Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada

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2020 30 Jan The Office of Public Affairs launched a new website.

  • The mandate of the Office of Public Affairs was to represent the Canadian Bahá'í community at a national level by participating in conferences and other public events, liaising with the press, engaging with provincial and federal governments, and maintaining a national presence of the Bahá'í Faith on the web. Offices were established in Toronto and Ottawa and they worked with collaborators and local representatives across the country to contribute to projects and processes that relate to Bahá'í principles and values. [Bahá'í Canada 30 January 2020]
    		• Office of Public Affairs; Toronto, ON
    2020 30 Dec The passing of Rene A. Steiner (b. 1922) in Grand Bend, Ontario. He was predeceased by Nura, his wife of 55 years in 2014. They had three sons, René, Roy and Marc. iiiii In Memoriam; Rene A. Steiner; Rene Steiner; Nura Steiner; Grandbend, ON
    2020 22 Dec The passing of William (Billie) Ekomiak (b. 23 December 1943 in Cape Jones, QC (now Pointe Louis-XIV)), in Messines, Québec from complications of COVID-19. He was buried in the Cimetière St. Raphael in Messines, QC. [Obituary]
  • His mother, Lucie Menarik Ekomiak, passed away while he was a small child and he was adopted by Aunt Martha and Uncle Thomas Ekoomiak.
  • He was educated at St. Phillip's Anglican school in Fort George (Chisasibi), located further south on James Bay.
  • Billie was one of the first two Inuk in the world to become a Bahá'í. He first heard about the Faith in the home of Arthur and Lilianne Irwin in Ottawa and enrolled as a follower of Bahá'u'llláh at a Naw-Rúz party in 1965 in Beau Lac along with his cousin, Johnny Weetaltuk.
  • He trained as an electrician in Winnipeg and assisted in the building of the Bahá'í Houses in both Baker Lake and in Iqaluit.
  • For a history of the Ekomiak (or Ekoomiak) family see Speechless by Maureen Flynn-Burhoe.
  • Billie felt his life's mission was to share the news of Bahá'u'lláh with Indigenous Peoples and he crisscrossed Canada and the United States offering firesides that wove together the teachings of the Faith with First Nations' prophecies and spiritual insights. His most memorable presentation was at the International Teaching Conference in Anchorage in 1976. [from the announcement of his passing by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of La Pêche]
  • In the early 1970's the CBC contracted musicians to produce 45-RPM discs for its Northern Service. Billy was one of the 75 musicians recorded. [Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America p248]
  • An example of Billy's fiddle playing can be viewed on YouTube. It was recorded at an event in Wakefield.
  • A talk has been recorded and presented on YouTube.iiiii
    		• Douglas Martin; In Memoriam; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Toronto, ON; Canada; Chatham, ON
    2020 2 Jun The passing of Hossain Banadaki Danesh in Victoria, BC
  • His major publications were:
    • The Violence Free-Society: A Gift for Our Children. Bahá'í Studies. Vol. 6. 1979.
    • Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace. Bahá'í Studies Publications, Ottawa 1986.
    • The Psychology of Spirituality. Paradigm Publishing, Manotick, Ontario 1994.
    • The Violence Free Family. Building Block of a Peaceful Civilization. Bahá'í Studies Publications, Ottawa, Canada 1995.
    • Conflict-Free Conflict Resolution (CFCR): Process and Methodology. with Roshan Danesh. Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall. (March 21, 2004).
    • Unity of Faith and Reason in Action 2010.
    • The Unity-Based Family. An Empirical Study of Healthy Marriage, Family, and Parenting. H.B. Danesh, MD, FRCP(C), with Azin Nasseri, PhD. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 1 edition (1 April 2017). It was illustrated by Katia Breton.
    • The Mysterious Case of the IWs: A Story to Help Children Cope with Death Published by Efp-International Press (April 16 2012).
  • For a more complete list see his website.
  • Documents by Hossain Danesh on Bahai-library.com.
  • YouTube.
  • See His website.
  • See article by his son Roshan Danesh about the passing of his father and his son. [Times Colonist 30 July 2020] iiiii
    		• Hossain Banadaki Danesh; In Memoriam; Victoria, BC
    2020 28 Apr The National Assembly announced the results of the election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada. Because the Convention had to be cancelled owing to public health guidelines related to the COVID-19 health crisis, delegates mailed in their ballots or made arrangements to phone them in. The election had 100% participation. [Letter from the NSA to all LSAs dated 28 April 2020]
  • Those selected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Mehran Anvari, (treasurer), Deloria Bighorn, (chair), Zelalem Bimrew Kasse, Hoda Farahmandpour, Gerald Filson, Judy Filson, Ciprian Jauca, (vice chair), Karen McKye, (secretary) and Elizabeth Wright. [Letter from the NSA to all LSA dated 7 May 2020; BC vol 33 No 2 May 2020 p7]
    		• National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Mehran Anvari; Deloria Bighorn; Zelalem Bimrew Kasse; Hoda Farahmandpour; Gerald Filson; Judy Filson; Ciprian Jauca; Karen McKye; Elizabeth Wright; Toronto, ON
    2020 28 Feb A Facebook page called The Spark 1967-1973 was established with the goal of preserving the history of the Bahá'í youth movement in Canada from 1967-1973. A call was made to contribute archival materials related to the history of the Faith in Canada during that period. The eventual goal was to create a non-academic history website by collecting photos, newspaper articles, recordings.
  • Of specific interests were stories of the positive influences of the following groups on individuals, communities and the general public: The "Mozart Group" (1967-1969); The "Multimedia Environment" Proclamation Team (1969-1970); and "Jalál" (1970-1973). [Bahá'í Canada 28 February 2020]
    		• Lynn Echevarria; Garry Brown
    2020 22 Jan The Baha'i Community of Canada's Office of Public Affairs has launched a new website, which joins Bahai.ca and the Canadian Baha'i News Service as part of a family of national Baha'i websites.

    The Office of Public Affairs works on a range of topics and issues that are related to the well-being of Canadian society. Many of these issues fall within one of our areas of focus, which are broad domains in which we try to build relationships, develop content, and create opportunities for learning and dialogue that can eventually contribute to public policy.The areas of focus are: Citizenship and Diversity, Reconciliation, Religion in Public Life, Gender Equality as well as The Role of Youth in Society and Relationship with the Environment.

    The Office also communicates with the Canadian government regarding the ongoing persecution of Baha'is in Iran and Yemen.

    The site also hosts a document library with official statements and reports produced by the Office. [CBNS]

    		Office of Public Affairs; BNO

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