In July, our lead organizer wrote an opinion editorial through the CBC's editorial section. You can view it here.

Churches are burning. Others are sprayed in orange and red with the haunting words: "We were children."

But these are small losses compared to thousands of graves of children. What are a few buildings, when the church is losing its spiritual legitimacy? Who in their right mind would turn for spiritual hope to institutions that preach love but participated in and hid the abuse and deaths of thousands of children at residential schools in Canada?

I am a person of faith and a member of the clergy. I'm left with a harsh question: In the face of genocide, can the churches save their own soul?

“So having a safe space in Mohkínstsis, in Calgary, where we’re able to pray and be with our elders and with our community in a safe way,” community organizer Tapisa Kilabuk said. “Collectively, we are in this all together, and it’s important to have non-Indigenous folks be a part of this process as it’s their community too.”

• "Calgary skyline to be lit orange on July 1 amid calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations" - Link

Jane Ebbern represented the Calgary Alliance at a council meeting this spring that focused on the Green Line LRT project. She was featured on local news website Sprawl Alberta. Her comments are below.

JANE EBBERN: I'm here to speak on behalf of the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, which brings together 31 organizations that represent approximately 36,000 Calgarians. Together we organize the power of our communities to shape a just and compassionate Calgary.

LiveWire covered the presentations to City Council during the budget debates in late 2020. Our Board Chair, The Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee, presented along with several others from the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good.

In November of 2020, one of our Indigenous Organizers wrote an opinion editorial through the Calgary Herald. You can view it here.

In the Calgary Herald, one of our Indigenous Organizers was interviewed with the Calgary Herald in our ongoing work advocating to expand the Calgary Police Service's community policing initiatives. You can read the article here.

Longtime advocate Suzanne Karhiio Dzus is urging the Calgary police force to expand its community policing initiatives with Indigenous residents as a meaningful step towards reconciliation.

The city's growth plans were being reviewed at council in October. Members of our Alliance showed up - speaking at the public committee and highlighting the massive subsidies being given toward approving more sprawl on Calgary's fringes.

The Calgary Herald recently published an opinion piece that was co-written by the Calgary Alliance, the Calgary Climate Hub and Arusha Centre. It focuses on the need to integrate climate into the city's budget.

The article can be found here.

Is the Green Line project back on track?

The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good believes council is playing politics and ignoring the transit needs of those in north Calgary.

It said any project failing to cross the Bow River would be yet another way people in the under-served north get short-changed.

Here is some of our news coverage on our Green Line Action.

• “There’s $3 billion from the feds and the province for this project, and that money will go away if we don’t go ahead with this project,” says Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee with the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good. (CTV News)
• CTV news last night at 5 pm we are on briefly 8 minutes in - Link
• CTV news last night at 6 pm we are on briefly at about minute 23 - Link
• CBC news last night – 10:44 - Link

Calgary Sprawl

"We also have all sorts of people in Calgary for whom driving is not an option. I have a member of my congregation who's blind, and so he sort of laughs when people talk about “how does cutting transit impact you.” He's like, "Well, how else am I going to get around? Right? I can't ride a bike, right? I can't drive." So much of our community that lives with disabilities of one kind or another, transit is their lifeline to get out and about."

• The Rev. Greenwood-Lee - Calgary Sprawl

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• "For a better city, let's get going on the Green Line." - Link
• On Monday morning, a group of advocates from the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good gathered outside city hall to show their support for the Green Line. (Calgary Herald)