Why I’m active with Conscience Canada

Protesting what the government is doing in our name has its place, but I want to take more direct action in recognition of my responsibility, as a citizen and taxpayer.

I hope that if I had been a citizen living under the Nazi regime, that I would have done my best to resist participating in their terrible programmes. I learned, as a child, about the holocaust, and I wondered how the Germans could have supported such a government. With time, I came to see that we all go along with things, at least up to a certain point, that we know to be damaging.

But when people make space to listen to their conscience, change becomes possible. Conscience Canada (CC) offers a kind of meeting place for people to come together to support each other in understanding and following that still small voice.

In our society, violence is often accepted as if other possibilities weren’t feasible. As a member of CC, and especially since becoming a board member, I’ve been learning a lot about the power of nonviolence.

If you’d be interested to know more, feel free to contact me at janslakov@shaw.ca or (250) 537-5251