Development and Peace-Caritas Canada (French: Développement et Paix) is the official international development arm of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is a member of

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a bett ...

CIDSE CIDSE, which is short for "Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité" (French for "International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic development agencies from Europe an ...

, the

Halifax Initiative The Halifax Initiative is a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations for public interest work and education on international financial institutions. Canadian non-governmental organizations formed the Halifax Initiative in December 1994 ...

and many other networks. Through its membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Development and Peace is also connected to the Humanitarian Coalition, a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations that partner with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

, and mobilize media, businesses and individual Canadians to raise money in response to humanitarian catastrophes around the world.

History

Development and Peace was established in 1967 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter ''

Populorum Progressio ''Populorum progressio'' is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI on the topic of "the development of peoples" and that the economy of the world should serve mankind and not just the few. It was released on 26 March 1967. It touches on a variet ...

'', which says that Development is the new word for Peace. Peace is not simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious balance of power. It must be built daily, and it must strive towards a more perfect justice among human beings (Populorum Progressio, 65). Along with the other principles of

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...

, that founding principle still guides Development and Peace today.

Members

Development and Peace has 10,600 members (volunteers) across Canada. They contribute to educating the Canadian public and Canadian politicians about social justice and international development issues. They organise fundraisers and participate in the governance of the organisation. Members elect representatives to the National Council and its various committees. Currently, the President of the National Council is Evelyne Beaudoin, member of Development and Peace from Manitoba. In addition to a head office in Montreal and satellite offices in Toronto and Ottawa, Development and Peace has 9 small regional offices staffed by Animators, who train and empower members as agents of change. Development and Peace welcomes volunteers of all faiths to join the movement to build a world of justice.

International Programs

The organisation's regular programming spans 33 countries in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Individual projects are proposed by partner organisations - generally local

non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

social movements A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of Group ...

. The programs and projects are meant to support the poor as they improve their living conditions in a sustainable way and increase their participation in their country's development. Several times a year, program officers from Development and Peace's main office in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, visit the partners to evaluate progress, provide training and resources, foster networking between organisations and plan future activities.

Emergency Relief

Development and Peace's emergency program exists for one purpose: to provide aid to needy individuals and communities. Much of this work is done through Caritas Internationalis, one of the world's largest humanitarian aid networks.

Education Campaigns

Each year, beginning in the fall, members of Development and Peace organise an education campaign within Canada in parishes, schools and communities. The campaign invites Catholics and the Canadian public to take action for change. Members of the organisation believe that Canadians of all religious beliefs have a responsibility to help the world's poor and disadvantaged, either by urging governments, corporations and others to implement change, or by donating time or money to support development efforts. Part of the Development and Peace philosophy is that, with the proper social and economic tools, people in the Global South can lead lives rich in human dignity. In 2007 and 2008, Development and Peace's annual campaign focused on holding Canadian mining companies accountable for their operations abroad. There are often little to no repercussions for Canadian companies which violate human rights and destroy the environment due to lax laws and poor enforcement of environmental protections in developing countries. Since the beginning of the campaign, over 200,000 Canadians have sent postcards to the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...

asking that it legislate corporate social responsibility. Since 1994, Development and Peace has also been a member of the

, a coalition of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s for public interest work and education on

international financial institutions An international financial institution (IFI) is a financial institution that has been established (or chartered) by more than one country, and hence is subject to international law. Its owners or shareholders are generally national governments, al ...

Share Lent Campaigns

Share Lent is the annual fundraising campaign of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. It helps support Development and Peace partners in their local work with communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Development And Peace (Canada) Development charities based in Canada