2010 Montreal Millennium Summit starts tomorrow with the National Forum

Jean-Yves Jason, Mayor of Port-au-Prince, will participate in Haiti reconstruction's panel during the Experts Forum on Wednesday, April 21, and to the public conference on Thursday, April 22.

MONTREAL, April 19 /CNW Telbec/ - Montreal, April 19, 2010 ? At the intiative of Daniel Germain, president and founder of the Quebec Breakfast Club and the Breakfast Clubs of Canada, Montreal will be hosting the Montreal Millennium Summit for the fourth year, beginning tomorrow. Held at the Palais des congrès during three consecutive days, this event is aimed at making the fight against poverty everyone's business. It will bring together key players for social change from government and civil society, academic and cultural communities, and leading humanitarian organizations.

The mission of this important forum for discussion and cooperation is to raise public awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and initiate change in order to address the major challenges of our century, as set forth by the United Nations in September 2000: human development, sustainable development, health and social solidarity.

The National Forum: Quebec as a host

Hosted by Jean-François Lépine, tomorrow's forum will focus on Quebeckers who are fighting poverty here at home, across Canada and around the world. Representatives from civil society and from provincial and territorial governments will take part in practical workshops to debate topics such as eradicating poverty across the country and civil society's concerns regarding the G8/G20 Summit (moderated by His Excellency Raymond Chrétien). The third topic will be the key points in Canada's environmental issues. Participants will include the Honourable Christine Stewart, Canada's Environment Minister during the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, and the Honourable Stéphane Dion, who was Federal Environment Minister at the time of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Montreal, which followed the enactment of the Protocol. The day will end with Luck Mervil's account on the situation in Haiti.

Panel on the reconstruction of Haiti during the Experts Forum

The reconstruction of Haiti will figure prominently in discussions throughout the event. The program will include the holding of a panel, in collaboration with Project Hope Haiti Odwalla, which will be held during the Experts Forum on Wednesday. With Jean-Yves Jason, Mayor of Port-au-Prince, as main participant, this panel will bring together Jean-Claude Délice, Secretary of State for Plant production of the Republic of Haiti, Carlos de Paco, Principal Partnerships Officer, Inter-American Development Bank, Afzaal Malik, Vice President, International Relations, The Coca-Cola Company, and Simon Winter, Senior Vice President, Development, TechnoServe. Henrietta Fore, Former administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Board Member of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, will figure as moderator. As a reminder, Mayor Jean-Yves Jason will also take part in the 2010 Montreal Millennium Summit's public conference on Thursday, April 22.

The 2010 Montreal Millennium Summit is presented by Investors Group Financial Services, in partnership with the government of Quebec, Bell, Rio Tinto Alcan, Ville de Montréal, Air Canada Kids' Horizons, Coca-Cola Canada, BMO Financial Group, People from Cossette, Astral Media Radio, La Presse, cyberpresse.ca, The Gazette, Place d'Armes Hôtel & Suites, as well as Make Poverty History, Oxfam-Québec and its youth division, CLUB 2/3.

    
                       http://www.millenniumsummit.ca/

                               APRIL 20, 2010
                     The National Forum: Quebec as a host
                        Schedule is subject to change

    9:30 - 10 a.m. Welcome

    10 - 10:20 a.m. Opening remarks

                       Jean-François Lépine, master of ceremonies and
                       reporter, Société Radio-Canada (TV)
                       Sam Hamad, minister of Employment and Social
                       Solidarity of Quebec, minister of Labour of Quebec,
                       minister responsible for national Capital region
                       Daniel Germain, founding president, Club des Petits
                       Déjeuners du Québec, Breakfast Clubs of Canada,
                       Montreal Millennium Summit

    10:20 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Session I: Poverty reduction strategies across
    Canada

        Keynote speaker on the Quebec model to fight against poverty and
        social exclusion

                 Alain Noël, president of the Center of study on poverty and
                 social exclusion and professor of political science at
                 Université de Montréal

        Projection of Vote Out Poverty, a video produced by Deveaux-Babin
        Productions for an event co-sponsored by Make Poverty History and the
        Ontario Coalition for Social Justice

        Participants:  The Honourable Gord Mackintosh, minister, Manitoba
                       Ministry of Family Services and Consumer Affairs
                       Aisling Gogan, former and original director of the
                       Poverty Reduction Strategy Division, Department of
                       Human Resources, Labour and Employment, Government of
                       Newfoundland and Labrador
                       Marie-Renée Roy, director of the general department of
                       politics strategic analysis of the ministry of
                       Employment and Social Solidarity of Quebec and co-
                       author of the book Pauvreté et exclusion sociale:
                       Partage d'expériences entre Wallonie et Québec
                       Ghislain Picard, regional Chief of the Assembly of
                       First Nations of Quebec and Labrador
                       Seth Klein, director of the Canadian Centre for Policy
                       Alternatives in British Columbia
                       Peter Clutterbuck, research and community planning
                       coordinator, Social Planning Network of Ontario
                       Damien Arseneault, president of the consultative
                       committee on the fight against poverty and social
                       exclusion
                       Dean Allison, MP for Niagara-West-Glanbrook, former
                       chairman, House of Commons Standing Committee on Human
                       Resources, Skills and Social Development and the
                       Status of Persons with Disabilities

                       Question period

    12:30 - 2:30 p.m.  Lunch: At the table campaign
                       Presentation of the At the table campaign
                       Patrick Beauduin, vice-president and chief of creation
                       at Cossette Communications launches the discussion

                       Meal and exchanges around the themes
                       Return of the discussions and presentation of
                       strategies for mobilisation of population for broad
                       social issues
                       Patrick Beauduin, Cossette Communications

    2:30 - 4 p.m. Session II: Civil society concerns regarding G8/G20 issues

        Moderator:     His Excellency Raymond Chrétien, former ambassador of
                       Canada to France, United States, Belgium, Mexico and
                       the Congo

        Participants:  Dennis Howlett, national coordinator, Make Poverty
                       History
                       Désirée McGraw, executive director, Jeanne Sauvé
                       Foundation and co-founder of Al Gore's Climate Project
                       in Canada
                       Kel Currah, Executive Director for What World
                       Strategies and Chair of the G8 & G20 Global Working
                       Group
                       Andrew Cooper, Associate Director and Distinguished
                       Fellow, The Centre for International Governance
                       Innovation
                       John Ruthrauff, senior manager of member advocacy,
                       InterAction
                       Mark Entwistle, senior advisor for Canada, G8 & G20,
                       ONE Foundation

                       Question period

    4 - 4:15 p.m.      Break

    4:15 - 5 p.m. Session III: The key moments of environmental issues in
    Canada

        Participants:  The Honourable Christine Stewart, former minister of
                       Environment of Canada during the negotiations of the
                       Kyoto Protocol
                       The Honourable Stéphane Dion, former minister of
                       Environment of Canada during the Conference of
                       Montreal on the United Nations Framework Convention on
                       Climate Change (COP11)

                       Question period

    5 - 5:15 p.m.      Luck Mervil on the situation in Haïti

    5:15 - 5:30 p.m.   Closing remarks
    

For further information: Media relations: Isabelle Longtin, Roy-Turner Communications, [phone], Claudine Ferragut, Roy-Turner Communications, [phone], Elisabeth Roy, Roy-Turner Communications, [phone]