SECTIONS

TAKE IT BACK!
A peoples’ vision of North America

The Council of Canadians' 22nd Annual General Meeting
The Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna, British Columbia
October 26-28, 2007

Panellists

Robert Chernomas is a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Manitoba. Robert has published in both the academic and popular literature with respect to macroeconomics, health care economics and in the area of the social economic determinants of health. He has lectured in Canada, the U.S., China, Africa and Europe. He has spoken and written numerous times on these topics and others in the media, for unions, church groups and other activist groups, including the Council of Canadians. Robert has been co-chair of the Alternative Federal Budget as the representative of Choices, a political action organization based in Winnipeg. He is currently a board member of the Council of Canadians.

Leslie Dickout is the medicare campaigner with the BC Health Coalition. Leslie has worked as a campaigner, activist, and researcher on various issues such as protecting public water and wastewater, climate change, trade agreements, local governance issues, and international development. Leslie received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria with a focus on environmental studies and geography, and a Masters of Science from the University of British Columbia in community and regional planning. Her present work with the BC Health Coalition focuses on mounting a province-wide campaign to promote public solutions to our health care challenges.

Gwenne Farrell is a financial analyst with BC Hydro, where she has worked for 18 years. Currently she is on leave in order to fulfill her duties as vice president of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE) Local 378. In the spring of 2007, Gwenne was also elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer of COPE-SEPB, Local 378's national union. Currently Gwenne is an executive board member for the Fraser Valley Labour Council and was a member of the Canadian Labour Congress’ energy task force. She sits on the BC Elks Association finance committee, the economic and energy policy committees of the BC-NDP, the board of directors of BC Citizens for Public Power, is a trustee of HYDRECS, and is on the United Way of the Lower Mainland's labour committee.

David Fields is the transportation campaigner with The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC). Founded in 1969, SPEC is a non-profit charitable organization that addresses environmental issues in British Columbia, with a particular focus on urban communities in Lower Mainland and the Georgia Basin.

David joined the SPEC team in January 2006 to lead the campaign for better transit solutions over the expansion of Highway #1 and a twinned Port Mann Bridge. David has campaigned with Greenpeace on energy issues and has worked on various sustainability and social projects including food security and ancient forest protection. A key focus for David is positive change through citizen action. When not planet-saving he can be found enjoying wilderness and urban spaces alike as well as indulging in his interest in science fiction.

Caelie Frampton is the current TILMA Campaign Coordinator. She reports to a working group made up of community and labour organizations, including the BC Government Employees Union, CUPE, the Council of Canadians, and the BC Teachers Federation, among others. The group's goal is to stop the agreement from coming into effect in 2009 and to ensure that this anti-environment, anti-municipal government, and anti-labour agreement does not go beyond the Alberta border. Caelie was previously a coordinator with the Teaching Support Staff Union at Simon Fraser University and co-edited a 2006 anthology called Sociology for Changing the World. This first-year textbook looks at what activists know based on their everyday work and how that everyday work can develop more effective forms of research.

Margaret McGregor is a founding member of the board of Canadian Doctors for Medicare. She is a clinical associate professor with the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia and a family physician at the Mid Main Community Health Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is also a research associate with the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation at Vancouver General Hospital. Her research topics include the study of socio-economic status and health services, and how nursing homes vary by facility ownership and organizational characteristics.

Blair Redlin is a research representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), based in Burnaby. He provides both policy and bargaining research support for CUPE’s municipal, transportation and community health sectors in B.C. From 1994 to 2001, Blair was a senior administrator in the B.C. public service. He has served as Deputy Minister of Transportation and Highways; President of the B.C. Transportation Financing Authority (a Crown Corporation); Deputy Minister of Employment and Investment and for two years was President of the Transportation Association of Canada. For the last three years, Blair has been a member of the board of Oxfam Canada and currently serves as vice-chair. He is also a member of the board of BC Citizens for Public Power, a citizen’s advocacy organization working to protect public electricity in B.C.

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