Tag: law

Canadian UU Events: Fall 2018, Spring 2019

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Upcoming UU regional, national and international action:
– Referendum on BC Electoral Reform, before 30 Nov;
– CUC AGM, 11 May 2019 in Toronto;
– BC Interior UU Spring Gathering – “Creating Theology Together”, date & location TBA

CUC 2019 Annual General Meeting – Sat 11 May 2019 (weekend before the long weekend), online and live from Toronto. Participate online — being easy on the environment is part of the plan!

We suggest pre-reading and discussion in the fall of 2018 on this topic:     

“Proportional Representation: Assessment of alternative models” – What national, regional, congregational, and individual action plans can we create in support of proportional representation? CUC may propose actions for approval under democracy resolutions endorsed by members at the 2013, 2005 and 2003 AGMs. Therefore, prepare early!

The Vancouver Westside Unitarian Neighbourhood Group (WUNG) discussed this topic at its October 2018 meeting. Here are some links related to those discussions.

“The Rural-Urban PR model proposed by the Attorney General for BC builds on the work of previous commissions and assemblies, combining Mixed Member Proportional and Single Transferable Vote to meet the challenges of BC’s geography. A model like this was proposed federally in 2016 by Canada’s former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley, and something very similar to this is used in Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.”

BC Interior UU Spring Gathering 2019 – Joan Carolyn, Congregational Life Staff Team – Regional Lead, Western & B.C. will be leading discussions with a planning group for a BC Interior UU gathering on the theme “Creating Theology Together”.

Here’s a link to the research behind this theme, a work by John Morehouse, 2015.

CUC 2020 Annual General Meeting & Conference, 15-17 May 2020, online & live from Halifax. Plan ahead! Put it in your calendar now. Reduce carbon emissions! Take the train or drive an electric or hybrid vehicle. Participate online! Compare stones from West and East coast beaches!

Beach stones – natural
Beach stones – enhanced

Indigenous Peoples and the Law: Stories of Resistance and Hope

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Dr. Bruce McIvor, lawyer and historian, is principal of First Peoples Law Corporation. Bruce represents First Nations across Canada. His recent and ongoing work includes litigation involving treaty rights, the duty to consult and Aboriginal title. He also works with numerous clients across Canada to negotiate agreements based on consent and recognition of their Indigenous laws and jurisdiction.

Bruce is a proud Métis from the Red River in Manitoba.

Rainbow Refugee

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient

The Outreach Opportunities Fund will be collecting for the Rainbow Refugee Society from October to January, 2019.

A portion of the Sunday service offering goes to an organization selected by the OOF committee.

About Rainbow Refugee

  • Founded in 2000, Rainbow Refugee is a Vancouver based community group that supports people seeking refugee protection in Canada because of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression (SOGIE) or HIV status.

OWL – Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient

The Outreach Opportunities Fund will be collecting for the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL) from June to September. OWL is a non-profit organization whose staff and volunteers are dedicated to public education and the rehabilitation and
release of injured and orphaned raptors.

A portion of the Sunday service offering goes to an organization selected by the OOF committee.

About OWL

 

From Melody Mason on behalf of the Outreach Opportunities Fund Committee.

Would you like to visit? http://www.owlrehab.org/visit-owl/

3800 – 72nd Street
Delta, BC, Canada, V4K 3N2

Summer – July to August

Sunday – 10am to 3pm
Monday – 10am to 3pm
Tuesday – 10am to 3pm
Wednesday – 10am to 3pm
Thursday – 10am to 3pm
Friday – 10am to 3pm
Saturday – 10am to 3pm
Holidays – CLOSED

OWL offers guided tours for the public to come and visit our permanent residents. Hours are listed below.

You can visit us at OWL and see many of our permanent residents (hours are listed below). We operate on a guided tour basis only. You will learn how they came to be at our facility, the jobs they preform at the facility, and about the different species of raptors you can find in British Columbia. This portion of the tour is outdoors and occurs rain or shine, so don’t forget to dress for the weather!

Our tour also includes a walk inside through our Wildlife Museum and Gift Shop. The many exhibits and displays were made possible by dedicated OWL volunteers Sharon Pilkey, Gerry Powers, Colin Iverson, and Christina Hamberger.

Guided tours are by donation, are approximately 30 minutes long, and leave on the half hour, with the last one going out at 2:30pm. Bookings are required for groups of 10 or more, so please call or email us in advance so we can arrange a tour for you.

Giving to Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient February – May 2018

Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)

CLAS provides legal assistance to low-income people across British Columbia (BC).  They focus on legal issues in the areas of: housing security, income security, human rights, mental health rights, and workers’ rights.  They offer a wide variety of legal services, including: summary legal advice to outline client’s options and point them in the right direction, guidance to help clients represent themselves, and full representation.

Assistance is provided to clients in the following areas.

Housing evictions: if there has been an eviction and the tenant has lost a dispute resolution hearing at the Residential Tenancy Branch, if a home is being foreclosed upon, or if membership in a co-op is being terminated.

Access to Government Benefits: if an appeal at the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal or Social Security Tribunal has been lost over regular or disability benefits, supplements or other kind of income support.

Human rights: if someone has been discrimination against, or an appeal has been lost at the Human Rights Tribunal.

Mental health: if a client has applied for a Review Board hearing under the Mental Health Act, or an upcoming Criminal Code Review Board hearing

Work-related legal issues: if an appeal at the Worker’s Compensation Appeal Tribunal, Social Security Tribunal or Employment Standards Tribunal has been lost over workers’ compensation, employment insurance, or other employment-related benefits.

CLAS also takes test cases through the court system. Currently, it has launched a Charter challenge on behalf of two individuals who have undergone forced psychiatric treatment. The case challenges the laws in BC that remove any right for involuntary patients to give or refuse consent to psychiatric treatment, either for themselves or through a trusted family member or friend.

CLAS also advocates for systemic law reform. They work with community and advocacy groups to develop concrete proposals to improve fairness in the law and policy that govern the lives of people in BC. For example, in 2015 their lawyers worked with the City of Vancouver Renters Advisory Committee on a report, Reforming the BC Residential Tenancy System.

From Melody Mason on behalf of the Outreach Opportunities Fund Committee.