The Social Justice and Advocacy consultant, together with the Social Justice and Advocacy Committee, coordinates and advances the public witness of our Diocese on issues of social and ecological justice. We seek to be faithful to God’s call to compassion and justice, live out our baptismal vows, and engage faithfully with the world.
Our work connects with the Cast the Net Calls to Action, particularly:
- Call #4: Recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world
- Call #5: Make explicit connections between following Jesus and working for justice and peace
- Call #8: Intensify advocacy and action in response to the climate crisis
- Call #13: Enable and celebrate the work of ministries focused on service to the world
We also support those in the Diocese working on Call #6 (Strengthen Indigenous ministry; engage non-Indigenous Anglicans in reconciliation work) and Call #7 (Take, sustain and communicate actions that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism).
To learn more or get involved, contact Elin Goulden, Social Justice & Advocacy consultant, at egoulden@toronto.anglican.ca or 416-363-6021 (1-800-668-8932).
Get started with our social justice and advocacy Parish Outreach Guide
Find the 2025-26 Outreach and Advocacy Prayer Cycle on the Prayer Resources page
Learn about our Social Justice Vestry Motion for 2026 and find related resources.
What’s new:
Provincial Issues and Advocacy
Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Act, 2009 requires the provincial government to develop a poverty reduction strategy and re-assess it every five years. Recently, the province held public consultations to help develop the next poverty reduction strategy.
Read our November 2025 submission to the provincial poverty reduction strategy consultation here.
Federal: Speak out for the rights of vulnerable migrants
“When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress them. The foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the foreigner as yourself.” Leviticus 19:33-34
“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35
The federal government’s Bill C-12 puts refugee claimants and other vulnerable migrants at risk. This legislation would enable Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to share sensitive information about migrants, including refugee claimants, to other government departments or agencies, which could put those individuals at risk. It gives the government power to cancel or suspend immigration documents and applications for entire groups without individualized assessment or procedural safeguards. Most concerningly, it arbitrarily cuts off protections to foreign nationals who have been in Canada for more than a year, even if developments in their home countries mean that they can no longer return safely. This could result in returning people to war zones or countries in which a new government regime is specifically targeting people of that group.
Read our letter to the Prime Minister and Immigration Minister here.
While Bill C-12 has passed in the House of Commons, it has yet to pass the Senate. Canada’s Senate exists to provide “sober second thought” on legislation before it is passed. Use this link to send a message to Senators to protect vulnerable migrants and vote no on Bill C-12.
What we do
We facilitate communications between the diocesan and suffragan bishops and various levels of government. We also educate, equip and support parishes and individual Anglicans in advocacy on social and ecological justice.
Priorities
Our ongoing social justice work is focused on three priority areas:
Other areas of concern, where we support the work of other church ministries, include:
Some of our key activities include:
- the annual social justice vestry motion
- the annual Outreach & Advocacy Conference
- the Outreach & Advocacy Prayer Cycle
- promoting events and advocacy campaigns through our newsletter and Facebook page
- providing advocacy resources and support for parishes