TORONTO, March 24, 2004 -- Toronto Mayor David Miller will be the keynote speaker at a day-long conference "Restoring Public Confidence, Re-engaging Public Participation" to be held on Friday, March 26, at York University and Seneca College.
The conference, which is organized by the Ginger Group and co-sponsored by York University and Seneca College, will bring together leaders from politics, the civil service, corporate Canada, and the media. At a series of panels, they will discuss what steps their sectors must take to restore public confidence in light of recent ethical scandals. A second set of panels will feature examples of Canadians who have successfully engaged ordinary people to achieve worthy public objectives.
The conference will culminate with a town hall meeting with Mayor Miller, open to the general public, York University and Seneca College students. The conference will feature the following panels and speakers:
Public Ethics Panel, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Lower Kaleidoscope Room, Seneca@York
David Smith, Senator (Political Parties); John Reid, Information Commissioner of Canada (Public Services); John Dalla Costa, Founding Director, Centre for Ethical Orientation (Importance of Trust); Penny Collenette, Senior Fellow, Kennedy School of Government (Corporations); Jonathan Kay, Editorials Editor, National Post (The Media).
Public Engagement Panel, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lower Kaleidoscope Room, Seneca@York
Jane Pitfield, Toronto Councillor, Ward 26, Don Valley West (Value of Civic Engagement); Andrew Medd, Executive Director, Canada25 (Canadians, aged 20-35); Phillip Haid, Senior Account Director, Manifest Communications (Youth Voting); Taylor Gunn, Student Vote 2004 (The ‘Future’ of Canadian Democracy).
Lunchtime discussion 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Underground restaurant (York University Student Center)
Toronto Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37, Scarborough Centre)
Town hall meeting 2 - 4 p.m. - Underground restaurant (York University Student Center)
Mayor David Miller
The Ginger Group is an independent non-partisan forum for Canadians which promotes debate and research into public policy issues. The group seeks to nourish and re-energize Canada's democratic national discourse by increasing public engagement in political affairs; by generating new ideas and supporting progressive ideals; and by advancing liberal-democratic thought in the context of a rapidly evolving nation and world.
The full conference program and information about the speakers can be found at www.gingergroup.org.
York University and is located at 4700 Keele Street, Toronto. Seneca@York is located at 70 The Pond Road.
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For more information, the media should contact:
Ken Turriff, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100, 22086, kturriff@yorku.ca
Tanya Zaritzky, The Ginger Group, 416-506-1867, ext. 226, info@gingergroup.org
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