1pm - 2pm Pacific Time

Think that the New Economy smells like the Old Economy? Then check out this super cool + informative webinar featuring voices from emerging economies is northern BC.

WATCH LIVE STREAM HERE

WHY WE ARE HOSTING THIS WEBINAR:

We are tired of hearing the same old story that pipelines, mines, and yer creepy ol' uncle, Site C, are going to save the Northern BC economy! We are tired of leading economic organizations ignoring legitimate concerns of area Indigenous land defenders who have inherent rights to lands typically used for exploitative economic practices and decision making power over those lands. We are tired of an economy that disregards real concerns about climate change.

PERKS:

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear voices from those working in emerging economies across the region – people who have multiple experiences based solidly in community. It's an opportunity for new information + hearing about new opportunities and ideas!

Source: Home Sweet Home Grocery

1:00pm to 2:30pm Eastern Time

The "People, Power, Planet Partnership (P4): Best Practices and Knowledge Mobilization in Community Energy Development" was formed to assess, document and share the experiences and lessons of community energy developments across Canada and beyond, with the goal of increasing the level of awareness and rate of implementation of such projects nation-wide. Launched in May 2014, P4 is a two-year research and knowledge mobilization initiative generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project's co-leads are Dr. J.J. McMurtry from York University and Dr. Judith Lipp, Executive Director of TREC Renewable Energy Co-operative.

On behalf of P4, you are invited to join a presentation of recent research, analysis and strategic discussion about community energy as part of the launch of the P4 website. P4 was formed to assess, document and share the experiences and lessons of community energy developments across Canada and beyond, with the goal of increasing the level of awareness and rate of implementation of such projects nation-wide. 

Register for the People, Power, Planet website launch

P4's research efforts to-date focused on:

1. The latest status of Renewable Energy (RE) and Community Energy (CE) project and policy developments in each jurisdiction across Canada
2. Indigenous communities’ involvement in RE and CE projects in each jurisdiction across Canada
3. Different ownership models under which CE projects are developed
4. The intersections between Social Finance (SF) and CE

The community of practice, policy and research around community-ownership of energy projects is growing across Canada and P4 has been contributing to that work as well as creating a hub for it, through the P4 website.

This launch and following discussion comes at a very exciting time for renewable and community energy in Canada with: 

• New Federal leadership committed to addressing climate change; 
• Aggressive provincial renewable energy target announcements; 
• Fast moving clean technology advances and falling costs; and 
• Growing interest and participating by by citizens and Indigenous peoples in taking charge of their energy needs for social, environmental and economic gain. 

Join this important discussion and help spread the word to others in your network.

If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to Derya Tarhan, P4's Project Co-ordinator at derya at trec.on.ca

12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern Time

The complex environmental challenges we face today require us to look critically at how we might transform our economies to reduce pollution, use less land, and regrow natural spaces. As a result green jobs are increasingly the centre of economic development conversations. Community economic development (CED) is a strategy that can be used to help ensure that the benefits of a green economy are shared with those that are so often left out of the mainstream economy.

This webinar features two organizations that have taken a CED approach to finding green solutions for affordable housing while also developing local leadership and employment opportunities. Building Urban Industries for Local Development (BUILD) is a social enterprise in Winnipeg providing trades-based training for people with limited formal labour market experience. Work that trainees undertake includes retrofitting homes with insulation and high-efficiency toilets as well as water-and-energy-saving devices. People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo) is a local membership-based community organization fighting to make affordable housing a reality on Buffalo’s West Side. PUSH Buffalo has been active in reclaiming empty homes for redevelopment as low-income housing and in the process is helping to develop community leaders to maintain local control of the redevelopments.

SPEAKERS

Aaron Bartley, Executive Director and co-founder of PUSH Buffalo

Aaron is a Buffalo native and proud product of the Buffalo Public School System. Over the years, Aaron has organized labor and student campaigns for economic justice, including the Harvard Living Wage Campaign and the Boston Justice for Janitors Strike in 2002. Aaron is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and has appeared in major media outlets as an advocate for low-income individuals.

Sean Hogan, Production Manager with BUILD

Sean Hogan is the Production Manager at BUILD, an award winning social enterprise and training program in Winnipeg’s North End. Since 2014, he has been leading the social enterprise teams of BUILD, helping navigate the choppy waters of professional contracting, as well as looking for new ways to create training and employment opportunities for individuals with multiple employment barriers. He is also a husband, father, and children’s entertainer.

HOST

Michael Lewis, Executive Director of the Canadian Center for Community Renewal (CCCR)

Mike is well known in Canada and internationally as a practitioner, author, educator, and leader in the field of CED and the social economy. His experience cuts across the full range of functions connected to community renewal and development. He has built and advised a wide range of businesses, organizations and governments all over Canada and internationally as well. Mike is an innovator, activist and thinker with a penchant for linking practice with policy and the micro and macro. He also co-authored The Resilience Imperative with Pat Conaty, which explores how we might forge a steady-state economy that is socially, ecologically and economically sensible and sustainable.

The demographic shift is alive in Canada and the United States. We are an urban nation with 81% of Canadians living in cities. (2011 census). Join Ben Hecht, CEO, Living Cities and Mark Holmgren, Director, Vibrant Communities as they discuss how to build cities that are resilient, engaging and proactively achieving dramatically better results for low income residents. Ben will share examples from across the United States where Living Cities partners have shifted the traditional paradigms to harness impact investing and are re-building civic infrastructure using technology and innovation. Ben will also share his perspectives on how the innovation economy can play a role in disrupting inequality in cities. 

Register for Disrupt Cities

About Ben Hecht

Ben Hecht was appointed President & CEO of Living Cities in July, 2007. Since that time, the organization has adopted a broad, integrative agenda that harnesses the collective knowledge of its 22 member foundations and financial institutions to benefit low income people and the cities where they live. Living Cities deploys a unique blend of more than $140 million in grants, loans and influence to re-engineer obsolete public systems and connect low-income people and underinvested places to opportunity.

Prior to joining Living Cities, Mr. Hecht co-founded One Economy Corporation, a non-profit organization focused on connecting low-income people to the economic mainstream through innovative online content and increased broadband access. As President, from 2000-2007, Mr. Hecht led the growth of the organization from 4 employees to a $12 million organization with 50+ staff, online media properties serving more than 150,000 low-income people a month, and programs in 40 states, the Middle East and Africa.

Immediately before One Economy, Mr. Hecht was Senior Vice President at the Enterprise Foundation. There, he led the organization’s efforts beyond housing into childcare, workforce development and economic development and oversaw the expansion of the organization’s revolving loan fund from $30 million to $200 million.

About Mark Holmgren

Mark recently began working with Tamarack Institute as the Director of Vibrant Communities. Mark's focus is to create and support a connected learning community of 100 Canadian cities or regions with multi-sector roundtables addressing poverty reduction in their communities. The goal is to foster aligned poverty reduction strategies in cities, provinces and the federal government resulting in reduced poverty for 1 million Canadians.

A proven visionary and innovator, Mark has extensive experience as a big picture thinker, strategist, and facilitator. He brings to Tamarack a long history of experience with social housing development, the development of services aimed at poverty and homelessness elimination, and the identification and launch of strategies that are mission and values focused. He has taught at McEwan University (strategic planning and executive non-profit leadership) and was also a consult for the university in the area of curriculum review and re-design.

12pm to 1pm Eastern Time

Ontario has taken a major step in the right direction with the passage of Bill 6: Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act. A large coalition of community partners has been advocating for community benefits to be included in this bill. That’s because Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) support communities by creating jobs and training opportunities and supporting social enterprise activity and other community amenities. CBAs offer an opportunity to engage marginalized populations, including youth and newcomers, in a range of quality job opportunities as part of a large infrastructure investment.

This achievement is the result of cross-sectoral collaboration of many community agencies, nonprofits, labour groups and social enterprise leaders working together. 

We’re inviting nonprofits across Ontario to join a one hour webinar with Alejandra Bravo, Director of Leadership and Training at the Broadbent Institute to discuss how community benefit agreements work, how they can help nonprofits, and why the coalition felt it was important to have community benefits mentioned in Bill 6.

Cost: $30 for ONN Members/ $60 for Nonmembers
Presenter: Alejandra Bravo, Director of Leadership and Training at the Broadbent Institute

Register for the Community Benefit Agreements webinar

During this one hour webinar, you can learn:

• How Community Benefit Agreements work
• Why are Community Benefit Agreements important for the nonprofit sector
• What are the opportunities for nonprofits to get involved in pushing for community benefits
• Where are the emerging opportunities in communities across Ontario

About the presenter

Alejandra Bravo is Director of Leadership and Training at the Broadbent Institute.

Prior to this, she was Manager of Leadership & Learning at Maytree, where she designed and delivered training for emerging leaders to participate actively in civic and political life.

Alejandra is a member of the Toronto District School Board’s Inner City Advisory Committee and an advisor to Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Ontario. She has a 25-year history of working for progressive social change with grassroots, immigrant, and labour groups. Alejandra has worked as a community organizer, political staff and has been a City Council candidate in Toronto.

She is a graduate of the University of Toronto.