Interfaith meeting in Wolfville postponed over U.S. border concerns

Anjuli Patil · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A multi-denominational religion gathering that was acceptable to instrumentality spot successful Wolfville, N.S., this summertime has been postponed implicit U.S. borderline concerns.

The North American Interfaith Network was to clasp its archetypal in-person league since COVID-19, but a caller canvass of its attendees showed astir of them aren't comfy making the travel crossed the American border.

"In aboriginal February, we sent retired a communique to our subordinate organizations asking them if the caller governmental clime would person immoderate bearing whatsoever connected their attendance. And three-quarters of those who responded said we are incapable to perpetrate astatine this clip due to the fact that of the uncertainty of the circumstances of our day," Rob Hankinson, a retired United Church curate and co-ordinator of the conference, told CBC's Maritime Noon connected Monday.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, determination person been respective high-profile incidents of tourists and visa holders being stopped astatine U.S. borderline crossings, oregon being held for weeks astatine American migration detention facilities.

Organizers of the Moving Trans History Forward league successful B.C. told The Canadian Press past week its U.S. participants also expressed concerns astir crossing into Canada due to the fact that of what could hap erstwhile they effort to transverse backmost into the U.S.

Hankinson said implicit the past 30 years, the interfaith league has usually drawn astir 120 attendees from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Drea Parker of Charlotte, N.C., would person been among the participants this year. She said that as a U.S. citizen she wasn't acrophobic astir travelling herself, but she could sympathize with others readying to be the conference.

"I myself americium not a idiosyncratic that ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would beryllium looking for … I'm calved and raised successful America, but I person a batch of friends and colleagues that are moving done their visas, trying to get those completed, getting their greenish cards confirmed and they're concerned. And truthful I just, I consciousness for them," Parker told Maritime Noon.

Parker said she is saddened by the determination to defer the conference but she understands.

"I consciousness like with everything that's happening presently successful the governmental environment, there's nary telling what's going to beryllium happening successful August. So I deliberation it's amended harmless than sorry," she said.

Hankinson said organizers didn't privation to enactment people in immoderate signifier of jeopardy.

"When radical responded saying that they were incapable to perpetrate due to the fact that of their ain consciousness of anxiousness oregon uncertainty, due to the fact that of these caller circumstances, we wanted to respect that," helium said.

The North American Interfaith Network meeting, first held successful Wichita, Kan., successful 1988, brings together people from antithetic religion backgrounds. Hankinson said this year's league was going to absorption connected champion practices to code societal justness issues. He said it would person been the archetypal clip for the lawsuit successful Nova Scotia.

While the in-person league has been postponed, Hankinson said the network's committee of directors is gathering aboriginal this week to sermon perchance moving the lawsuit online.