Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is on the verge of securing the financial future of Justice House, a property neighbouring Parliament Hill that functions as its home for faith-inspired justice.
While the CPJ purchased a dedicated heritage property in downtown Ottawa five years ago, early 2025 marks the renewal period for the property’s mortgage. Sensing a pivotal time for the organization, the team is seeking donations to its Justice House Fund.
Until the end of this year, donations will be doubled thanks to the generosity of an anonymous lead donor. All donations to the Justice House Fund will be matched up to $25,000.
“We are able to reach our goals through member support of both faith and secular communities’ advocacy efforts to bring about public justice in Canada. We also work on the policy side of things by producing research and lobbying to advance our collective goals of public justice,” said Scott Cooper, communications and public engagement specialist at CPJ. “For us, we define public justice as the political dimension of loving your neighbour and caring for creation and achieving the common good.”
Justice House acts as a hub for change where members of CPJ and other organizations gather to engage with Canada’s parliamentarians. Inspired by faith, the collective goal is to help lawmakers understand and advance justice initiatives in the areas of climate justice, poverty elimination, refugee and migrant rights and Indigenous reconciliation.
Justice House began when CPJ’s head office moved from Toronto to the nation’s capital in 2007. Thanks to support years later from the Sisters of St. Anne and donations from members totalling over $600,000, the organization purchased what would become Justice House at 334 MacLaren St.
Cooper said the idea was always to have a central location to engage with parliamentarians and collaborate with other justice-seeking organizations under one roof. Now, the time is right to ensure that similar work can continue for years to come.
“Collaboration between grassroots people and similar organizations is more important than ever but at the same time, it is probably harder than ever to have a physical space to do that work,” he said. “We have had other organizations such as Canada Without Poverty, the Congregation of Notre Dame and the United Church of Canada work with us here, but now is the time to secure the future with the idea of paying down the mortgage.”
Cooper also notes that the timing of the Justice House Fund marks a perfect storm for growth opportunities, with new and diverse organizations reaching out to the CPJ for tenancy opportunities within Justice House.
Founded in 1963, Citizens for Public Justice along with associated churches and religious orders have joined voices in a fight towards a better Canada for over 60 years now. Through many efforts at enacting God’s call for love and justice, the most important time for the organization could be right around the corner.
“There are two things in the mix right now that make decisions about matters of justice really important. One would be the general affordability crisis and issues that people are experiencing in many areas. The second would be the upcoming election and both of those things mean that while principled, strong and clear calls for faith-inspired justice are always important, they are especially important right now,” Cooper said.
“Securing the future at Justice House means installing a permanent spot for frequent and direct access to policymakers just a stone’s throw from Parliament. Coalition and collaborative work are more important than ever and so the opportunity for this work is what makes the Justice House such an important goal for us,” Cooper added.
To donate to Justice House, see https://cpj.ca/justice-house/#donation-form.
