8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (For Council Chapter reps only)
Council of Canadians’ Chapter Caucus Day
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Voices-Voix discussion on long-term strategy to defend advocacy and dissent
5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Registration for Saturday plenary panels
FREE PUBLIC FORUM: INDIGNEZ-VOUS!
7:00 – 9:30 p.m. No tickets or registration required
Read speaking notes by Maude Barlow here.
Welcoming ceremony from Mohawk Elder
Welcome from co-hosts Bill Moore-Kilgannon and
Kim Cornelissen
Keynote Speakers:
Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians
Ellen Gabriel, Mohawk from Kanehsatake, Activist for Indigenous Rights
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, L’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante
Louis Roy, Président of the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux
8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Registration
8:45 a.m. Welcome and announcements from co-hosts
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Plenary Panel 1
From the Streets to the Legislature
A discussion between NDP and Québec Solidaire politicians on how they will work together and a broader conversation with civil society representatives on how social movements will work with progressive politicians in Quebec and the rest of Canada. Can progressive politicians be accountable to civil society? What can we do to counter the austerity agenda?
Moderated by: Dorval Brunelle, Professor, Department of Sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal and Director of the Observatory of the Americas.
Morna Ballantyne, Director, Regional Offices Branch, Public Service Alliance of Canada and Board member of the Council of Canadians
Françoise David, Spokesperson for Québec Solidaire
Michel Lambert, Executive Director, Alternatives
Lauren Liu, NDP member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles
Garry Neil, Council of Canadians Executive Director and Cultural Policy Consultant
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Plenary Panels 2 and 3 will run concurrently
Plenary Panel 2
Trade, Security, Civil Liberties
Moderated by: Stuart Trew, Trade Campaigner, Council of Canadians
Janet Dench, Executive Director, The Canadian Council for Refugees
Sophie Harkat, wife of Mohamed Harkat and an organizer with the Justice for Harkat Campaign
Pierre Guy Sylvestre
Claude Vaillancourt, co-president of ATTAC-Québec
Plenary Panel 3
Communities Acting to Protect Our Water
Moderated by: Meera Karunananthan, National Water Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Martine Chatelain, Présidente of Eau Secours!
John Cutfeet, Spokesperson for Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
Emma Lui, Water Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Louise Vandelac, Professor, Sociology Department at the Environmental Sciences Institute, Université du Québec à Montréal
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch
1:15 – 3:00 p.m. Plenary Panels 4 and 5 will run concurrently
Plenary Panel 4
Austerity in Health Care
Moderated by: Angela Giles, Atlantic Regional Organizer, The Council of Canadians
Dr. Marie-Claude Goulet, President, MQRP
Robert Chernomas, Professor of Economics, University of Manitoba and Board member of the Council of Canadians
Canadian Nurses Association (attendee to be confirmed)
1:15 – 3:00 p.m.
Plenary Panel 5
SYSTEM CHANGE! NOT CLIMATE CHANGE
Moderated by: Roger Rashi, Climate Justice Campaign Coordinator, Alternatives
Kim Cornelissen, Vice Présidente, Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique (AQLPA)
Harjap Grewal, British Columbia Yukon Regional Organizer, The Council of Canadians
Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy and Climate Justice Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
3:00 – 3:15 p.m. Break
3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Plenary Panel 6
Indignez-Vous! A Call to Action
How do we work together on all the issues discussed in the previous panels?
Governments at all levels – national, provincial and local – are embracing an austerity agenda to balance their budgets after the great recession, slashing public services and environmental protections while catering to the demands of the corporations. In order to successfully stop these cutbacks and press for an economy and society that puts people and nature first, we must come together in a new progressive alliance. Key progressive leaders from Canada, Quebec, First Nations, labour and youth will discuss concrete steps for building a broad-based social movement and issue a call to action.
Moderated by: Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Council of Canadians Board member and Executive Director, Public Interest Alberta
Maude Barlow, The Council of Canadians
Roxanne Dubois, National Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students
Michel Lambert, Executive Director, Alternatives
Ghislain Picard, Regional Assembly of First Nations Chief of Quebec and Labrador
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Cocktail reception (cash bar), Foyer – Salle de Bal
7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Gala Dinner + entertainment, Salle de Bal
