The Council of Canadians' 21st Annual General Meeting took place October 27-29, 2006 at
The Rodd Charlottetown Hotel in
Charlottetown, PEI.
- Watch or listen to speakers and activists at the 2006 AGM.
In keeping with the 2006 AGM theme – Integrate This! – we explored a series of key demands that we want the federal government to integrate into Canada’s relations with the U.S. The key demands are to strengthen public services such as health care; to protect our water and energy supplies; and to promote independent foreign and trade policies.
Charting a Better Course: Annual General Meeting promotes alternatives to deep integration, by Donna James, Canadian Perspectives Spring 2007
AWARDS presented to:
-
Leo Broderick
- The Ken Wardroper Founder's Award
In recognition and deep gratitude for his outstanding contribution to The Council of Canadians as a Board member, Vice-Chair and committed activist.
-
Mary Boyd - The Activist of the Year Award
In recognition of her consistent leadership and commitment to social justice issues at the local, regional, national and international levels.
Peace rally and walk
"Troops out of Afghanistan. End the occupation"
October 28 - walked to PEI legislature for rally with speeches, music and songs.
News releases:
Thank you to our regional hosts for this year’s conference – Board members Leo Broderick of Charlottetown and Leticia Adair of Saint John.
Keynote speakers
Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest citizen’s advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada, as well as the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project which works to stop commodification of the world’s water. She is also a Director with the International Forum on Globalization, a San Francisco based research and education institution opposed to economic globalization.
Maude is the recipient of numerous educational awards and has received honorary doctorates from six Canadian universities for her social justice work as well as the recipient of the “2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship”. Most recently she received the prestigious “2005 Right Livelihood Award” given by the Swedish Parliament and widely referred to as “The Alternative Nobel.”
She is the best-selling author or co-author of fifteen books. Her most recent publications are Too Close For Comfort: Canada’s Future Within Fortress North America; and Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World’s Water (with Tony Clarke), now published in 40 countries. Currently, Maude is writing a new book on the global fight for the right to water.
Steven Staples, Polaris Institute 
Steven Staples is the Director of Security Programs for the Polaris Institute, a public interest research organization based in Ottawa.
The Polaris Institute is widely credited as playing a key role in preventing the Canadian government from joining the U.S. missile defence program in 2005.
Steven is a frequent contributor to journals, magazines, and conferences, and is often called upon to comment on defence and public policy-related issues by the national and international news media including the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Time, CTV National News and CBC Television's The National and the BBC.
He is regularly invited to appear before federal government committees and departments to speak about defence and foreign policy issues, including the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Standing Committee on Finance.
His years of work with popular organizations, including the Council of Canadians, has made him well-known amongst civil society organizations, and he speaks regularly to audiences in Canada and the United States, and around the world.
Born in the Maritimes and a long-time resident of Vancouver, Steven now lives in Ottawa with his wife and two children. He holds a Bachelors of Education (Hon. History) from the University of New Brunswick.
Claudia M. Fegan, MD, FACP 
Born on the south side of Chicago, the daughter of a labour union organizer and social worker, Dr. Fegan comes by her activist tendencies honestly. She is the happily married mother of two outspoken young adults, both in college.
Dr. Fegan worked in private practice for 15 years before joining the public sector in 2000. She is currently the medical director of Fantus Health Center (part of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services). Fantus is one of the largest primary care centers in the country; it serves over 2000 patients/day, including up to 450 walk-in patients daily. It is open 7 days a week. Most of her patients are uninsured.
Dr. Fegan is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She is board certified in internal medicine and in quality assurance. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. She co-authored Universal Health Care: What the US Can Learn from the Canadian Experience (the New Press 1998) with Hugh and Pat Armstrong. She has been speaking out on the need for Universal Health Care for all of her professional career.
