As part of our work on the Jubilee 2025 Turn Debt Into Hope campaign, ORCIE-BCRÉI sent a letter to the Honourable Dominic Leblanc in February, during his short time as Finance Minister, as well as a letter to PM Mark Carney when he became the newly elected leader of the Liberals in March. These moments may seem like flashes in a pan (was this only a few months ago?) but they are part of setting the stage for in person meetings and keeps the urgent issue of debt cancellation and climate justice front and centre.
On the issue of climate finance and ecological debt, staff from ORCIE-BCRÉI and other Jubilee 2025 organizations met with Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Steven Kuhn from Finance Canada and a few other Directors as they were preparing for the 4th International Conference on Finance for Development https://financing.desa.un.org/ffd4. They were very encouraged by the conversation about both financial debt and ecological debt as Canada prepares for G7, G20 and COP30.
Laudato Si 10th Anniversary
For the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si, KAIROS is inviting people to visit the new ORCIE website to learn about what Religious in the Global South have to say about the intersections of ecological debt, colonialism, and the responsibilities we hold to respond with reparations.
ORCIE-BCRÉI’s very own Darlene O’Leary—Coordinator of the Martha Justice Ministry with the Sisters of St. Martha in Antigonish—explores the enduring wisdom and prophetic urgency of Pope Francis’ encyclical. She draws out its core message of integral ecology, showing how its vision of interconnectedness deepens and strengthens our pursuit of economic justice—especially in this year of Jubilee.
Resources
Excellent article from Broadbent Institute Perspectives This Time It Is Worse: Political Economy of the Current International Debt Crisis with historical context on the debt crisis and is pointing to some of the solutions that align with the Jubilee campaign, including the Bridgetown Initiative.