| Conference aims to get Albertans involved in fighting world poverty
The Alberta Council for Global Co-operation is hoping to get more Albertans engaged in eradicating poverty around the globe.
The council is holding its first Make Poverty History conference in Calgary on December 10 at the Olympic Volunteer Centre (1833 Crowchild Trail N.W.).
"It’s an opportunity for Albertans to be able to come and participate in workshops that look at poverty both locally and internationally, and after hearing in depth about the different initiatives…. hopefully give an opportunity for Albertans to now participate in making poverty history," says organizer Gilbert Gatali.
The conference will include an NGO fair where people can learn more about non-profit organizations in Alberta, as well as workshops on a variety of topics, including fair trade, child soldiers and the campaign to establish a living wage in Calgary that reflects the cost of living.
The keynote speaker for the day is Roy Culpeper, president and Chief Executive Officer of The North South Institute, an organization that researches and analyses foreign policy and international development issues and is dedicated to ending global poverty and enhancing social justice.
For more information on the conference, go to www.web.net/acgc.
Green Party flusher with cash this election
It’s easier being Green this federal election. That’s because the party has more than $1 million to spend on campaigning due to changes in election campaign financing rules that gives parties $1.75 for each vote they receive as long as the party has at least two per cent of the popular vote, or at least five per cent of the popular vote in one riding.
Last election the Green Party garnered 4.3 per cent of the popular vote in the country, so it now has a bit of a war chest.
Mark MacGillivray, candidate for Calgary Centre-North, says the new cash has made hitting the campaign trail easier.
"To give an example, in the last election each candidate had about 25 printed copies of the platform, which meant that if anyone wanted see the platform, we had to show it to them and then take it back and say go online," says MacGillivray.
MacGillivray says this time candidates will each have between two thousand and three thousand platforms to hand out.
As well, MacGillvray says the party has enough money to actually "cost out" its platform pledges – in previous years it didn’t attach a specific monetary amount to its platform.
"Last time our platform was a mile wide and an inch thick – very good ideas, but the amount of research behind them wasn’t as much as it could’ve been, so we’ve been really working hard and a lot of the money has gone into doing that," he explains.
However, MacGillivray says the party is seriously miffed that its leader, Jim Harris, won’t be included in any of the televised leaders’ debates despite the fact that the party is running a full slate of candidates across the country and is receiving public money.
"The supreme irony is despite the fact that the Green Party is getting over $1.1 million dollars in taxpayers’ money, we’re not being allowed in the leadership debate," he says.
Fundraiser for activists
Local artists are putting on an art show on December 9 at the Old YMCA (223 12 Ave. S.W.) to raise funds for Calgarians who have been criminally charged due to their activism.
The event will feature visual art from seven different artists, a video installation and presentations by performance artists. Artists include Mikhail Miller-Lajaunesse, Rosemary Brown, Cherie Stocken and Greg Wilcox as well as Women, Creativity and Political Voice. Entry is by donation and all proceeds will go to local activists for their legal costs. Doors open at 7 p.m. |
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