G20 Summit to be Hosted by Toronto

Darren Thorne, international lawyer, development and international relations expert claims that unlike Canada’s grudging participation in the current Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the G20 Summit in Toronto will be a priority for the Federal government. It had better be, if Canada is to remain relevant on the international stage.

Beyond December 6th – National Day of Remembrance and Action

Motivated Mom’s Club CEO Rochelle Dickenson believes that while it is important to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action (December 6th), we need to continue translating knowledge into action beyond that date. What is needed is a paradigm shift that begins with modeling change in daily behaviour.

Copenhagen Climate Conference

As an environmentalist, Dr. Ijaz Rauf has been eagerly waiting for the Copenhagen Conference and is pleased so far that 192 countries including China, India, Canada and the USA are participating. For him, however, the true success of the conference will depend on the final treaty that will emerge and the number of countries that sign and actually implement it.

Woman on Man Domestic Violence

Change12 Executive Director Saeed Selvam asserts that while ‘domestic violence’ brings to mind male on female violence, violence perpetrated against men by women is also an issue. What we must strive to do as a society, is to understand that violence itself takes on many forms. We must look at external societal forces that cause domestic violence and high levels of stress in the home and deal with them accordingly if we are to have any hope of stopping a growing trend.

Religious Diversity in the Workplace

December is a month of celebration for many faiths. In today’s religiously diverse workforce this involves what and how employees can and cannot celebrate at work and how employers approach diverse celebrations. How do employers accommodate this diversity? What does the law require? Sandeep Tatla is a workplace human rights lawyer and diversity practitioner who guides clients through these often challenging discussions.

Human Rights Day – December 10th

Raja Khouri, a Human Rights Commissioner and advocate, laments the decline in Canada’s global standing on human rights. From being leaders a little over a decade ago (such as in the land mines treaty) we have become laggards (cluster munitions treaty) to violators (Afghanistan prisoners, Khadr, Abousfian, etc.).

Municipal Billboard Tax

According to Che Kothari, Executive Director of Manifesto Community Projects, the municipal billboard tax is a unique mechanism for the City of Toronto to allow the billboard industry to balance their effects in communities and to play a role in building the creative city we all keep talking about. The city is watching. The world is watching. Now is the time for Toronto to take a leadership role as an example of what is possible when communities, corporations and government work together in innovative ways.

Office Party Tips for the Recession

According to Trevor Lui, Director of Operations with the International Centre, the recession has forced many corporations to cut their holiday celebration budget, including: fancy decor, live entertainment and complimentary drink tickets. His recommendation? Focus on quality food and plug in your media player with pre-chosen music. Simplify your choices and ask your venue to go local and in-season. Shorten the event and have a stand-up reception with live stations instead of a formal sit down dinner. Extend the warmth by adding a theme of giving back and include a food or toy drive as the price of admission. Need to cut the budget for staff gifts? How about paid days off as a present?

Selling the Kindle

While marketing expert Bhupesh Shah understands the need to get the Kindle to Canada quickly, he asserts that it does not make strategic sense to distribute it directly from the US. One of the risks of changing the distribution strategy is that Canadian consumers will now ask why they can’t get other products from Amazon.com instead of Amazon.ca. There often is a significant price differential that cannot be explained by the usual freight, brokerage, duty and exchange rate.