Annual Gala Dinner in Ottawa featuring BC Premier John Horgan
We kicked off the year with our very first annual gala dinner in Ottawa featuring BC Premier John Horgan as our Keynote speaker who thrilled our 400 guests with inspirational stories from his political journey beginning as a volunteer all the way to the Premier’s office. Special guest speakers included; Jagmeet Singh, Lindsay Mathyssen, and Gavin McGarigle. You can watch the event highlights and John Horgan’s full keynote address here on our website: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/50th_anniversary_highlights
Blaikie - Knowles - Woodsworth Lecture at the University of Winnipeg featuring Dr. Gary Dorien
The Blaikie Knowles Woodsworth Lecture at the University of Winnipeg was established in coordination with the Blaikie family in memory of longtime minister and politician Bill Blaikie. This lecture is curated to look at the intersection of social democracy and faith. NYU Professor Dr. Gary Dorien provided a master class on the history of the Canadian Social Gospel Movement and the impacts it had on Canadian politics and society in contrast to the United States. We were pleased to have the now Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew join us as one of our guest speakers. The full video is available on our website: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/the_blaikie_knowles_woodsworth_lecture_video
Mental Health and Wellness in the Workplace Final Report
As we have come through the COVID19 pandemic we have become more aware of mental health issues. We took a deep dive into what some of the root causes for mental health distress are. Our original research found that of the people who participated in our survey, 87% of those who identified as being under distress attributed their work/employment as the main factor. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg - our data provides a remarkable amount of information on what is driving this problem, and what can be done to help fix workplace mental health distress. Read our final report here: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/research?active=final_report_mental_health_and
Jack Layton Lecture at McGill featuring Armine Yalnizyan and Frances Donald
This lecture event was produced in a roundtable format with renowned economists Armine Yalnizyan and Frances Donald, and Christopher Ragan at the Max Bell School for Public Policy at McGill University in Montreal. The discussion centered around the rising costs of living and inflation - affordability being an issue that was always very close to Jack Layton’s heart.
The full event video is available here: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/the_jack_layton_lecture_video
Seniors Care and Long Term Care Research Phase 1 report
In phase 1 of our research into the Senior’s Care and Long Term Care crisis Canadians are facing now and the looming problems of the future. We found that not only is the current system incredibly inadequate to meet the needs of today’s population, the crisis will get much worse in the future due to a number of economic factors if governments don’t act quickly to make major improvements and provide solutions such as increasing PSWs and homecare options. Read phase 1 of our report here on our website: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/research?active=long_term_care_without_a_long_term_plan_aging_population_s_demand_going_unmet_phase_one
Training: Community Organizing for Affordable Housing
In partnership with the Institute for Change Leaders, we provided a 6 part online training course to dozens of people looking to gain organizing skills to help better their communities. This year our focus was on the issue of affordable housing and the housing crisis facing people from coast to coast. The 6 modules provide activists an opportunity to learn from issue based campaign organizers on how to motivate your community members into taking action. All of the training module videos are available on our website for you to participate in the training as well: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/videos
The Women’s Leadership Showcase
We hosted a series of interviews with leading social democratic women today who have inspired so many with their strength, intelligence, and determination. These women have opened up doors for so many and we were so fortunate to hear some of their life experiences and stories. In the spring we hosted Audrey McLaughlin, the first woman to lead a national political party in Canada. And in the summer, we hosted Marit Stiles, The Leader of the Official Opposition and Ontario NDP. Our hope is that these interviews inspire women across the country to step up and lead. You can watch the interviews at: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/videos
Jack Layton Awards Ceremony at the Toronto Metropolitan University
Each year we commemorate the life and legacy of Jack Layton through the Layton Legacy Awards. These awards are given out to two organizations that have excelled in their respective roles; The Layton Activist Award, and, The Indigenous Leadership Award. This year the Awards were given to the Ontario Indigenous HIV/AIDS Strategy, and the Assembly of Seven Generations. Learn more about the awards at: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/videos
Alexa McDonough Lecture at MSVU featuring Peggy Nash
This lecture event is part of the Alexa McDonough Women’s Leadership Centre and produced in Collaboration with the Alexa McDonough Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies at Mount St Vincent University. Importantly this is the one lecture that is reserved exclusively for a woman speaker. Author, Order of Canada Recipient, and former Member of Parliament Peggy Nash was our keynote speaker on the importance of women running and winning public office. Peggy was joined on stage by Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender, and NSGEU President Sandra Mullen. Please watch the full video here: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/the_alexa_mcdonough_lecture
Dave Barrett Lecture at UVic featuring John Horgan, Carole James, Andrew Petter and Geoff Meggs
Thanks to the founding support of LiUNA Local 1611, the Dave Barrett Lecture coincides with the newly established scholarship in his name at the University of Victoria. This panel discussion moderated by Geoff Meggs included former BC Premier John Horgan, former Deputy Premier Carole James, former Cabinet Minister Andrew Petter, in conversation about the innovations that the first NDP Government in British Columbia brought to the province and the rest of Canada 50 years ago. Please watch the informative and entertaining video on our website: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/dave_barrett_lecture_video
David Lewis Lecture at the UofT featuring Marshall Ganz and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow
The David Lewis Lecture at the University of Toronto featured special guest speaker Marshall Ganz who teaches, researches, and writes on leadership, narrative, strategy and organization in social movements, civic associations, labour unions, and politics at Harvard University. In 2007-8 he was instrumental in the design of the grassroots organization for the 2008 Obama for President campaign. Long time friends, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow joined Marshall Ganz on stage for a fireside chat about their campaign strategies to winning elections. Watch the full event video here: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/the_david_lewis_virtual_lecture
