Prophet
Gerald and Wynne Vandezande: Jesus had to be at the centre.
government to court. Prominent lawyer
(and future judge) Bert MacKinnon
took the case to the Supreme Court of
Ontario where he argued brilliantly,
paving the way for the union’s certification. Vandezande acted quickly to
get similar rulings in British Columbia
and Alberta. He continued to direct the
union until 1972.
The 1970s energy crisis led the federal government to promote drilling
for oil in the Beaufort Sea. Vandezande
and Olthuis linked with the activists
from other churches concerned about
the impact on Aboriginal Peoples of a
proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline.
They appeared before a parliamentary
committee, the Berger Inquiry and the
National Energy Board (NEB) to call for
a 10-year moratorium on the projects.
Then they joined a decisive action in the
Supreme Court to stop the NEB chair, a
former head of a company in the pipeline consortium, from ruling on whether
the project should proceed. The 10-year
moratorium became a major recommendation of the Berger report (1977) and
was widely supported. Olthuis went on
to be one of Canada’s leading lawyers
specializing in native land claims.
The CJL Foundation developed a
profile of non-partisan integrity and connections across the spectrum of national
politicians. As its justice agenda grew,
the foundation linked with the Alberta-based Christian Action Foundation to
form Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ).
CPJ became more innovative in the
mid-1980s, developing its own alternative federal budget process. Vandezande
insisted that budgets be seen as statements of core values related to issues
of public justice. The insightful critique
drew media attention, and alternative
budgets are now a regular part of the political process. Vandezande’s growing political connections made him a respected
voice for social justice on committees and
behind closed doors for all parties. He
never joined a political party but all of
them asked him to stand as a candidate.
Today, Vandezande still insists that
the most important people to listen to
are one’s enemies. How else can you
love them? They help you generate new
ways to understand the issues.
Engage People on All Sides
But greater issues of social justice called
him. He developed a CLAC offshoot
called the Committee for Justice and
Liberty, later the CJL Foundation. In
the mid-1970s Vandezande was joined
on staff by John Olthuis, formerly of the
Institute for Christian Studies (a Toronto
graduate school associated with the Free
University of Amsterdam).
The two set an example of how to
make inroads for social justice: begin
with meaningful conversations that
cross all political boundaries and develop genuine relationships with politicians from all parties. Speak from the
heart and learn when to be bold and
when to be discreet.
Encourage Younger Leaders
Vandezande became effective as a
speaker with a remarkable ability to
