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UPDATE: Day One of Indignez-Vous!

9:15 am – A dynamic chapter caucus day is now underway. About 50 chapter activists are gathered on the 36th floor of Marriott Château Champlain in Montreal. The first session is to talk – in small groups – about one thing the chapter has done in the past year you’re proud of, something the chapter started doing this year, an action that inspired you, and one issue you wish the chapter could take on in a big way this year.

10:45 am – Chapter activists break into small groups to share with all the campaigners how they are advancing the water, trade, climate and health care campaigns in their communities. Stuart Trew, Adrienne Silnicki, Meera Karunananthan, Emma Lui, and Andrea Harden-Donahue are all present.

11:00 am – Maude Barlow gave a speech to a rally of several hundred people to support striking employees at McGill University. NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp and Michel Arsenault, president of the Quebec Federation of Labour, also spoke at the rally.

11:45 am – Jamian Logue, the director of development, asks for feedback from chapter activists on how we can best build the membership of the Council of Canadians. He highlights that we do not accept charitable donations, corporate money, or government grants.

11:55 am – Maude Barlow gives an inspiring speech to chapter activists. She says the political moment demands that we withdraw our consent to be governed by Harper and resist more strongly.

1:15 pm – In the afternoon the chapter caucus meeting focused on a non-violent civil disobedience training. With the arrest of Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, along with two Board members, five chapter activists, and one staffperson at the September 26 tar sands action on Parliament Hill, there is a renewed recognition of the need for civil disobedience given the agenda of the Harper government and the manner in which it governs.

4:00 pm – Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians treasurer Bob Ages and other Board members visit Occupons/ Occupy Montreal.

4:45 pm – Chapter activists and Board members are marching from the hotel where Indignez-Vous! conference is taking place to Occupy Montreal. The occupation is taking place at Square Victoria, a town square at the intersection of Beaver Hall Hill and McGill Street. The square is fronted on the west by Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower) and Place de la Cité internationale, on the east by the CDP Capital Centre, the World Trade Centre Montreal and the Hotel W Montréal, and on the south by the Quebecor building.

7:30 pm – About 350 people are gathered now as the Indignez-Vous! public forum gets underway this evening. The forum tonight features Maude Barlow, Louis Roy, Ellen Gabriel, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, and a video message from Stéphane Hessel.

To watch the conference tonight and tomorrow on-line in English, please go to www.canadians.org/conference. To watch in French, go to www.canadians.org/indignez-vous.