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Message to PM Trudeau from Anglican, Lutheran leaders

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Published on 
February 1, 2019

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Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing to urge you and the Government of Canada to fulfil your promise to create a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

On January 17, 2018, your government promised that:

  • It would create the CORE,
  • The CORE would be fully independent, and
  • The CORE would have the powers needed to investigate—including the power to compel the truth.

In the 2013 Joint Assembly Declaration, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada committed to addressing together issues of responsible resource extraction (www.jointassembly.ca/delegates/acc/cc/joint-assembly-declaration/index.html).

We regard the CORE as a valuable tool to help support communities in defining their own development goals and to ensure Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world are able to exercise their right to free, prior and informed consent.

It has now been more than a full year since the CORE was announced and there is still no ombudsperson in place. The need to uphold rights is urgent. We urge you to act promptly to fulfill this promise.

It is the ongoing prayer of our churches that we would have the humility and discipline to use the earth’s resources wisely and responsibly.

Yours in Christ,

Susan Johnson Signature

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald
National Anglican Indigenous Bishop, Anglican Church of Canada

Fred H - Black
The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz
Primate, Anglican Church of Canada

Explore related topic areas: Archbishop Fred Hiltz

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.