The Great Law of Peace contributed to peace as core principle of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which has and will influence policies for generations to come. #Canada150

Among the Haudenosaunee – that is to say the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, the Oneida and the Tuscarora, the Great Law of Peace is the oral constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The law was written on wampum belts, conceived by Dekanawidah, known as The Great Peacemaker (born near the Bay of Quinte, in southeastern Ontario, Canada in the mid 1400s), and his spokesman Hiawatha.

When peace had successfully been spread among the five nations and the strength of unity recognized, the people gathered together to celebrate. They uprooted a white pine tree and threw their weapons into the hole. They replanted the tree on top of the weapons and named it the Tree of Peace, which symbolizes the Great Law of Peace that the Haudenosaunee came to live by. The four main roots of the Tree of Peace represent the four directions and the paths of peace that lead to the heart of Haudenosaunee territory, where all who want to follow the Great Law of Peace are welcome. At the top of the Tree of Peace is an eagle, guardian of the Haudenosaunee and messenger to the Creator.

The Great Law of Peace rested on principles foreign to western nations of the day. It considered leaders to be the servants of the people, rather than their masters, and included provisions for their impeachment should it become necessary. Freedom of expression in political and religious matters was promoted, and the unauthorized entry of homes forbidden. It was ahead of the European laws in valuing the political participation of women and the relatively equitable distribution of wealth. It could be argued that the early colonists’ interactions with First Nations peoples and their understanding of Haudenosaunee government exerted some influence on the development of the U.S. constitution as well as the Suffragette movement.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy thrives today and continues to enjoy the support of the Six Nations as their representative government even though an elective system was established in 1924.

For more information, visit the Haundenosaunee Confederacy website.

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Laurie Davey-Quantick contributes to peace through her activism and humanitarian work on behalf of children in Uganda. #Canada150

While on a trip to Uganda distributing bed kits on behalf of Sleeping Children Around the World Laurie Davey-Quantick was inspired to work to help to alleviate poverty in the country. In 2003, Davey-Quantick helped found Omwaana Ono International (Omwaana Ono are the Lusoga words for This Child ) with The Inner Wheel Club, an International Voluntary Charitable Organization made up of the wives of Rotarians. Omwaana Ono International focuses on the opportunities for and breaking down the barriers to education.

The group, made up of more than a dozen regular volunteers, has become a life- changing organization that advances the education of children living in poverty in developing countries, notably in Uganda.

In August of 2008 Laurie was asked to visit a secondary school in the village of Kyabazaala while in Uganda. The students have to walk up to an hour to collect water for use at the school. The group’s first project was to construct a well, on an eight-acre parcel of land local Catholic diocese allowed them to build on. The well was completed in June 2009. It now serves 300 households, or nearly 2,000 people.

On the same parcel of land, the group built a classroom, and developed a sewing program so that young girls and women had a place and the means to develop sewing skills.  One of the lessons teaches girls and women how to sew and sell washable sanitary napkins.

“When they start to menstruate, going to school becomes an onerous task. They have no sanitary towels, and no napkins. They are using old rags, if they even have those. So to go to school when you’re having your period is problematic, it’s embarrassing.” To prevent potential embarrassment, the girls just stop going to school. New skills and resources are enabling girls to remain in school, and make a living for themselves.

Laurie has also been active in the peace movement, serving as one of the founding members of the Kingston branch of Operation Dismantle in the 1980s.

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Bertha Wilson contributed to peace with her imaginative and humane legal decisions in judicial cases involving human rights. #Canada150

Bertha Wilson was admitted to Dalhousie Law School in 1954 and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1957 and of Ontario in 1959. “From my very first day of classes, I knew the law was my thing,” she said. “I just soaked it up like a sponge.” She graduated in 1957, near the top of her class.

Bertha practiced law from 1958 to 1975 with the large Toronto firm Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt, where she specialized in legal research and opinion writing on a wide range of subjects for other lawyers. She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in December 1975.

In 1982, after intense feminist pressure to name a woman to the Supreme Court, Wilson was appointed. Since then she participated in several Supreme Court decisions, one of the most momentous of which is probably striking down Canadian abortion law in early 1988. In the same year she was appointed a commissioner on the Erasmus-Dussault royal commission on native issues. She served on the Supreme Court from 1982 to 1991.

Allan Hutchison wrote of her in The Globe and Mail upon her retirement, “…her experience as a woman made it more likely that she would understand and champion the history and hopes of Canadian women… her judgments were more likely to be received differently – in negative and positive ways – than those of male judges.”

In 1991 she was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1992 she was named Companion of the Order of Canada. Bertha Wilson passed away in Ottawa on April 28, 2007.

Speaking of the role of the judiciary in the new age of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms…

“we are somewhat in the position of space travelers leaving the gravitational comfort of earth; we have to learn new ways to cope with unfamiliar and uncharted horizons.”

Remarks Made at the Superior Court Judges’ Seminar” (August 1987)

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Historic Peace Churches have contributed to peace through their consistent stance against violence and war. #Canada150

The term “historic peace churches” refers specifically to three church groups among pacifist churches—Church of the Brethren, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and Mennonites. The label has been used since the first conference of the peace churches in Kansas, USA in 1935.

Members of the Church of the Brethren, Quakers and Mennonites work through Christian Peacemaker Teams to reduce violence and systematic injustice in regions of conflict.

Statement on pacifism from the Quaker community:

“Perhaps Quakers are best known for our peace testimony. This arises from our conviction that love is at the heart of existence and all human beings are equal in the eyes of God, and that we must live in a way that reflects this. The peace testimony has led Quakers to refuse military service, and to become involved in a wide range of peace activities, from practical work in areas affected by violent conflict to the development of alternatives to violence at all levels from personal to international. Quakers do this in a variety of ways; campaigning and raising awareness around issues of economic and social justice, offering support and guidance to those seeking alternatives to violence, working to challenge and change the circumstances that lead to war, and by seeking to live peacefully within our own homes and communities.”

From Dick Benner, a published voice in the Mennonite community:

“We have attempted compromise by wearing, instead of the poppy, a peace button that proclaims: “To remember is to work for peace.” And every year we struggle with that compromise, this year being no exception, with a rigorous discussion on social media as to the merits of the peace button. Are we still tilting the narrative too much toward celebrating war, rather than witnessing to peace as the better alternative? Or are we still dishonouring the dead by suggesting there is a better way? Are we exploiting these patriotic rituals to bring our own countercultural message? Some settle their consciences by wearing both the poppy and the Mennonite Central Committee peace button. Others of us, conflicted by the matter, wear neither, and pray for peace instead in silent reflection. Listening to the intensity of feelings on both sides of this conversation, it is doubtful that we will ever come to a resolution on the matter.”

From Church of the Brethren:

“The Church of the Brethren seeks to become a living peace church. Christians are called by God to witness to the gospel of peace with such intensity that nations repent and history is changed. Less than a radical witness can only lead us to accept idols of materialism, blind nationalism, the glorification of military strength, dependence on technological solutions for human problems, and personal and national security at the expense of justice.”

Civilian Public Service during WW II came about as a result of the three historic peace churches collaborating with the U.S. government to provide conscientious objectors with alternatives to military service, such as fighting forest fires, and controlling erosion and floods.

Peace churches have also attempted to heal the ravages of war without favoritism. The Quakers sent large shipments of food and medicine to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and to U.S. embargoed Cuba.

To The Church of the Brethren state, “All war is sin.”

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Rosemary Brown, MPP contributed to peace through her advocacy work for the black community and women everywhere. #Canada150

Rosemary Brown (d. April 26, 2003) has the distinction of being Canada’s first Black female member of a provincial legislature and the first woman to run for leadership of a federal political party.

Brown was born in Jamaica to a politically minded family. She immigrated to Canada in 1951 to pursue post-secondary studies in social work at McGill University (BA) and the University of British Columbia (Masters of Social Work). Following graduation, Brown became involved with the British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and Voice of Women. She also worked briefly with the Children’s Aid Society and as a counsellor at Simon Fraser University.

During the turbulence of the 1960s Brown found renewed purpose in her role as a political advocate against both racism and sexism. She brought that level of awareness to her role as Ombudswoman and founding member of the Vancouver Status of Women Council (VSW). In 1972 Brown entered provincial politics as a New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate, becoming the first Black woman to sit in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

During her 14 years as MLA, Brown created a committee to remove sexism in British Columbia’s educational material and was instrumental in the formation of the Berger Commission on the Family.

Brown retired from the provincial legislature in 1988 and turned her attention to international advocacy. She became the CEO of the advocacy group MATCH International Women’s Fund, serving for three years and holding additional positions thereafter. In 1993, Brown was named chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a position she held until 1996, all the while continuing her work with MATCH.

In recognition of her exceptional life of public service, Brown was awarded numerous national and international distinctions, including a total of 15 honorary doctorates from Canadian universities, the Order of British Columbia (1995), the Order of Canada (Officer, 1996), and in 1973 the United Nations’ Human Rights Fellowship.

“To be black and female in a society which is both racist and sexist is to be in the unique position of having nowhere to go but up…We must open the doors and we must see to it they remain open, so that others can pass through.”

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

John Pearson, architect, contributed to peace through his design of the iconic Peace Tower in the centre block of Canada’s parliament buildings.  #Canada150

The Peace Tower is architect John A. Pearson’s response to the horrors of World War I: an expression of peace in stone. It was designed to not only to stand as an architectural feature and landmark, but also to function as a memorial to Canadians who had given their lives during the Great War. In a letter to Prime Minster McKenzie King in 1927 John Pearson wrote, “In all my thought of the tower, peace was dominant. I believe there is a quiet peaceful dignity about it. I somehow bring myself to read it that way – no matter what troubles or worries and differences of opinion take place in the building. I feel that one cannot approach the building up the centre road without experiencing its mute appeal for toleration, moderation, dignity and peace.”

The Peace Tower houses the Memorial Chamber, a vaulted 7.3 m by 7.3 m (24 ft by 24 ft) room directly above the porte-cochere, with stained glass windows and various other features illustrating Canada’s war record, such as the brass plates made from spent shell casings found on battlefields that were inlaid into the floor, and bore the name of each of Canada’s major conflicts during the First World War. Stone that architect John Pearson personally collected from the main European battlefields where Canadians were killed is included in the floors and walls. Pearson described the room, also called the Memorial Chapel, as a “sacred grove in the middle of the forest.”

The stone walls were originally to have been inscribed with the names of all Canada’s servicemen and women who had died during the First World War; but, without enough space for all 66,000 names, it was later decided to place Books of Remembrance there instead. The books list all Canadian soldiers, airmen, and seamen who died in service of the Crown—whether that of Britain (before 1931) or that of Canada (after 1931)—or allied countries in foreign wars, including the Nile Expedition and Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. The books are displayed in glass cases on seven altars around the chamber, the pages of each book turned at 11 a.m. daily so every name is on display to visitors at least once during each calendar year.

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

The John Howard and Elizabeth Fry Societies contribute to peace by advocating for prison reform and providing services to prisoners. #Canada150

“When thee builds a prison, thee had better build with the thought ever in thy mind that thee and thy children may occupy the cells.” – Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845)

Based on the example of their namesakes, these societies provided service and advocacy for prisoners and ex-prisoners.

Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker, visited Newgate Prison in 1813 and was appalled by the conditions she found. Her insight, persistence, organizational ability and her willingness to see a spark of the divine in every person resulted in striking reforms taking place in the treatment of women and children London’s Newgate Prison. She was a strong proponent of humane treatment for prisoners and regarded by many as a leading expert in prison reform.

John Howard was an 18th century Englishman who spent five years in French dungeons. Later, as Sheriff of Bedford he was tasked with inspecting local prisons. Shocked by the corruption, stench, filth, starvation and disease he saw in the jails, he dedicated his life to improving prison conditions throughout England, Wales and continental Europe. His famous report, On the State of Prisons in England and Wales led to legislation against the more obvious evils of the system, and slowly moved public opinion to favour more humane prison conditions.

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is an association of self- governing, community-based Elizabeth Fry Societies that work with and for women and girls in the justice system, particularly those who are, or may be, criminalized. Together, Elizabeth Fry Societies develop and advocate the beliefs, principles and positions that guide CAEFS. The association exists to ensure substantive equality in the delivery and development of services and programs through public education, research, legislative and administrative reform, regionally, nationally and internationally. CAEFS work to increase public awareness and promotion of decarceration for women; reduce the numbers of women who are criminalized and imprisoned in Canada; increase the availability of community-based, publicly funded, social service, health and educational resources available for marginalized, victimized, criminalized, and imprisoned women; and to work collaboratively with other women’s groups working to address poverty, racism, and other forms of oppression.

Elizabeth Fry Societies have developed a number of position papers on issues; such as, the LSD experiments on women at the Kingston Prison for Women, deaths in custody, and literacy, as well as numerous papers on the experience of Indigenous women in the justice system. They provided recommendations to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the need for the Commission, the impact of Residential Schools on Indigenous women, the criminalization and over-incarceration of Indigenous women, the over policing and under-protecting of Indigenous women in the community, the child welfare crisis, the need to keep Indigenous women from being incarcerated to begin with, and the inequity of security assessments that experience in prison.

The John Howard Society depends heavily on public involvement to deliver and shape their programs. Volunteers are extensively involved in the direct work of delivering services and programs to young offenders including education for youth at the primary prevention level, training and employment services for youth, counseling (some specific to problems such as drug and alcohol abuse and sexual offending), literacy and/or life skills programs for youth, supervision of young offender Community Service Orders, young offender Victim Offender Reconciliation/Restitution programs, young offender Attendance Centre programs, and residential programs.  At the provincial/territorial and national levels, activities have included providing testimony in a professional capacity at young offender transfer hearings, preparing community education bulletins, position papers and briefs related to the issues of youth crime and young offenders and working with a coalition of organizations and individuals concerned about the welfare of children who may be at risk of coming into conflict with the law.

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Ryan Hreljac contributes to peace as founder of Ryan’s Well which provides potable water to communities in need. #Canada150

Ryan’s Well Foundation was established to build wells and sanitation projects and educate children worldwide about sanitation and safe water. In 2009, there were an estimated 300 million people in Africa who did not have access to clean water. This number rose to 1 billion in 2014. The foundation has three ways to educate school children about water issues, the Youth in Action program, the Getting Involved program and the School Challenge program.

As a six year old schoolchild Ryan Hreljac learned of the obstacles people in Africa face in getting fresh, clean water. He learned that illness came from intestinal worms and bacteria, and that children often missed school because they were sick from dirty water, and that others died from diseases like water-born typhoid.

Hreljac began raising money for those affected by the global water crisis by doing household chores, which netted him $70 over a four month period. Within twelve months he had raised $2,000, which was the cost to build a well, according to WaterCan, a non-profit organization that provides clean water in poor countries. In January 1999, he sent the money to WaterCan, who drilled the first Ryan’s well in northern Uganda beside the Angolo Public School. It was built by The Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR). In two years, Ryan raised $61,000, and the Canadian International Development Agency heard of matched $2 for every dollar that he raised.

“My advice to anyone is that in order to make a positive change in the world, you need to find something you are passionate about and then you need to take steps to act. For me, the issue is water and sanitation…You’re never too young and never too old to make a difference.”

 

The Foundation has completed over 900 water projects including wells, protected springs and rain harvesting tanks providing water to more than 824,038 people in:

East Africa: Uganda and Kenya

West Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo

Americas: Haiti

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Climate Activists contribute to peace through their advocacy and action on behalf of the planet and all living things. #Canada150

Every province and territory of Canada has climate change advocates and organizations that have brought to public attention the evidence of climate change. In northern Canada, especially the three territories, many advocates have incorporated insights from indigenous knowledge, particularly the knowledge of the elders in their climate change advocacy. In the large cities of Canada climate change advocates have based their advocacy primarily on many, many studies; global and local, documenting the speed and depth of climate change.

Most scientists attribute climate change to the activity of humankind, concluding that if human actions are the source of significant climate change, we should also be able to both slow and prevent it from happening. In spite of the mounting evidence, there remain some who assert that climate change is natural, has occurred before, and therefore is nothing to be alarmed about. Such assertions have been employed by politicians and corporate interests alike in attempt to depict climate change advocates as being extremists and/or against progress.

In Canada, many efforts to protect our environment have been inspired by the recent Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015), and continue to be fueled by the courage of individuals and organizations on the local, national and international stages. Statements by many religious leaders have also contributed to meaningful action, including the first encyclical by Pope Francis (Laudato ‘Si).

Among the countless contributions to the climate change movement, most Canadians would recognize the work of leaders like the women of the Mother Earth Water Walk, Dr. David Suzuki, Elizabeth May, Naomi Klein, Theresa Spence, Maude Barlow and so many others. Who would you add to this list? Perhaps yourself?

Thank you to climate activists everywhere!

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.

Dr. Jennie Trout contributed to peace by pioneering the advancement of women in the field of medicine in Canada.  #Canada150

The names of women are conspicuously absent from the lists of famous Canadian medical pioneers. Historically, the male medical establishment was hostile to the idea of educated and paid female doctors. During the 19^th century Canadian women were struggling for the mere right to practice medicine. For them, acceptance into a medical school was a major achievement. The two women most responsible for breaking down the barriers and advancing medical training for women in Canada were Emily Stowe and Jennie Kidd Trout. In 1875, Jennie Trout became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada.

Born in 1841, Trout grew up on a farm near Stratford, Ontario. Upon graduation, she became a teacher in Stratford; a role she continued until she married Edward Trout in 1865. Soon after marriage she became ill for many years. When she recovered, she decided to become a physician. Her plans were encouraged by her husband, as well as by her longtime friend and mentor, Emily Stowe, who had been practicing medicine in Toronto since 1867 although she was not licensed by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.

When the Toronto School of Medicine reluctantly allowed Jennie Trout and Emily Stowe to attend lectures, it was on the condition that they “make no fuss, whatever happened.” Led by the lecturers themselves, the male students jeered at the women. Obscene sketches had to be white-washed from the walls four times in the course of the lectures. Finally, Trout went to the United States for her medical education. She returned to Canada in 1875 with a medical degree from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. She went on to practice medicine at Toronto’s Therapeutic and Electrical Institute until 1882.

When poor health forced her to retire she began working toward the establishment of a Canadian women’s medical college. After a long campaign to gather support for the college, Trout had another fight to see that women could sit on the college’s board of governors. Finally, the Women’s Medical College at Kingston opened on October 2, 1883, partly supported by a large financial contribution from Trout herself. Dr. Jennie Trout opened the door for the many Canadian women doctors who came after her.

Got a name in mind? Contribute to the list! Send us your suggested names on the Contact Us page.

Want to get 150+ Canadians straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.