Canadian peace activist James Loney will be the guest speaker Sept. 9 at the founding event of the NDP's Faith and Social Justice Caucus to be held in conjunction with the party’s federal convention in Québec City.

Loney will speak at a luncheon on the second day of the three-day convention.

Loney has worked for several years with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq and Palestine. From November 26, 2005 he was held captive in Iraq with three others and threatened with execution until he was freed in a clandestine operation by multinational troops on March 23, 2006. Loney later described the 118-day experience as “terrifying, profound, powerful, transformative and excruciatingly boring."

In June, Loney joined in the protest in front of the Supreme Court of Canada against the controversial use of security certificates to detain foreign residents in Canada for years without charges or trial.