Local Prosperity Conference 2016: Agenda and Materials

Local Prosperity 2016 Miramichi - A Regional Conference on New Economics for Rural Canada. 

Scroll through the talks and breakout sessions below to find active links to speakers presentations.

The full Conference Proceedings in a downloadable PDF file are available here.

Thursday, November 3

7:00 pm - Conference Welcome and Opening Keynote Address: David Orr - Dangerous Years: Climate Change & the Long Emergency and the Way Forward

Dr. Orr targeted concrete solutions to the crisis of climate disruption as well as laying out a realistic blueprint for local community resilience including local food and energy production, local investment, and a reshaped participatory government structure. He imagines sustainability as a quest and a transition built upon robust and durable democratic and economic institutions, as well as changes in heart and mindset. The transition is beginning from the bottom up in communities and neighborhoods. He lays out specific principles and priorities to guide us toward enduring harmony between human and natural systems.

Friday, November 4

8:30 – 8:45 am -Opening Honour Song: George Paul, Metepenagiag First Nation, NB

8:45 – 9:30 am - Keynote Address: Michael Shuman - Four Rules for Local Prosperity

Michael laid out new guidelines for building strong community economies, including: 1) maximize the percentage of jobs in your local economy that exist in businesses that are locally owned; 2) maximize the diversity of your businesses in your community, so that your economy is as self-reliant and resilient as possible; 3) prioritize spreading and replicating local business models with outstanding labour and environmental practices – triple bottom line and 4) create a diversity of local pollinators, so that there’s a healthy economic-development capacity in place.

9:30 – 10:15 am - Plenary Panel: Creating a Climate for Change - The role of local government and business in facing the global threat of climate disruption.

Climatologists are nearly unanimous in stating that global warming poses a clear and present danger to civilization. David Orr maintains that our response to climate change will “transform our lives, culture, and prospects.” Michael Shuman cites example after example of opportunities for small, local business to help in and benefit from reducing our carbon footprint. Gregory Heming has outlined in great detail why and how local governments must respond to a rapidly changing climate.

       Panelists: David Orr, Michael Shuman and Gregory Heming

11:00 - 12:30 pm - Working Sessions Period ONE (4 concurrent breakout sessions)

#1  Scaling Our Local Food Supply - A Resiliency Cornerstone

#2  Building Social Capital Pools, Social Financing & Impact in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

#3  Energy - The Sources, Ownership and Distribution

#4  Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests

1:30 - 3:00 pm - Working Sessions Period TWO (4 concurrent breakout sessions)

#1  Scaling Our Local Food Supply - A Resiliency Cornerstone

#2  Building Social Capital Pools, Social Financing & Impact in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

#3  Energy - The Sources, Ownership and Distribution

#4  Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests

4:00 – 5:00 pm - Special Announcements, Plus

A series of 8-10 minute presentations on valuable information for Atlantic Canada communities

Wendy Keates - CCEDNet

Adam Lordon - Do It Here

Saturday, November 5

8:45 – 9:30 am - Plenary Speakers & Discussion: Robert Cervelli - New Ground Rules for Utilizing and Restoring our Natural Resources and Gordon Slade -

Whether it be forestry, fisheries, mineral or energy resources, small communities are unfortunately too familiar with the direct or indirect privatization of their local resources into the hands of a few at the expense of the common good. These resources then tend to be extracted with inappropriately-scaled technology with the sole purpose of reducing costs. What are the ways forward to recapturing the control, restoration, wise use and common benefit of resources that will become dramatically more valuable in the decades ahead?

10:30 - 12:00 pm - Working Sessions Period THREE (4 concurrent breakout sessions)

#5  Moving to Value-Added & Ethical Restoration of our Fisheries - Synopsis (see presentations in session titles below)

#6  Government Power and Policy in the New Economy

#7  Community-Based Entreprises - Synopsis (see presentations in session titles below)

#8  Arts, Culture and Tourism in the New Economy - Synopsis (see presentations in session titles below)

1:00 - 2:30 pm - Working Sessions Period FOUR (4 concurrent breakout sessions)

#5  Moving to Value-Added & Ethical Restoration of our Fisheries

#6  Government Power and Policy in the New Economy

#7  Community-Based Entreprises

#8  Arts, Culture and Tourism in the New Economy

3:30 – 4:15 pm - Plenary Speaker: Gregory Heming - Propriety as Public Policy: A Way Forward for Rural Canada

For the most part our current economy is one without context. In order to give it scale and context so that it more accurately reflects both our civic and our environmental needs we must first strive to re-municipalize government. Seen in this light, local governments can begin to form public policies on economic development that are grounded in what is proper and purposeful rather than what is simply prosperous.

4:15 – 4:45 pm - Plenary Speaker: Dr. Karen Foster - Progress Report on the Atlantic Regional Import Replacement Study

The Centre for Local Prosperity is conducting an Atlantic Canada regional project on the economics benefits of import replacement as an economic development strategy for communities within the region.  Import replacement is an economic tool designed to complement exporting, to provide a more balanced and integrated approach to local economic development and sustainability. A community (or region) focused on import replacement would seek to produce goods and services that are currently imported in order to keep money circulating in the region. By developing local production, it would increase its capacity to meet the economic, social, and cultural needs of the people of the region from within the region in a spirit of self-determination.

Sunday, November 6

9:00 am - An Atlantic Region Conversation: exploring the commonalities of issues and solutions for local economies in our region.  A panel with representatives from each province will field questions and be part of a lively audience-participation discussion.

Moderator - Andy Horsnell, Chair, Centre for Local Prosperity
New Brunswick - Susan Machum, St Thomas University
Nova Scotia - Karen Foster, Dalhousie University
Prince Edward Island - Phil Ferraro, PEI ADAPT Council
Newfoundland - Gordon Slade, Shorefast Foundation

11:15 – 11:30 pm - Closing remarks and farewell

Closing Honour Song: George Paul, Metepenagiag First Nation, NB

 

Breakout Sessions

Click on the titles below for session descriptions and click on Speakers to see their presentations.

Breakout Session #1: Scaling Our Food Supply - A Resiliency Cornerstone

Session #1: Scaling Our Food Supply - A Resiliency Cornerstone

Local food is a cornerstone for import replacement, entrepreneurship and community resiliency. Moving beyond the boutique and hobby farm movement, this session will address key aspects to scaling the local food sector. These include the importance of distribution systems in the rural-urban supply chain, institutional procurement, greater public education, and food affordability for low income households.

Moderator:   Phil Ferraro, Institute for Bioregional Studies, Legacy Garden and Centre for Local Prosperity Advisor

Panelists:

  • Rachel Scofield-Martin,  District Scolaire Francophone Sud, South Eastern NB
  • Aaron Shantz, Westmoreland Albert Food Security Action Group, NB
  • Sue Rickards, Sunrise Partnership for Ag Dev and Education (SPADE), NB

Breakout Session #3: Energy - The Sources, Ownership and Distribution

Session #3: Energy - The Sources, Ownership and Distribution

The ability to produce and store energy is one of the oldest forms of wealth.  When the benefits of local energy production vest within the community, that wealth is realized firstly through import replacement, and secondarily through export of any excess energy produced.  For example, some small local communities in Europe are now producing and selling 5 times more energy than they require.  The session will highlight excellent initiatives in Atlantic Canada for local energy production, distribution and storage. 

Moderator:   Leon de Vreede, Bridgewater, NS, Centre for Local Prosperity Advisor

Panelists:

Breakout Session #5: Moving to Value-Added and Ethical Restoration of our Fisheries

Session #5: Moving to Value-Added and Ethical Restoration of our Fisheries

There is a growing recognition that our fisheries resources are precious, fragile and unpredictable. They should not be reduced to the lowest value commodity by large-scale extraction methods. Rather, local economies will prosper through cooperation aimed towards extracting maximum local value from these resources in ways that also increase the value of the resource over time. The session will explore promising new initiatives in the Atlantic region for non-commodity value-add, end-to-end separate distribution chains and innovative new fisheries.

Synopsis

Moderator:   Gordon Slade, Shorefast Foundation, NFL

Panelists:

Breakout Session #7: Community-Based Entreprises

Session #7: Community-Based Entreprises

This session will explore how community members have come together to create enterprises that engage local resources, capabilities and relationships to meet local needs and priorities, in a way that is equitable and financially sustainable. Through the lived experience of three successful Maritime examples, participants will learn about the kinds of needs that can be addressed through community-based enterprises, the benefits that can be gained, common challenges and risks and strategies to address, and practical tips to get started.

Synopsis

Moderator:   Andy Horsnell, Centre for Local Prosperity Chair, CommonGood Solutions, NS

Panelists:

Breakout Session #2: Building Social Capital Pools, Social Financing & Impact in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Session #2: Building Social Capital Pools, Social Financing & Impact in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Building pools of social capital in a community is essential for community survival.  New forms of social investments, outside of the traditional venture-capital, charitable foundation or loan models, are essential to both non-profit, co-operative and for-profit enterprises to critically drive a community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.  The Impact Investment Fund under development is one recent example - making equity and quasi-equity investments in social enterprises and social businesses through a single access window that make a demonstrable impact in the health of local communities.  Other examples will also be highlighted. 

Moderator:   Dave Upton, Common Good Solutions, NS

Panelists:

  • Wendy Keats, Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick
  • Jeff Harriman, NB Securities Commission
  • Erika Shea, New Dawn Enterprises Dir. of Communications & Ext Relations, Sydney, NS

Breakout Session #4: Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests

Session #4: Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests

Local economies will prosper the most by extracting the maximum value from our forest resources in ways that also restore and increase value over time, and not to view this valuable resource as a low-grade feedstock for industrial ends. This session will explore the potential for shifting the use of our forests to better support a viable future for our rural communities and environment. Creative solutions exist today for de-commoditization - high-end specialty products, more efficient value capture through virtual sorting yards, value-waste recovery and other innovations. Panellists will share experience from some of these enterprises and discuss how they can be part of a more sustainable future for our communities.

Moderator: Dale Prest, Community Forests International, NB

Panelists:

  • Will Martin, Woodscamp Technologies Inc., NS
  • Mary Jane Rodger, General Manager, Medway Community Forest, NS
  • Don Beamish, General Manager, Larch Wood Entreprises, Margaree, NS

Breakout Session #6: Government Power and Policy in the New Economy

Session #6: Government Power and Policy in the New Economy

A Town Hall Discussion on Governance with Rankin MacSween, Gregory Heming and guests. This is an opportunity for municipal officials to weigh in on issues, and to express their vision and way forward for their community.

Facilitators:

  • Rankin MacSween, President, New Dawn Entreprises, Sydney, NS
  • Gregory Heming, Centre for Local Prosperity Senior Advisor, Annapolis County Municipal Councillor, NS

Breakout Session #8: Arts, Culture and Tourism in the New Economy

Session #8: Arts, Culture and Tourism in the New Economy

Arts and culture reflect the community's identity, uniqueness and authenticity as a special 'place'. Structuring the assets of heritage and creative work serves to re-vitalize community and draw people into its fabric. Panelists will describe innovative activities and opportunities that strengthen community along with art and culture's role as an economic driver. Storytelling, home/ community concerts, dance 'hubs', pop-up galleries/theatre, marketers, re-use of existing architecture and inter-generational practices will be discussed.

Moderator: Adam Lordon, former Municipal Councillor, City of Miramichi

Panelists: