able to fit into traditional jobs make soup together to sell
  • the soup is sold at MCC store and Farmboy
  • they also worked on the Waterwalk lunches
  • the Alternatives to Violence program is in prisons and in the community
    • they offer workshops on transforming power to healthy power
    • may collaborate with Social Develoment Centre
    • they are looking for new facilitators to train

Mo Markham

Kitchener-Waterloo Climate Save, KW Animal Save etc

  • Screening the new film Dominion in ten or more universities this fall
    • it shows what actually happens to animals in animal agriculture. We offer the students pizza and snacks and $10 each for watching the film so that on weekends people who might not otherwise come don’t do that.
  • helping to get Climate Save groups in every city that we can in the world through our save movement network of more than 500 groups in 55 countries.
  • we attended Guelph Vegfest and will be at London Vegfest as well. I spoke, and Kitchener Waterloo climate save had a booth at a Zero Waste event
    • spoke about animal agriculture and and the massive amounts of waste involved, and produced a zero-waste and animal agriculture pamphlet
  • one of our members, Sophia Kudriavstev, spoke at the Rise for Climate rally in Kitchener, and a group of us attended the rise for climate rally in Toronto. The CBC was there
    • and completely ignored our 30 foot long Climate Vegan sign with three feet high neon letters and all of our other signs
    • all the pictures in their article just missed our signs somehow
  • We made upcycled t-shirts with climate and animal rights slogans to sell at events to raise money

Jim Sannes

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice

  • Unitarians going to the parliament of world religions to talk about animal agriculture and what it’s doing to the planet
  • Sailesh Rao speaking at the parliament of world religions
    • he intends for the world to be vegan by 2026
    • he co-produced Cowspiracy and What The Health
  • between Nov 1 and 7
    • Sailesh is coming to KW
    • looking into cosponsoring agency
    • maybe Sue Klassen?
    • maybe the church colleges (Date now set for Nov 4th)

Laura Hamilton

Divest Waterloo, Waterwalk, Faith and the Common Good etc

  • Waterwalk done
    • will do every year x 3 years
  • raised more money than needed
  • every night meal from faith communities
  • 15 people core group that walked
  • big feast on Six Nations
  • next time look at how they might do it differently, and help different groups come together more
  • is she is also working on getting the community kitchen going
  • Divest was part of the rise for climate rally in KW, an event that happened in cities around the world. A lot of politicians came out
  • blanket exercise coming up at parkminster+ lunch
    • free by donation
    • 11:30am – 12:30pm then til 2:00pm
  • Divest and Faith and the Common Good: indigenous storytellers from Manitoulin x 1 week
    • 1 day new Canadians, 1 land / water defenders, downtown people,
    • likely happening in May???
    • then the indigenous group will co-create a performance / play
    • It’s all about relationships
  • Ted and company
    • 1000 people saw the play

Mary Groh

Conscience Canada (president)

  • going see Raj Saini, MP
    • to ask him to support idea conscientious objectors, with their taxes going elsewhere

Esther Kern

Christian Peacemakers Team

  • CPT was represented in the “Day in the Park” event
  • Esther has been doing a number of presentations on Israel/Palestine issues, by leading a seminar at the Skylight Festival in July, being a resource on peacemaking at the Voices of Women for Peace in August, speaking at a Retirement Center in Goshen,Indiana, speaking at Valleyview Mennonite Church on Sept 30 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day, and speaking to Grade 7 & 8 home schooled children.
  • Esther is scheduled to lead two CPT Palestine delegations, one in December and the second on in the spring of 2019. A major concern is the denial of entry for six CPTers in the past few months, and being banned for 5 – 15 years. A proposed new law will impede the work in the West Bank, and has a penalty of ten years in prison.
  • The MCEC Working Group to implement the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) Campaign resolution by MC Canada has started Strategic Planning for 2019 with goals to visit Federal MPs and doing more presentations in area churches and groups.
  • Is teaching sewing classes through the Cross Cultural Learner Center in London, to recently arrived refugees. The women are from Palestine, Colombia, Sudan, and Iraq. This teaches them a skill, and helps them to learn English.
  • Activist groups in London continue to counter the actions of Pegida, a racist, white supremacy group who bring their hateful rhetoric targeting Muslims and immigrants, on a regular basis.

Dwyer Sullivan

Conscience Canada, Educators For Justice

  • book launch at queen street commons
  • attended the world beyond war conference in Toronto, 15 groups and 150 people
  • Tamara spoke about climate change and war
  • blue scarf walk
    • blue scarf international symbol peace
  • Working with human rights committee to try get support for BOYCOTT DIVEST & SANCTIONS
    • sanctions re Israel

Tamara Lorincz

(sent notes) A few upcoming events to bring to your attention:

  • Dr. Paul Rogers, renowned peace researcher from the University of Bradford, will be speaking on peace on Wednesday, November 7 at 4pm at

Wilfrid Laurier University and at Conrad Grebel – more details to come.

KW Peace Symposium

  • No Peace, No Justice
  • The primary item on the agenda is this year’s Perspectives On Peace.
  • This year we’re planning to serve lunch courtesy of Kitchener Food Not Bombs and we have special guest speaker Tamara Lorincz
  • it’s happening Saturday 27 October 2018 from noon to 2:00pm in the Rotunda at Kitchener City Hall
  • Who does what?
  • Costs (Insurance, deposit)
  • We all need to get word out
  • Tamara is speaking
  • start at noon, have space at 11, need help setting up
    • Food Not Bombs food will be there outside
  • tables facing podium
  • info tables for our groups
    • tables provided
  • Sharon did application for in-kind grant
  • non-refundable deposit $150??? need clarification

Who does what?

  • Sue can get pitchers from Stirling
    • 10 or so
    • cups? eco paper cups
  • Laura getting
    • buns?
    • vegan ?
  • Sue and Laura
    • plug-in kettles
  • Aleksandra
    • percolator
  • Jim
    • soy milk
  • Laura
    • sugar and coffee and tablecloths for eating tables
  • Mo
    • vegan cheese samples
  • CAN SELL THINGS? Bob will check
  • Bob
    • media contact
    • invite politicians and new council
    • Bob municipal & Laura federal and provincial
  • Sandee Lovas will MC
    • let the politicians speak briefly
    • ask if want respond
  • Laura doing press release
    • send a quote to her
    • (couple sentences) like:
      • “Canadians outraged that money is going to military spending”
  • Bob
  • KW PEACE page on FB
    • BOB put ad up (Emily has access?)
  • Bob will send Tamara’s bio to Sandy
  • Laura will tell Sandy which politicians coming
  • schedule
    • 11:00am: set-up,
    • 12:00 noon: soup line
    • 12:15pm: Laura land acknowledgement, Sandy acknowledging the KW Peace participants,
    • 12.30pm: Speaker
    • 1:15pm or so: politicians
    • 1.30pm: Q&A for Tamara and politicians

Other KW Peace Business

  • This was the 3rd anniversary for KW Peace!!!
  • Website???
    • Cost of Domain Name renewal re KW peace
    • Dwyer will take us from a fund that he has. Thanks, Dwyer!
  • Potluck food
    • Mo, our scribe, has taken a vow to not eat with others who are eating meat. People have very kindly not done that in quite some time at our potlucks, but we should perhaps let new people know that we generally bring vegan and vegetarian dishes
    • people are free to bring what they want, but it may mean that someone else would need to scribe.
  • scents: this hasn’t been an issue in the past, but some people in the group have allergies to perfumes, so we will try to remember to ask people not to wear perfume

Meeting notes taken by Mo Markham

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