Canadian Social Forum Day 3

The intensity continued apace on the third day of the Forum, and today was a busy day for CPJ staff. Mariel had her poster presentation on child care and women’s caring work today. It was very well received, and Mariel had a number of good conversations with people about child care.

I did a workshop this morning on guaranteed livable income along with my colleagues Jim Mulvale and Mike McCracken of BIEN Canada. The workshop was very well attended, and the discussion was very thought-provoking. People asked good questions about the kinds of social infrastructure that need to accompany a GLI program, as well as questions on design, public support and political will. Senator Art Eggleton, Chair of the Senate Sub-Committee on Cities which hosted last year’s roundtable on GLI, was there, as was NDP MP Tony Martin.

At lunch, Karri and I participated in an informal conversation on faith and anti-poverty work organized by former CPJ board member Annie McKitrick. We were joined by a political staffer, a health care worker, and a national church leader in a conversation about the importance of speaking out on public issues from a faith perspective and how faith inspires us in our daily work. We all agreed that statements based on faith values create change, but even more importantly, they provide a prophetic voice.

Tonight, we had an event with CPJ members in Calgary, sharing our new Dignity for All campaign (to be officially launched tomorrow!). We met some long time CPJ members, as well as some former CPJ staffers, like Barry Robinson who worked in the Calgary office. The response to our campaign was enthusiastic, and Mariel, Karri and I were glad to be able to meet with CPJ’s Calgary supporters and share inspiration.

The rest of the day was rounded out with some good workshops and some interesting plenary speakers who offered provocative ideas. I’m looking forward to the discussion tomorrow about next steps and where we go from here. I think our campaign is part of the answer, as I think we need to build nationwide connections in a movement of citizens, politicians and decision-makers to achieve the eradication of poverty in Canada.