News – Humanist Ottawa

01Jan 2021 by aglaser

Another successful Pub Night

Advocacy

Humanist Ottawa hosts pub nights. This is a great way to chat informally with some secular folks. To attend, join Humanist Ottawa to receive notifications or if you aren't ready for that commitment, join Humanist Ottawa on Meetup.com. :)

03Oct 2018 by aglaser

Documentary showing: Highway of Tears

Advocacy

To raise awareness about the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada, Humanist Ottawa, Center For Inquiry Ottawa, and the Global Justice Working Group of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa hosted a screening of the 2015 documentary "Highway of Tears" on Tuesday October 2nd 7:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church in Westboro. A couple of Humanist Ottawa members served refreshments from the kitchen to a full house before the showing of the documentary, and there was some very good discussion afterwards, including comments from people directly affected by the issue. We also raised a decent sum to donate to the youth at risk "Wasa Nawin" program at the Odawa Friendship Center. Thanks to all who attended and made the event possible.

26Aug 2018 by aglaser

Humanist Ottawa and CFI Ottawa March Together in the 2018 Capital Pride Parade

Advocacy

Humanist Ottawa joined the Center For Inquiry (CFI) to march in the 2018 capital pride parade on Aug. 26 2018. Everyone had a good time and we're planning on co-hosting another event with CFI in the near future.

05Aug 2018 by aglaser

Humanist Ottawa Annual General Meeting & Summer BBQ 2018

Meetup, Members Only

Thanks to everyone who came out to Humanist Ottawa's 50th Annual General Meeting! Thanks also to Richard and Rejeanne Thain for providing the beautiful venue. Everyone brought delicious things to share and J.P. Westerlund masterfully cooked up some burgers so we made him agree to another year of working for us as our President. We honoured one of the original members, Blodwen Piercy, who's been a member of Humanist Ottawa for 50 years, with a lifetime achievement award:

05May 2018 by aglaser

Panel Discussion: Freedom of Expression under Fire!

Advocacy

Humanist Ottawa (the Humanist Association of Ottawa) presented a panel discussion May 3rd, 2018 at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on freedom of expression in academia and the media. The panelists included Lindsay Shepherd, Dr. Rick Mehta, Dr. Christopher DiCarlo, and Henry Beissel. Admission was free. The Humanist Association of Ottawa was founded in 1968 is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Blodwen Piercy, a founding member of the Humanist Association of Ottawa is seated in the second row beside the woman wearing the blue top. She was recognized and thanked by Richard Thain on behalf of the Humanist Association of Ottawa for the many significant contributions she has made over the years. Sheila Ayala presented her with flowers as a symbol of our appreciation…

13Apr 2018 by aglaser

Public Funds for Public Schools

Advocacy, One School System

The publicly funded Halton Catholic District School Board passed a resolution to ban fundraising for charities that run counter to Catholic values. Under this ban, its schools will no longer be able to raise money for groups that directly or indirectly support abortion, contraception, sterilization, euthanasia or embryonic stem cell research. This means their students will have to dissociate from charities such as the Red Cross, the Canadian Cancer Society, all hospitals including Sick Kids Hospital, the Terry Fox Foundation, all universities, all science centres and other organizations. The Separate School Board System is financed with public money and by accepting these funds, they forfeit the right to impose their values in the public domain. Humanist Ottawa members attended a press conference regarding this issue held on Parliament Hill from…

09Apr 2018 by aglaser

The Ottawa Wedding Show

Officiant support

Humanist Ottawa sponsored a small booth at The Ottawa Wedding Show at the EY Center on April 7-8, 2018. A few local officiants chipped in and took shifts occupying the booth, which was tastefully decorated by two of our volunteers. Brochures were printed and distributed by the wedding show and the officiants in the booth. We gained some valuable insights on promoting Humanist Officiants and have a few good ideas about where to go from here.

22Mar 2018 by aglaser

Opposing the public funding of Catholic schools

Advocacy, One School System

Humanist Ottawa member, Dr Richard Thain, ran a two-week ad campaign starting Monday March 19, 2018 promoting one school system for Ontario. The ads are being displayed on dozens of billboards around Toronto.

10Dec 2017 by aglaser

Winter Solstice Potluck 2017

Meetup, Members Only

Humanist Ottawa's annual winter solstice Potluck was held on December 9th, 2017. We had a raffle for some Humanist Association of Ottawa (HAO) t-shirts, collected some cash for the food-bank, and shared some delicious food. Afterwards we played a secret-santa game that involved stealing and a surprise twist: the organizers planted a gift of coal among the presents and the person who picked the coal became the Grinch! The grinch was then allowed to redistribute the gifts. We were lucky to end up with a very big hearted grinch who made sure everyone ended up with their prefered gift.

26Jun 2017 by aglaser

2017 Summer Solstice BBQ

Members Only

Humanist Ottawa held its annual Summer Solstice BBQ & AGM at the beautiful home of two of its most active members, Richard and Rejeanne. Live music was provided and everyone enjoyed the food & drink, despite heavy rain.