January 23
7:00-9:00pm
Eckhardt Grammatté Hall
University of Winnipeg

The fourth lecture in the public lecture series, titled This Land is our Land?: Re-Integrating Earth, Eating and Ethics, will feature the University of Saskatoon’s Dr. Nettie Wiebe.

Dr. Nettie Wiebe

Known as a writer, panelist and speaker on agriculture, environment, public policy and trade issues, Dr. Wiebe has been an advocate for farm families and rural communities in many forums in Canada and abroad. She served as Women’s President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) from 1989-1994 and was elected President of the NFU in January 1995, the first woman to lead a national farm organization in Canada. Combining her education as a philosopher with her background in agriculture, policy, and trade, Dr. Wiebe’s presentation will discuss sustainable food systems, social and economic justice, and the human right to food as complexities in today’s globalized world.

This event is free of charge and includes light refreshments.

This event is part of an exciting public discussion series presented by Menno Simons College, entitled How We Grow, Share and Eat: Moving Towards Just and Sustainable Food & Farming Systems, featuring Dr. Nettie Wiebe. These events are a part of a series of public lectures, active website, and university courses.

January 21
7:00am, 2014
Free Press Café, 237 McDermot Ave

Is Farming in Canada Supportive of the Family Farm and can it be a Model for Developing Countries?

Join us for an engaging panel discussion on land and food ethics, part of an ongoing series on food security and farm sustainability hosted by Menno Simons College. Panelists will include:

Dr. Nettie Wiebe - a teacher, writer, speaker, organic farmer, farm organization leader, and public policy advocate. Wiebe has published books on food system crisis, food sovereignty, desertification, land diversity and rural communities. Her research interests include ethics and ecology, social justice, positive human rights (especially the Right to Food), and practical personal ethics in the contemporary context.

• A local expert in commodities trading.
• A Representative from a major grain trading company.
• Moderated by a Winnipeg Free Press Reporter.

Food and farming are a fundamental component of human society. Yet in the face of a burgeoning global economy many people face a scarcity of food while many other people face an over-abundance of it. Moreover environmental challenges such as declining agricultural biodiversity and growing reliance in chemical inputs require careful reflection on the state and direction of food and farming systems.

Over the course of the 2013-14 academic year, Menno Simons College will host a series of lecturers by distinguished speakers addressing the topic of “How We Grow, Share & Eat: Towards Just and Sustainable Food & Farming Systems.” For more information on the series, including past lecture videos, please visit www.mscollege.ca/foodsecurity.

Ticket price of $10 includes a hot breakfast with a choice of:

• Homemade granola and fresh fruit with Liberte yogurt
• Roasted vegetable frittata with multigrain toast, and tomato slices
• Free range eggs done your way with your choice of bacon, ham or chorizo sausage with multigrain toast and hashbrowns
• Ham & cheddar omelette with hashbrowns and multigrain toast

[ more info ]

This event is part of an exciting public discussion series presented by Menno Simons College, entitled How We Grow, Share and Eat: Moving Towards Just and Sustainable Food & Farming Systems, featuring Dr. Nettie Wiebe. These events are a part of a series of public lectures, active website, and university courses.
 

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Investing in building retrofits for greater energy efficiency has the potential to reduce housing costs and improve utilities consumption while supporting emissions reductions. Whether for individual homeowners or affordable housing providers, a diversity of financial tools and programs are required to make it viable to invest in retrofits that will provide long-term energy efficiency savings and returns.

We will be joined by two non-profit organizations that provide financial incentives for energy efficient upgrades in the residential sector. Toronto Atmospheric Fund will discuss their TowerWise Energy Savings Purchase Agreement program, a revolving loan fund approach to financing energy retrofits, in addition to their partnership with Toronto Community Housing. Efficiency Nova Scotia Corporationwill provide background on their interest-free financing program for home energy efficiency upgrades, along with a new pilot program that allows energy upgrade loans to be repaid through the property-tax bill (PACE).

SPEAKERS

Tim Stoate is the Vice President of Impact Investing with the Toronto Atmospheric Fund. Tim has thirty years of experience in impact investing and corporate finance consulting in the banking sector. Portfolios under his management have exceeded $200 million in committed funds and have included residential real estate, construction transactions, and commercial loans.

Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) was established in 1991 by the City of Toronto with a mandate to reduce local greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions. To accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency in the high-rise residential market, Tim and his team have created an innovative new financing tool, an Energy Savings Performance Agreement, (“ESPA”). The ESPA transfers the risk of achieving energy efficiency results to TAF through an insurance arrangement that TAF is pioneering. In addition, through a partnership with Toronto Community Housing, TAF has provided support on a major appliance upgrade.

Amy Brown is a Program Manager with Efficiency Nova Scotia’s Residential Financing program. Amy is a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate with over five years’ experience in the financial services sector. Her work focuses on designing and implementing unique financing incentive options to assist homeowners overcome financial barriers often associated with making energy efficiency improvements.

Efficiency Nova Scotia Corporation (ENSC) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to help all Nova Scotians use energy better. ENSC provides expertise, guidance and financial incentives to assist households, businesses and large institutions like hospitals and universities improve their energy efficiency and reduce their energy costs. ENSC is also dedicated to raising awareness about the value of energy efficiency in our schools and communities, and to fostering the growth of Nova Scotia’s energy efficiency industry. Since 2008, energy efficiency programs have reduced Nova Scotia’s annual electricity load by 4.3 per cent – enough electricity to power more than 46,000 households. Thanks to this work, Nova Scotians are saving $52 million in electricity costs every year.

Space is limited. REGISTER NOW!

Webinars are free for CHRA members.
For non-members, the cost is $40 + tax.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Affordable housing represents an infrastructure investment like any other real estate opportunity, with one demonstrable difference: social impact. With the potential for scale, proven debt investment and stable returns, affordable housing has become a key sector of the social finance marketplace – an investment approach based on mobilizing private capital that seeks to deliver a social impact while producing a financial return.

Broadly defined, social finance has been evolving in Canada over the past decade, and has revealed financing opportunities in support of the development of new affordable housing projects. We will hear from two Ontario housing providers - Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation and St. Clares Multifaith Housing - who will discuss their experience in employing a blend of financing strategies to leverage equity for their recent builds.

SPEAKERS

Jon Harstone is the Executive Director of St. Clares Multifaith Housing Society and a consultant with Ganesh Community Development Co-op, a non-profit consulting firm that assists non-profit housing organizations to develop affordable housing. For more than thirty-five years Jon has been assisting in the development of affordable and supportive housing, and has been directly involved in over 45 affordable housing projects.

Ray Sullivan is the Executive Director of Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), a mixed-income private non-profit with 1595 units in downtown Ottawa. Ray has worked in the sector since 1999, but his proudest achievement was in helping to create 254 new homes at CCOC’s recent Beaver Barracks development –there were times when he wasn’t sure it would happen at all.

Space is limited. REGISTER NOW!

Webinars are free for CHRA members.
For non-members, the cost is $40 + tax.

January 18, 2014
Elements: The Restaurant
599 Portage Avenue

In October of this past year Diversity Foods chef, Kelly Cattani, and her team won Manitoba's Gold Medal Plates culinary competition. The next stage of the competition is a National event in Kelowna, B.C. on Feb. 7 & 8th.

Diversity Food Services (CCEDNet Member) is hosting a fundraising dinner at Elements: the restuarant featuring an eight course menu with beverage pairings on January 18th, 2014.

Please consider purchasing a ticket and joining us to celebrate this amazing team of culinary excellence.

Call 204-786-9237 for reservations and more information