#Can2020 Conference Agenda

Kicking off the #Can2020 Conference, Canada 2020 and EKOS Research present brand new public opinion data on the major policy challenges(and solutions) of our time.

Responding to Canada 2020’s polling numbers, the CBC Insiders Panel discusses the political implications and realities of the data.

The consensus among
mainstream economists is
that income inequality is a
reality. For government policy
makers, it presents complex
challenges as our understanding
of the causes evolves
and possible policy solutions
are developed and debated.
Moving beyond a one size fits
all prescription, this panel will
discuss what policy solutions
are best suited given different
forces at play along the
income spectrum.

Canadian cities and provinces
are facing a $171 billion infrastructure
deficit. And with little
public interest in raising taxes,
it is clear new ways of sharing
risk and sources of funding
are required. What do these
arrangements look like and
how can governments work
with the private sector to close
the infrastructure deficit?

In the past, governments were
comfortable reallocating wealth
through taxes and other social
and economic policy tools.
The challenge for modern
governments is how to create
more and sustained growth
and wealth across broader
segments of the economy.
This panel will discuss new
policy tools governments have
to work with going forward.

How do we communicate
complex policy challenges
and issues to the public –
issues, for example, like
income inequality where
multiple forces underpin
the problem?

Getting North America’s
skills-development system
right is essential to maintaining
economic competitiveness over
the next decade and beyond.
So where do we start? What
are the essential elements to a
continental skills framework?
And how do governments and
the private sector work together
to build a training system that
is nimble, adaptive, and keeps
investment flowing?

Recent revelations have given
us unprecedented insights into
the mindset and capabilities
that Canadian, U.S. and other
western intelligence agencies
have employed since 9/11. But
do existing laws strike the right
balance between individual
freedoms and the state’s ability
to ensure our national security?
How can government more
effectively protect our national
security while guaranteeing our
civil liberties and respecting the
rule of law?

How advocacy professionals
can use Google tools to better
operate their campaigns.

Welcoming remarks from
the Progressive Training
Institute and veteran
campaign organizers.

“Every nation for itself: winners
and losers in a G-zero world”

Before a campaign, how do
you recruit, train and retain
top-tier campaign talent?
During a campaign, how do
you create start-up activists,
grassroots organizers and
community change-makers?
And what tools do they all
need in order to thrive?

After more than a decade
of bloody and unpredictable
conflict, to quote Madeline
Albright, “The world is a mess.”
And as G7 leaders settle into
the new normal of global
conflict – where networked
terrorist organizations and
other non-state actors drive
uncharted political, economic,
or religious ends – what tools
do western governments have
to manage an increasingly dangerous
and multi-polar world?

Lessons on how to build and execute a winning, data-driven campaign.

Over the past decade, North
America’s energy landscape
has shifted dramatically.
Rapid development of shale
gas deposits, continued oil
sands expansion, and massive
investments in renewables
and electricity infrastructure
have, as a result, created an
energy market of abundance.
Yet as integrated as the North
American economy is, we still
lack a comprehensive framework
that deals with energy
and environment together.
This panel will discuss creating
that framework.

When it comes to organizing
with 21st century tools and
tactics, Canadian progressives
are still playing catch-up to our
U.S. counterparts. How do we
leap-frog that development
process, learn from mistakes
south of the border, and
embrace the future of
progressive campaigning?

The conference concludes
with the CBC At Issue Panel
tying together various themes,
lingering questions and areas
of further exploration.