By Associate Deirdre Pike
Just 10 days after Parliament resumed this September, members of the Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology (ORCIE) were already knocking on doors on Parliament Hill, bringing faith-filled urgency to the climate conversation.
I was honoured to be a part of the ORCIE delegation, for the third time in our collective mission to bring Catholic voices for climate justice directly to federal decision-makers.
Each time we met with someone we explained that ORCIE is a network of Catholic religious congregations across Canada who have a long history of addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
Quoting from Laudate Si, we shared how, “a true ecological approach…must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” (LS49)
Our team was comprised of Joe Gunn, retired Oblate Justice Director, ORCIE staff Sasquia Antunez Pineda, and two vowed members, Karen Kelly, of the Congregation of Notre Dame, and Danielle Julien, FMIC (Filles de Marie Immaculée), executive assistant to the Canadian Religious Conference.
Our meetings included an hour with the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, as well as a good half hour session with Corey Hogan, the only Liberal member from Alberta who presented himself as "an EV-driving vegetarian". He made this reference to counter a commone stereotype that Albertans are not interested in fighting the climate crisis.
Besides the nine face-face meetings with various parliamentarians and senior policy makers, ORCIE staff members had done extensive outreach to 45 MPs, including intensive conversations with 30 offices.
Our delegation included 10 participants from six religious congregations—Notre Dame, FMIC, St. Joseph, Providence, St. Martha’s, and the SSND—alongside lay collaborators and ORCIE staff.
Strategic connections were made. The ORCIE staff will continue to push for a meeting with the Minister of the Environment, Julie Dabrusin, who unfortunately had to cancel our scheduled meeting. We did meet with a senior policy advisor from her office, who was very helpful.
Our faith compels us to keep showing up - in offices, in communities, in prayer - for the sake of our common home. The conversations in Ottawa were just one step, but they reflected the strength and persistence of religious communities committed to creation.
For a deeper dive into the ORCIE policy stances presented during our recent parliamentary visit, please click here.
