Harper Brings Down The Hammer On Another Faith-Based Group

From Gruending:

The hammer that had earlier landed on faith-based organizations such as KAIROS and the Mennonite Central Committee has now fallen on the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P). Michael Casey, D&P’s executive director, has just written an emergency letter to the organization’s local volunteer leaders in Catholic dioceses throughout the country. He informs them that D&P has just heard from CIDA on a funding proposal made back in July 2010. “We have finally received the government’s response,” Casey writes. “It is not exactly what we were hoping for.” That is a considerable understatement. Casey writes that CIDA, which had provided D&P with $44.6 million in the years 2006-11, has chopped that amount by two-thirds, to a total of $14.5 million over the next five years.

From my perspective, the most interesting bit from the article is this:

Some of the church’s more conservative members in the pew have never accepted D&P’s preference for justice over charity. They also accuse the organization of supporting international development partners who do not always adhere to the church’s line on family planning.

The folks behind Lifesite News have been conducting a vendetta against D&P re this latter issue for ages.  It wouldn't surprise me if they haven't been whispering into Jason Kenney's ear, and this is the result.

Harper Defunds Mennonite Church Group

 Dennis Gruending predicted it in his last outing:

CIDA will soon abandon a number of its long-standing development partners among Canadian NGOs, including a number of church-based organizations. Reliable sources say that a number of those groups will see their funding ended or curtailed this year.

And indeed the axe has begun to fall:

The Conservative government’s shoe is dropping on some long established foreign aid groups while it privileges others. Mennonite Central Committee Canada reports on its website that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has turned down MCC’s proposal of $2.9 million for each of the next three years to provide food, water and income generation assistance for people in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Haiti, Bolivia, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

In this case, too, the MCC is left wondering what its crime might have been.  Alleged anti-semitism? Criticizing the tar sands?  No.  In this case it looks the the MCC referred to Canadian mining companies as a "mixed blessing".  And boom!  they're outta here!

Gruending On CIDA: Canada's New Foreign Policy = Helping Canuck Mining Companies

 Another fine piece from the author of Pulpit and Politics:

CIDA will soon abandon a number of its long-standing development partners among Canadian NGOs, including a number of church-based organizations. Reliable sources say that a number of those groups will see their funding ended or curtailed this year. CIDA is replacing them in its affections with Canadian based multinationals, including Barrick Gold, IAMGOLD, and Rio Tinto Alcan. Oda has been speaking enthusiastically about overseas projects with these three companies and others in the agri-business sector.

Interesting to note to that the funds are being shifted from outfits like KAIROS to CPOC friendly evangelical groups like World Vision.

Gruending On The KAIROS Cuts

KAIROS (the Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives) is a Toronto-based alliance of social justice coalitions. Within the past couple of days, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)--Bev Oda's department-- has cut all funding to KAIROS.

In his latest, Dennis Gruending speculates as to why:

Minister Oda did not communicate with KAIROS about its fate — she rarely communicates publicly with anyone about her portfolio except in the most controlled of circumstances. But the “trouble at the top” may well have had more to do with the work of KAIROS within Canada than with its overseas projects. KAIROS has questioned, on environmental and hence ethical grounds, the rapid development of the tar sands in Western Canada. KAIROS hosted a forum in Calgary in October 2008 and organized a delegation of Canadian church leaders to visit the tar sands in May 2009. The Reform Party and the Canadian Alliance, prior to their takeover of the Progressive Conservative Party, were beneficiaries of generous support from the oil and gas industry. The Harper Conservatives exist on similarly friendly terms with the carbon industry and will not hear of any proposal that would scale back rapid development – despite the environmental problems such development is causing. The implied criticism from KAIROS may have excited the ire of Conservatives at the top, even though most of the KAIROS budget is provided by the organization’s own donors and not by CIDA.

Just by co-incidence, within hours of defunding KAIROS which, among other things, helps women in the Congo who have been brutalized (often raped) by local militias, the Harper government indicated that it wanted an extra 1.7 mill set aside so that the PM can shoot video of him getting on and off military helicopters, and riding on navy vessels, and pass that off as news.

Brad The Impaler

When he's not sticking it to his fellow Tories, how does Brad Trost, Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Saskatoon—Humboldt, spend his days?

Trying to defund International Planned Parenthood, of course. He's got a petition to the HOC going that would cut their government funding. One thing he's pissed off about:

The IPPF does not support physicians' freedom to practice according to their conscience and/or religious beliefs regarding abortion referral.

Note we're talking abortion referral here, not abortion per se. Brad thinks Christian docs should be able to refuse to even tell women seeking abortions where they might get one. IPP's declaration on the matter reads:

5.3 Health care professionals have the right to conscientious objection with regard to providing contraception and abortion services only if they can refer the client to health professionals willing to provide the service immediately. No such right exists in emergency cases where lives are at risk.

But that ain't good enough for Brad.

Note that IPP is funded through CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency). That's Bev Oda's department...for now. Keep your head down, Bev.