“A Changing Canada: Culture, Conservation, and Philanthropy”
June 7th – 9th, 2016
Parksville, B.C.
Shared territory of Snaw-naw-as First Nation and Qualicum First Nation
Program details
Canada is in the midst of societal changes that affect who has power over lands and waters and how people vote, organize, and communicate. As a country, we are recasting our relationship with Indigenous people, and Indigenous-led movements and youth engagement portend a new political dialogue about environmental issues. There is a new, more diverse Canada emerging and our political landscape is catching up and beginning to reflect this diversity.
The 2016 CEGN conference offers an opportunity to examine practical questions of how changes in Canadian identity, values, constituencies, attitudes, and ways of knowing and connecting can create opportunities, as well as challenges, to achieving our goals. BC is a perfect place for those conversations — a province at the forefront of figuring out how to implement and respect new legal recognition of Indigenous rights and title, a place leading in freshwater and marine protection efforts, a landscape with new tribal parks, a coast full of creative approaches to ecological, economic and cultural sustainability and with urban environments that are emerging as models of sustainability.
This conference will focus on four streams of “change” related to conservation and culture that have significant relevance to our strategies and success as funders:
• Canada’s changing relationship with Indigenous people;
• Changes in Canadian politics and political culture;
• Canada’s growing and diversifying urban areas;
• Shifts in our own culture – the culture of philanthropic institutions.
As we gather together, we gratefully acknowledge that we are holding our 2016 conference on the shared territory of Snaw-naw-as First Nation and Qualicum First Nation.
The CEGN 2016 Conference Planning Committee:
Wendy Vanasselt, Wilburforce Foundation (Conference Co-chair)
Jack Wong, Real Estate Foundation of B.C. (Conference Co-chair)
Andre Vallillee, Metcalf Foundation
Brodie Guy, Coast Opportunity Funds
Christina Munck, Tula Foundation
Darcy Dobell, Coast Opportunity Funds
Eric Peterson, Tula Foundation
Gary Willson, Alberta Real Estate Foundation
Karen Wilkie, Carthy Foundation
Kim Hardy, Tides Canada
Meaghan Calcari Campbell, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Pegi Dover, CEGN
Sandy Hoang, CEGN
Terra Kaethler, Vancouver Foundation
Wanda Brascoupé Peters, The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples
CEGN Conference Program
The conference sessions will all be held at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre, located at 1155 Resort Drive in Parksville, British Columbia.
Tuesday, June 7th
8 – 10 a.m. and 3 – 6 p.m. Conference Registration Open (outside the Walbran Room)
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Water Funders’ Gathering including Field Trip, pre-registration required (Grand Strathcona)
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Low Carbon Funders’ Group, pre-registration required (Shushartie Room )
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Optional Full Day and Half-Day Field Trips
i) Sustainable Food Systems Tour (Full day); ii) Tide Pool and Ancient Forest Exploration Tour (Half-day); and iii) Watershed and River Tour (Half-day). Field trips are now full with the exception of the Watershed trip. Details are on conference website.
There are also plenty of local hikes and tours that can be self organized.
6 – 9 p.m. Welcome Reception (Walbran Room)
The reception will include a presentation, The Thin Blue Line, by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier, Executive Director of SeaLegacy. They will take viewers on an underwater journey to some of the most remote and beautiful corners of the ocean and explore how visual storytelling can help protect the last wild places in the sea. With a special focus on the coast of British Columbia and the imperative to protect it, Paul and Cristina will showcase the incredible biodiversity of the underwater wonders of the Great Bear Sea. Ross McMillan, Tides Canada, and Meaghan Calcari Campbell, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will open the reception with reflections on collective efforts to protect the Great Bear Rainforest.
Wednesday, June 8th
All plenary sessions for the conference will take place in the Walbran Room
6:45 – 7:45 a.m. Optional Opportunities to Start Your Day with a Stretch
- Yoga (Carmanah Room)
- Beach Walk (Meet in lobby of resort)
8 – 9 a.m. Breakfast (Walbran Room)
8:15 a.m. Optional Breakfast Table Conversations – These table conversations are informal opportunities for learning and discussion which are hosted by CEGN members or sponsors. No pre-registration is required. A full list of topics for table conversations will be posted outside the Walbran Room and will include:
- Indigenous Law 101: What Are the Key Elements? Hosted by Kris Statnyk, Mandell Pinder LLP
- Oceans Day Focus: How Can Funders Help Protect Canada’s Marine Environments? Hosted by Meaghan Calcari Campbell, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Working with Indigenous Partners: What Are the Elements of Good Allyship? Co-hosted by Kim Hardy, Tides Canada, and Wanda Brascoupé Peters, The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
- Environmental Grantmaking: How Best to Evaluate and Measure Impact? Hosted by Sara Krynitzki, Toronto Foundation
- Sustainable Cities: How Are Funders Engaging? Hosted by Karen Wilkie, Carthy Foundation
- Our Living Waters: What are the Elements of the Platform and What Promise Does It Hold for Fresh Waters in Canada? Co-hosted by Wendy Cooper, Tides Canada, and Tim Morris, Consultant to CEGN’s Water Funders Group
- Advancing Canada’s Climate Commitment: What Is the Role for Philanthropy? Co-hosted by Beth Hunter, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, and Andre Vallillee, Metcalf Foundation.
9 – 9:30 a.m. Conference Opening & Welcome by Chief Brent Edwards, of Snaw-naw-as First Nation
9:30 – 10:10 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Changing Relationships and Implications for Environmental Grantmaking – Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government
10:10 – 10:45 a.m. How Is Canada Changing? What the Data Tells Us – Presentation by Angus McAllister, President of McAllister Opinion Research
10:45 – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 – 11:15 “My Perspective” – A Flash Talk on a Changing Canada – Paul Lacerte, Moosehide Campaign and Vancouver Foundation
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Collaboration and Climate Change: Learning from Alberta Speakers are: Arlene Strom, Suncor; John Heaney, Government of Alberta; Ed Whittingham, Pembina Institute; Daniel Johnson, Pacific Resolutions; and Dave Collyer, former CEO of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Moderator: Tzeporah Berman, New Venture Fund.
12:15 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
Introductory Remarks by Eric Peterson, Founder, Tula Foundation and CEGN Sustainability Champion
1:45 – 2:30 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
#1 – The Changing Landscape for Indigenous Law, Rights and Conservation (Filberg Room)
Kris Statnyk, Mandell Pinder LLP
#2 – The Next Generation of Indigenous Leaders in Northern Canada (Walbran Room)
Speakers are Quinn Measawige, Serpent River First Nation; Nina Larsson, Gwich’in First Nation; and Dana Tizya-Tramm, Vuntut Gwich’in First Nation. Moderator: Steve Ellis. Tides Canada.
#3 – Cities Leading the Way in a Changing Canada (Grand Strathcona Room)
Shauna Sylvester, Director of the SFU Centre for Dialogue
2:30 – 3:20 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
#1 – Indigenous Management and Stewardship: A Conversation Among Indigenous Leaders (Walbran Room)
Speakers are Tara Marsden, Gitanyow First Nation; Tyson Atleo, Ahousaht First Nation; and Megan Moody, Nuxalk Nation. Moderator: Jonaki Bhattacharyya, Firelight Group.
#2 – The Changing Landscape of Canada’s Hua (Ethnic Chinese) Youth and Imagining Us 20 Years Down the Road (Filberg Room)
Claudia Li, Global Ashoka Fellow and co-founder of the organizations Shark Truth and Hua Foundation
#3 – Philanthropy’s Role in Advancing Urban Sustainability (Grand Strathcona Room)
A Pecha Kucha style presentation with Karen Wilkie, Carthy Foundation; Trina Prior, Vancouver Foundation; Leanne Sexsmith, Real Estate Foundation of B.C.; and Andre Vallillee, Metcalf Foundation. Moderator: Thea Silver, Ontario Trillium Foundation.
3:20 – 3:45 p.m. Break
3:45 – 4 p.m. “My Perspective” – A Flash Talk on a Changing Canada – Robyn Duncan, Wildsight
4 – 5 p.m. Policy Opportunities on the Federal Landscape: A discussion of the opportunities on the national scene with leaders of some of Canada’s major environmental organizations: Peter Robinson, David Suzuki Foundation; Tim Gray, Environmental Defence Canada; Jessica Clogg, West Coast Environmental Law; and Eric Hébert-Daly, CPAWS. Moderator: Emma Gilchrist, DeSmog Canada.
5 – 5:30 p.m. CEGN’s Annual General Meeting – All are welcome
5:30 p.m. Break
6:30 – 7 p.m. Cocktails
7 – 8:30 p.m. Dinner
Introductory Remarks by Rose Letwin, President, Wilburforce Foundation and CEGN Sustainability Champion
8:30 p.m. Screening of Documentary Film Jumbo Wild and Bonfire on the Beach
Thursday, June 9th
6:45 – 7:45 a.m. Optional Opportunities to Start Your Day with a Stretch
- Yoga (Carmanah Room)
- Beach Walk (Meet in lobby of resort)
8 – 9 a.m. Breakfast (Walbran Room)
8:15 a.m. Optional Breakfast Table Conversations – These table conversations are informal opportunities for learning and discussion which are hosted by CEGN members or sponsors. No pre-registration is required. A full list of topics for table conversations will be posted outside the Walbran Room and will include:
- Philanthropy North of 60: What Does It Look Like? Hosted by Itoah Scott-Enns, Arctic Funders Collaborative
- Where Are the Grant $$$ Going and What Are the Top-Funded Issues? An Overview of Canadian Environmental Grantmaking. Hosted by Sandy Hoang, CEGN
- Investing for the Planet: What Are the Obstacles and the Opportunities? Co-hosted by John Cook, Greenchip Financial; Andrew Heintzman, InvestEco; Martin Ritchie and Christian Wray, JCM Capital
- Tackling Toxics: What Are the Opportunities for Funder Engagement? Hosted by Wendy Cooper, Tides Canada
- How Do We Realize the Promise of the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement? Hosted by Brodie Guy, Coast Opportunity Funds
9 – 9:45 a.m. Plenary: Working Better Together – Speakers are Will Atlas, Qqs Projects Society and Simon Fraser University; Jess Housty, Qqs Projects Society; Chris Darimont, Hakai Institute and University of Victoria; and Jen Walkus, Wuikinuxv Nation. Moderator: Nancy Turner, University of Victoria.
9:45 – 10:30 a.m. – The Changing Media Landscape – Emma Gilchrist, DeSmog Canada; Aliya-Jasmine Sovani, NBC; and Erin Millar, Discourse Media. Moderator: Darcy Dobell, Coast Opportunity Funds.
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 – 11 a.m. “My Perspective” – A Flash Talk on a Changing Canada – Caitlyn Vernon, Sierra Club B.C.
11 – 11:40 a.m. Our Own Changing Organizations and Culture –Tom David, co-author of the GEO report “The Source Codes of Foundation Cultures”
11:40 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Skill Building Sessions
#1 – Engagement Organizing to Win (Filberg Room)
Matt Price, New Venture Fund
#2 – How Foundations Can Help Shift Trillions to Climate Solutions (Grand Strathcona Room)
Toby Heaps, Corporate Knights and Andrea Moffat, Ivey Foundation. Moderator: John Cook, Greenchip Financial
#3 – Diving Deeper – Our Changing Organizations and Cultures (Walbran Room)
Tom David in conversation with funders, including Deborah Irvine, Vancouver Foundation, and Thea Silver, Ontario Trillium Foundation.
12:30 – 2 p.m. Lunch & Presentation by Keynote Speaker
John Ralston Saul
2 p.m. Closing Remarks – Andre Vallillee, Chair of CEGN
3 p.m. Departure for Two-Day Field Trip to Hakai Institute on Quadra Island (pre-registration required)
Thank You!
We are grateful to the following organizations for their support as conference sponsors.
Sustainability Champions
Environmental Stewards
Friends of CEGN
Greenchip Financial
InvestEco
JCM Capital
Pacific Salmon Foundation