This Library contains documents from all recent United Church governance meetings, including General Council and its Executive. It will also soon include “Our Beliefs Explained” official policy documents dating back several decades. If you can't find something you think should be included, contact gcbusiness@united-church.ca.
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THAT the 31st General Council reaffirm The United Church of Canada position opposing all forms of advertising of beverage alcohol, and that the national Division of Mission in Canada again communicate this position to the federal and appropriate provincial and territorial governments.
The United Church supports public research and development in the area of agriculture and food production, and the adequate funding of same, provided such research is socially beneficial and in particular does not have destabilizing effects on the farming and fishing communities Keywords: Farming, Genetic Modification, Animal Experimentation, Animal Rights, Animal Husbandry, Biotechnology, Genetics
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 31st General Council requests the General Secretary of General Council to request the federal, and where appropriate, the provincial governments to clarify, strengthen and guarantee Indian fishery rights in full consultation with the Indian people; this to include Licensing Principles and Licensing Boards.
WHEREAS the church must be concerned about the long-term production capability of our soil, we add our voice to those who are asking for action on this matter: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 31st General Council requests the General Secretary of General Council to invite the federal, provincial and territorial governments to develop comprehensive soil conservation policies which include financial incentives to farmers to help defray the cost of such conservation practices.
WHEREAS the Agriculture and Food Resources Committee is concerned that many urban people in Canada do not fully understand the problems facing agricultural and fishing families, or the contribution which these families are making to society as a whole
WHEREAS not all ministers serving in rural charges may have the necessary background and knowledge to be of optimum assistance to their parishioners
SUPPORT all efforts to discourage smoking in work places, public buildings and all forms of public transportation, and ask local congregations to encourage and support such efforts in their communities;
The termination of the boycott was reported, and the action of the Division in October 1984 communicated. The Executive of General Council agreed to: 1 ENDORSE the International Nestle Boycott Committee (INBC) to terminate the current boycott of Nestle; 2 CELEBRATE the success of this seven-year campaign to change a major multinational company’s aggressive practices in marketing infant formula in the Third World, which contributed to severe malnutrition for many infants;
WHEREAS General Council in 1982, acting on petitions from several conferences, including Hamilton, identified acid rain as a major issue for attention by the church; and The United Church of Canada sponsored a major international consultation on acid rain in January 1984, bringing together representatives of 25 religious bodies from Canada and the United States, and issuing a statement which included specific recommendations for action
WHEREAS the world church has been called to develop Christian, social and political ethics based on the vision of a “just, participatory and sustainable” society as the foundation of a wise stewardship of all the resources with which we have been blessed by God; and WHEREAS the United Church at its 29th General Council adopted policies which apply this vision to energy and environmental questions; and WHEREAS the Division of Mission in Canada has encouraged the church to consider the vision of the kingdom, announced in the ministry of Jesus, and realized in just and right relations among humankind; and WHEREAS the state of the present Canadian and world economy represents a state of moral crisis, in which capital, rather than labour, property rather than people, are asserted as the dominant principle of economic and social life, and inequality and injustice increase rather than get reduced; and
