“We need the CCPA to remind us that our dreams of a decent, egalitarian society are reasonable — indeed that with a little work, they are practical. And I love that practicality, that protection of the dream of the possible.”
— Naomi Klein
This year's Alternative Federal Budget Roundtable, entitled Recession, Recovery and Transformation: Meeting the policy challenges of our time, was held in Ottawa on November 18. CPAC was there to tape the day's proceedings and has made the videos available on-demand on their website.
The first panel, From the Frontlines, featured presentations on the impact the recession is having on communities by:
- Teresa Healy, Communities in Crisis Project, Canadian Labour Congress;
- Blair Redlin, Communities in Crisis Project, Canadian Union of Public Employees;
- Suzanne Doerge, City for All Women Initiative; and
- John Andras, Recession Relief Coalition.
Watch this panel in English or French.
The Honourable Ed Broadbent was the lunchtime speaker at a the Roundtable. You can read the text of his speech here. You can watch his inspirational speech outlining his ten propositions for a resurgence of the progressive movement on CPAC's website in both English and French.
The second panel, What kind of recovery?, examines the recession and so-called recovery so far in both Canada and the U.S. with panelists:
- Jim Stanford, Economist, Canadian Auto Workers
- Larry Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute, Washington
- Katherine Scott, Vice-President, Canadian Council on Social Development and Vanier Institute on the Family
Watch this panel in English or French.
The final panel, Policies for a sustainable/transformative recovery, featured presentations by:
- Armine Yalnizyan, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Sheila Block, Research Director, Ontario Federation of Labour
- Marc Lee, Principal Investigator, CCPA-SSHRC Climate Justice Project