Thunder Bay Branch Conference: The Challenge of Globalization

The Thunder Bay branch of the Canadian International Council is pleased to announce an international conference on “The Challenge of Globalization” to be held in Thunder Bay on April 25-26. The conference will focus on the economic, socio-political and security aspects of globalization from both global and local perspectives, including our responses to emerging realities.

The conference will open on Friday with a keynote presentation by David Crane, a renowned writer on economic matters for the Toronto Star, entitled “Confronting the New Realities.” The panel on Saturday morning will consider the US views through a presentation by retired US foreign service officer Tom Hanson, hear a critical Canadian response by sociologist Gary Teeple of Simon Fraser University followed by commentary from David Crane. A panel of these three speakers, moderated by historian Ernie Epp of Lakehead University, will explore the policy challenges that globalization poses. The afternoon sessions will offer a regional response (we hope from Iain Angus, a City Councillor who has been developing a “Common Voice” effort across Northwestern Ontario), a food security perspective from political scientist Doug West of Lakehead University, and an entrepreneurial response from Robert Poulter, President of Genesis Genomics here in Thunder Bay. This conference will advance understanding of the largest secular forces at work in our world today.