Talking Parliament on Monday, in Toronto (new location), February 7th, 7 - 9 pm, U of T, CAPP featuring Alison Loat

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Talking Parliament on Monday, in Toronto (new location)

By Andreas Krebs

Alison Loat, Samara’s co-founder and executive director, will be discussing Samara’s work twice this coming Monday, February 7th.

If you’re an early bird, you can hear all about Samara’s work on CBC’s Metro Morning this Monday at 7:40am EST. You can find it on your dial at 99.1 FM in Toronto, or here.

Alison will also be speaking at the Democracy Café on Monday, February 7th at 7pm. She will be sharing insights about how Parliament works garnered from Samara’s extensive interviews with former Members of Parliament.

NOTE: The location has changed. The talk will be held at Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street (U of T), room SS2102 from 7 - pm. More details are available here.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?%20%20gid=267871867124&v=app_2344061033

LABELS: MP Exit Interviews, Alison Loat, Democracy Cafe. Metro Morning

http://samaracanada.com/blog/post/Alison-Loat-speaking-about-Samara-on-Monday.aspx

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Samara

Political leadership.
Citizen participation.
Public affairs journalism.

Samara is a charitable organization that studies citizen engagement with Canadian democracy. Through our projects we hope to strengthen the health of our democracy and encourage others to do the same.

Samara was created out of a belief in the importance of public service and public leadership. We are named for a samara, which is the winged "helicopter" seed that falls from maple, elm and ash trees.

Our work focuses on three areas: political leadership; the participation of citizens in public life; and public affairs journalism.

Learn more about our work.

http://samaracanada.com/

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What is CAPP Toronto?

CAPP Toronto is a non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to informing the population of Canada about issues that may concern them; and to improving the democratic system structure that we are beholden to by helping inspire people to become active citizens and get involved in politics, either through action or education.

Forged out of the public reaction to the Prorogation of Parliament on December 30, 2009, CAPP Toronto’s members come from all political parties. Often CAPP Toronto members are not affiliated with any political party, but are still concerned with the direction our society is headed. CAPP Toronto members come from every walk of life. We represent the woven tapestry of Canadian society.

Through education and active engagement in democratic activities, CAPP Toronto strives to return democratic power to Canadian citizens.

http://torontoparticipates.ca/

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The Year in Democracy

Aaron Wherry | Maclean's | January 5, 2011

Samara is soliciting nominations for the best in democracy for 2010 and Alison Loat notes the trend of the current entries:

"From the submissions made so far, it would seem that Canadian democracy is on the defensive. Many of the entries were public outcry in reaction to a policy decision, a government move, or even an individual politician. What does this say about Canadian democracy? Does democracy always need defending?"

http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/01/05/the-year-in-democracy/

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