Board member Jan Slakov introduces a recent article by former soldier Trevor Greene:

“Some time ago I heard an interview with Trevor Greene, an interview that moved me to tears, about how he had reached a point of forgiveness following the terrible axe attack that nearly killed him.

Oddly enough, I think there is quite a profound connection between COs (like me) and soldiers. Maybe it is partly that both groups put a lot on the line in support of what they believe in. Certainly, although I would never encourage someone to join the military, for me and others in Conscience Canada, it is vitally important that our work not be seen as dismissive of the sacrifices made by soldiers.

All this to say that I am so very delighted that the democracy Trevor Greene wants to defend seems to be the same one I too want to defend.”

From one battlefield to another

By Trevor Green

(Published in the Toronto Star, Saturday, May 12 2012)

Every generation updates and renews the values that make us who we are. I once found it hard to truly understand what those in my grandfather’s generation meant when they spoke of making the ultimate sacrifice in wartime to allow their loved ones back home to live in a democracy.

Until, that is, I myself almost lost it all in a remote village in Afghanistan on behalf of the values that make us Canadian, values that I now see as under threat not by a foreign force, but by a domestic one. Continue reading →

Board member Eric Unger wrote:
I have forwarded the truth dig video (of the American war veterans throwing their medals toward the highly secured building where NATO representatives are presently meeting) to Stephen Harper and Barack Obama, along with the following note.

I am deeply impressed by the courage shown by these military/former military people. May their courage motivate others to join in their efforts to put an end to war. Continue reading →

By Mary Groh

Resolution: Be it resolved that Canada would be more secure if funding were re-allocated from the military to development at home and abroad.

Speaker for the Resolution: Professor Constance Candida
Speaker against the Resolution: Retired General Warren Shuter
Continue reading →

Last week we saw with our eyes money being scooped up and removed from the highway (Brinks truck accident on its way from the Mint). That bizarre TV image helps us visualize what we are hearing this week–Canadian tax money being scooped up. But instead of being rescued and put into useful circulation, it is being shovelled straight into a black hole (Lockheed Martin and other arms producers).

People who have been elected to operate and build up a country of peace-loving people by the intelligent distribution of our wealth have chosen instead to divert our money from what Canadians need and to shovel it by the billions into jet fighter planes. If the F-35’s ever function at all it will not be for constructive purposes.

Are our ministers in fact still free moral agents, or are they caught in the military-industrial web? If so, they must start right now to try to extricate themselves, because get out of it we must, for the health of our country and the peace of the world.

Mary Groh, president
Conscience Canada

This letter was sent to the Victoria Times-Colonist. It was inspired by Dominique Boisvert & Bruna Nota; see the post below.

Dear Editor,

“This is the most distorted hijacking of a procurement process you could ever make.” So says Alan Williams, former DND assistant deputy minister for materiel about the path leading to the proposed replacement of CF-18s with F-35 fighter jets. Continue reading →

MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OR OF WAR?

The scandal of the F-35 has lasted long enough!

Ministerial irresponsibility is not excused by the influence the military establishment or the military industrial complex exert. Nor is it acceptable for the government to lie repeatedly to Parliament and to Canadians. It was known to all (except maybe to the Government?) that the costs quoted were widely under estimated.

This is administrative improvisation. For a government that boasts its fiscal expertise, this is a resounding fiasco!

But beyond this political disaster, it is high time to ask ourselves: “Do we really need F-35?” And the response is a resounding NO. Continue reading →

On February 22, Conscience Canada members in Nelson BC held a Peace Cafe. The evening began with a delicious meal prepared by Soups in Season.

We were fortunate to have MP Alex Atamanenko join us and he spoke about Bill C-363. Next we watched two informative and inspiring documentaries: “Work For Peace Stop Paying for War” and “Contempt of Conscience”. At the end of the evening we had a chance for questions and discussion.

Are you interested in holding a similar event in your community? Please get in touch! Conscience Canada can provide support and various resources including DVDs and other publicity material.

Amid the various commemorations of the War of 1812 that have been underway, those who wish to remember the peace church pioneers are also engaged in the bicentennial of the war. Continue reading →