Joe Gunn appointed Executive Director of Centre Oblat – A Voice for Justice
Office at St. Paul University, Ottawa
On behalf of
Fr. Alfred Grzempa, OMI, Provincial Assumption Province
Fr. Luc Tardif, OMI, Provincial Notre-Dame-du-Cap Province,
Fr. Ken Forster, OMI, Provincial OMI Lacombe Canada Province,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Gunn as Executive Director of
“Centre Oblat – A Voice For Justice”, effective February 11th, 2019.
On February 11th, the JPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation) OMI Lacombe Canada office will be replaced by “Centre Oblat – A Voice For Justice”, a joint project of the three Canadian Oblate Provinces and St. Paul University. Joe Gunn leaves his position as Executive Director at Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) in the new year and will be replacing me. I am grateful to the JPIC team and the rector of St. Paul University, Chantal Beauvais, for her support and guidance in the evolution of the OMI Lacombe Canada JPIC Office into “Centre Oblat – A Voice For Justice”. I am delighted with Joe’s appointment and pleased to have the opportunity to remain involved in an advisory capacity. I hope that this new project will continue to build on the good work the JPIC office has done up till now and that it will inspire and support Oblates, Associates, allies, civil society and the church across this country, to collaborate in a new endeavor for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.
Joe Gunn brings a wealth of wisdom and experience to his new role. Congratulations Joe.
The call to do justice is described by Joe as his life’s “vocation.” Joe grew up in Toronto, where he received his BA in Political Science, followed by an MA from the University of Regina. For seven years, Joe worked in Latin American refugee camps and served as a Country Director for Canadian Save the Children in Nicaragua. For over ten years, he worked with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he developed policy and coordinated work in areas of social justice, missions, and Aboriginal peoples. He served as the founding vice-chair of KAIROS-Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, and has been active in the Canadian Council of Churches’ Commission for Justice and Peace. He coordinated the Make Poverty History campaign, and engaged in research, public speaking and advocacy on national and international issues.
After engaging Canadian faith communities in speaking out on climate justice in 2012, Joe was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for “exemplary service and commitment to the betterment of the community.”
In June 2013, Joe was awarded a “Certificate of Honour” from Development and Peace for “commitment to the cause of social justice and efforts to improve living conditions for the poorest of the poor in the Global South.”
Saint Paul University granted Joe the Eugène de Mazenod Medal in April 2017. The Medal “honours individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of human capital in their community”.
He has served as Executive Director at Citizens for Public Justice since August 2008.
By Leonardo Rego, OMI – Director – Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office
