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OPSEU brings together business, labour, government and community agencies for an in-depth exploration of the future of Ontario.
Toronto (1 March 2010) - Delegates from unions, business, government and community agencies meet in Toronto this week for two days of discussion on what Ontario could look like in 2020.
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Ontario 2020: Planning Our Future Together will take place at the Sheraton Centre Toronto on Wednesday and Thursday, March 4-5.
Steering committee members include Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, Ontario Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Len Crispino; United Way Toronto president and CEO Frances Lankin; Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) president Ken Lewenza; Toronto Community Housing Corp. CEO Keiko Nakamura; music entrepreneur Farley Flex; Ontario Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne; Paul Juniper, director of the Industrial Relations Centre at Queen’s University in Kingston and Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).
“To my knowledge no one has ever brought together business, labour, government, and community agencies for an in-depth exploration of possible futures for Ontario,” says Thomas, who initiated the conference.
“Our goal is to look past the immediate issues of the day so we can better understand the choices before us and the consequences – for all of us – of choosing one path over another," Thomas adds. "We’re looking forward to some electrifying discussions that I know will get a tremendous boost from our high-voltage guest speakers."
Featured speakers will include:
- March 4: Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; Thomas Homer-Dixon, chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and current chair of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative.
- March 5: Justin Trudeau, MP, Papineau; Chris Charlton, MP, Hamilton Mountain; and Gary Goodyear, minister of state responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency in Southern Ontario.
More than 200 conference participants will explore alternate scenarios for the future of Ontario’s economy, communities, health care and education. The sessions will be facilitated by Arden Brummell of Scenarios to Strategy Inc. and Marc Zwelling of Vector Research.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information
• Ontario 2020 conference agenda
• Warren (Smokey) Thomas video on 2020 Conference