The Canadian Social Forum: afternoon and evening day 2

A tremendously rich dialogue has been building since we touched down in Calgary earlier this week. The opportunities to see, to hear, and to engage have been wonderful.

As Chandra and Mariel have already mentioned, the stories that have been told in presentations and workshops have been both powerful and devastating. The reality of poverty in this country is painful and courage of the people that share their experiences is inspiring. Of course one of the benefits of participating in an event such as this is the opportunity to connect with old friends, to put faces to people that previously existed only as voices on a conference call, and to meet other passionate Canadians that are all active in the struggle against poverty. In being gathered together, our collective potential is clear. Together, we can change the course of history.

But before we do, I should pick up when Chandra left off… I spent the afternoon in a packed workshop on the theme, “Making Common Cause and Effecting Real Change: Advocating for Poverty Reduction in Alberta and British Columbia.” Part of what drew me to this workshop was the fact that Alberta and BC are two of the provinces that have not yet implemented poverty reduction strategies, due in part to political constraints similar to those we face at the federal level. Another aspect of interest is the fact that advocacy efforts are somewhat more advanced, particularly in BC, in terms of the specificity of proposals that are being advanced (again, compared to the push at the federal level).

I really appreciated the presentations by John Kolkman from the Edmonton Social Planning Council (and a CPJ member), Seth Klein – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (BC), and Margot Young – University of BC and the discussion that followed. Three key points stood out for me. First, that the notion that “there is nothing inevitable about poverty in a country such as ours” does not appear to be widely understood by Canadians. Second, that in the context of economic downturn, now is precisely the time when a plan is most needed. And third, that as a society, in the words of Seth Klein, “our sense of what is possible is constrained by what we know.” I came away from this workshop again feeling like real change is not only possible, but that it is coming – and that we have the potential to create a situation in which this is true not only provincially, but at the federal level too.

After a couple hours away from the Forum, we were all back for the evening session: a premiere screening of Mary Walsh’s yet-to-be-completed documentary Poor No More. This compelling film highlights the story of the working poor in Canada and through an exploration of the realities in Ireland and Sweden presents impressive examples of what is possible. (Admittedly, there were several in the audience that were concerned that the aspects of the Swedish approach – such as their progressive social policy and high levels of unionization – were being idealized and that there were other weaknesses or oversights in this rough cut of the film, which to a certain extent is true. At the end of the day, however, to focus merely on these shortcomings misses the point that there are real alternatives to the Canadian status quo). I look forward to seeing the final version of this film and hope that we at CPJ will have the opportunity to share it with others.

I also look forward to the wonderful adventure that is most certainly waiting tomorrow.