MPs didn't care about homeless
By John Mohan

Last week I was in Ottawa co-chairing a tri-annual national conference entitled StreetLevel 4 -- A Legacy of Justice. Its purpose was to network, resource, encourage and equip those (primarily from the evangelical church community) working among homeless and street-involved youth and adults across Canada. It was also open to anyone simply interested in learning more about domestic social justice issues.

With 400 people attending, it's believed to be the largest gathering of its kind in our nation's history. Everyone came expectant and no one left disappointed. Maybe confused, but not disappointed. Plenary speakers and workshop leaders ranged from front-line street workers to professors to denominational leaders to former politicians.

Catholics to Baptists to Pentecostals. Both right leaning and left leaning in perspective.

Events like these have a camp-like feel - except we're adults, with some heading multi-million dollar non-profit agencies. We're all thrilled to see each other again. Everyone stays up too late and sleep in hotel rooms instead of cabins. We catch planes home instead of having our parents pick us up. But like children we dread saying goodbye, promising to stay in touch through e-mail and Facebook.

In reflecting on this almost surreal experience it's difficult to pick the best highlights but here's an attempt:

A half-hour private meeting with Liberal party leader, the Honourable Michael Ignatieff, must be mentioned. Part of a six-person delegation, we met in his office to discuss the role evangelical churches and non-profit agencies play in the frontlines of domestic poverty and homelessness.

He asked good questions, mentioned his intent to build better bridges with the evangelical community and promised to tour Siloam Mission on his next visit to Winnipeg. (I hope he doesn't see Siloam before our premier does. But I digress.)

Winnipeg brought a strong presence to the conference with approximately 30 attending and representing five local agencies. Notably was Winnipeg-based musician Steve Bell and jazz bassist Gilles Fournier who (along with Toronto's Mike Janzen) carried the music and worship end of the conference.

If there was any cause for concern to you and me, it was the dismal turnout of our Members of Parliament.

This conference was intentionally held within eyesight of Parliament Hill to gain the attention of our federally-elected representatives. Of the 308 MPs invited only eight came to the opening night banquet to represent the four elected parties.

Manitoba's sole representative was Kildonan-St. Paul's Joy Smith.

The next national StreetLevel conference is scheduled for 2012. With the new airport and Canadian Museum for Human Rights scheduled to be completed by then I'm pulling for Winnipeg to host it. I think we're up to it.

--John Mohan is the CEO of Siloam Mission.

Originally printed in the Winnipeg Sun, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.