Calgary, AB — A counter-summit to the Conservative policy convention in Calgary, entitled Pros & Cons: Policies for People and the Planet, is being planned by Common Causes, an assembly of social movements dedicated to defending democracy, the environment and human rights.
There will be a press conference prior to the counter-summit at the Ramada Hotel in Calgary (708 Eighth Avenue SW, Tuscany meeting Theatre), at 10:30 am MT on Friday, November 1. The press conference will feature David Suzuki (scientist and environmentalist), Maude Barlow (national chairperson of the Council of Canadians), Crystal Lameman (Beaver Lake Cree Nation), and Jean Lortie (Secretary-general, Confédération des syndicats nationaux), and will be moderated by Bill Phipps.
WHAT: Pros & Cons: Policies for People and the Planet, a teach-in to learn about the potential impacts of proposed Conservative policies and present an alternative vision. The event is now sold out, but livestream information will be made available soon.
WHO: Featured speakers at Pros and Cons include David Suzuki (scientist and environmentalist), Maude Barlow(National Chairperson, the Council of Canadians), Chief Theresa Spence (Attawapiskat First Nation), Crystal Lameman (Beaver Lake Cree Nation), Paul Moist (National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees), Jean Lortie (Secretary-General, Confédération des syndicats nationaux), Andrew Nikiforuk (author and journalist), Jim Stanford (economist, UNIFOR), Michael Harris (writer, journalist and documentary filmmaker), and Brigette DePape (“Rogue Page”, writer and activist). Moderated by Bill Phipps (author and activist).
WHEN: Friday, November 1, 2013, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm MT
WHERE: Castell Library, 616 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, Alberta
WHY: From October 31-November 2, the Conservative Party of Canada will descend on downtown Calgary for the party’s first national policy convention since 2011. In the wake of the court decision that found widespread voter suppression during the 2011 federal election, the deepening Senate scandal, the widespread impacts of the omnibus budget bills including yet another one recently tabled in Parliament, along with ongoing environmental devastation from policies based on extraction and export, this convention will set the Conservative agenda heading into the next election.
At the Pros and Cons teach-in, a range of provincial and national speakers will discuss these issues and put forward a different vision for Canada, one that focuses on progressive policies for people and the planet.
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www.commoncauses.ca | Twitter: @Common_Causes / @CausesCommunes & #CommonCauses
