DePape and Barlow
You will remember that on Saturday June 4, 2011, the Council of Canadians applauded the courageous action of 21-year-old Senate page Brigette DePape, who held a ‘Stop Harper’ sign during the Governor-General’s reading of the Throne Speech on Friday June 3 and lost her job for doing so. Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow spoke with Ms. DePape that Saturday afternoon and offered her our support. Barlow commented that, “She is adorable and brave and committed.”
By early the next week, Brigette met with Barlow and Council of Canadians staff in our national office in Ottawa. At that time we discussed with her a report that she might write with us. By September 22, the Council of Canadians launched Brigette’s report Thinking Outside the Ballot Box: How People Power Can Stop the Harper Agenda and Create Fundamental Change.
Then on November 1, Brigette spoke at a public forum organized by the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter. On May 14, Brigette spoke at the annual meeting of our Winnipeg chapter and launched her book ‘The Power of Youth’ in that city on that occasion.
The Winnipeg Free Press has reported, “The book, The Power of Youth: Youth and Community-led Activism in Canada, was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The 176-page book is a collection of essays and articles from youth activists in Canada. DePape compiled and edited the entries.”
We may also remember that the media release Brigette issued after her ‘Stop Harper’ action highlighted, long before the current printemps érable in Quebec that, “This country needs a Canadian version of an Arab Spring, a flowering of popular movements that demonstrate that real power to change things lies not with Harper but in the hands of the people, when we act together in our streets, neighbourhoods and workplaces.”
You can listen to The Current on CBC Radio One this morning at 8:37 am (9:07 am NT) and The Current Review at 8 pm (8:30 pm NT).
For more:
UPDATE: Council of Canadians applauds Brigette DePape
REPORT: ‘Thinking Outside the Ballot Box’, Brigette DePape
NEWS: DePape speaks at Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter event
