25 years · Rooted and Rising
Network
Impacts
For 25 years, local Kairos groups have turned relationships into action. These memories trace the people, connections and moments that moved justice forward.
25years
Stories from the network
Local action.
Collective power.
Across Canada, Kairos groups build relationships, create public dialogue and organize for justice. Three memories show what becomes possible when people act together.
Kairos made Minister Oda’s handwritten “not” infamous by putting it on T-shirts.
Local relationships reached Parliament.
Kairos is not going away!
“In 2009, Kairos funding for human rights and ecological sustainability programs was approved by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as matching its priorities. But Bev Oda, the Minister of International Cooperation, reversed that decision by inserting a handwritten “not” into the approval letter and claimed CIDA priorities were unmet.
An uproar ensued. In Parliament, Kairos support was led by Guelph’s then-MP Frank Valeriote. Kairos Guelph periodically visits MPs, including Mr. Valeriote, to raise awareness of Kairos concerns. We were pleased that he respected Kairos work so much that he energetically defended the organization.
The episode brought both Bev Oda and the Canadian government under heavy scrutiny. Kairos Guelph was gratified that our contact with Frank Valeriote prompted him to be such a vocal and effective supporter.”
Elizabeth Snell Kairos Guelph
Connections became crisis response.
Unknown Neighbours
“In 2017, Simcoe County Kairos—aided by Kairos staff—hosted the annual Great Lakes St. Lawrence Conference with a focus on migrant rights. Speakers included presenters from the Filipino migrant worker community, a local farmer and representatives from churches that had supported migrant workers.
Little did we know how important these connections would be during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded by the Government of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, Kairos Canada launched Empowering Temporary Foreign Workers, and we in Simcoe County Kairos partnered with other community groups to create a non-profit under their umbrella. We named the non-profit Unknown Neighbours.
During COVID, migrant workers and employers needed help with everything from navigating apps during quarantine to emergency grocery shopping, PPE and interpretation support. Unknown Neighbours was there to help.”
Elaine Gareau Simcoe County Kairos
A migrant worker event in Bradford, Ontario, in fall 2021, sponsored by Unknown Neighbours and hosted by Green Valley Alliance Church and Iglesia Hispana.
Kairos Toronto West/Mississauga honours the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Humber Bay Shores in Etobicoke, 2025.
A modest gathering grew to 150 people.
Going where few others go
“In 2021, the Government of Canada declared September 30, long known as Orange Shirt Day, an annual statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Kairos Toronto West/Mississauga observes the day by organizing a reflective and educational event.
In 2021, it was a modest gathering outside a local church.
By 2025, about 150 people, many wearing orange, attended the campfire art installation at Humber Bay Shores in Etobicoke for a moving and motivational day. We learned it was the only event in the area honouring the day, underlining the importance of the committee’s annual commemoration.”
Kairos Toronto West/Mississauga
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