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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THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 36th General Council: Call upon the Government of Canada to renew its commitment and support for a national medicare program based on the five fundamental principles of the Canadian Health Act: universality, accessibility, portability, comprehensiveness, and public administration.
The Canadian health care system is under severe pressure (for example, reductions in federal transfer payments to support provincial health care programmes, cutbacks in hospital budgets and in community services, layoffs to hospital and other health care system personnel, the threat of user fees, and the potential of a two-tiered system). In response to this pressure and sparked by a sense of urgency, Unit IV of the Division of Mission in Canada established a Health Task Group in 1991 to engage the church in a process of education, animation and policy formation.
WHEREAS health reform is taking place in many provinces in Canada; and WHEREAS this process is having major impacts on the church’s service to senior citizens and especially on nursing homes and homes for the aged;
Whereas the House of Commons did not take into consideration on Bill C 86 by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Sciences and Technology; and Whereas the Senate Committee’s recommendations reflect the recommendations of ICCR, Amnesty International, the Canadian Bar Association and UNHCR representative to Canada in briefs presented to the Senate Committee and the House of Commons Committee; and
On motion of Buckley/Wiegand it was proposed that having heard and considered Petition 68 and the Sessional Committee report of the 34th General Council take the following action: Recognize the moral right and the responsibility of United Church Congregations to provide sanctuary to legitimate refugee claimants who have been denies refugee status by a process which the church recognizes as being inadequate; and to direct the Division of Mission in Canada to make available guidelines to congregations on the legal and financial implications of attempting to provide sanctuary.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 34th General Council a) makes the following statement on the future of Canada: “The 34th General Council of The United Church of Canada prays for and declares its hope for Canada, where, Aboriginal peoples, Quebecois and other francophones, Metis, anglophones, and peoples of many other cultural heritages share this land together in peace and justice, with respect and appreciation for each other’s history, culture, language, and other distinctive gifts- a sign of hope for the global family of nations.
The 34th General Council through the Division of Mission in Canada a) seeks the removal of the new domestic workers regulation introduced by Immigration Canada, and in effect since 20 January 1992; and
The 34th General Council agrees to 1. request the Division of Mission in Canada to educate congregations, presbyteries, and conferences that it is every child’s right to have the best nutrition and nurture available, and that it is the right of every woman who is involved in a nursing relationship to continue as a full participant in religious, economic, political, and social life; and
The 34th General Council agrees to 1. affirm the Divisions of Mission in Canada and World Outreach for their involvement with the End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) coalition, and through ECPAT to communicate with Canadian tourism organizations to discourage the development of sex trade tourism originating in Canada; and
The 34th General Council strongly encourages the Division of Mission in Canada to create and/or identify the tools and guidelines for AIDS ministry in consultation with HIV-infected people and people presently engaged in this ministry.
