David Dodge Awarded 2012 Couchiching Award for Public Policy Leadership

TORONTO, March 28, 2012 /CNW/ - The Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs is pleased to announce David Dodge, Chancellor of Queen's University and former Governor of the Bank of Canada, as this year's recipient of the Couchiching Award for Public Policy Leadership.  Established in 2004 to honour the accomplishments of a Canadian who has demonstrated leadership and daring in public policy, the award recognizes exemplary actions taken by an individual to create policy that has had a proven positive impact on Canada or a community within Canada, often in the face of public opposition. The Award will be presented to Mr. Dodge at the 81^st Annual Couchiching Summer Conference, which takes place August 9-12, 2012 at YMCA Geneva Park, on Lake Couchiching, in Ontario.

The 2012 Award celebrates the singular leadership of David Dodge in Canadian public policy as exemplified by his immense contribution to complex portfolios steering this country's economy, both in his roles as Deputy Minister of Finance (1992-97) and as Governor of the Bank of Canada (2001-2008), during times of fiscal restraint and uncertainty. It also recognizes his significant contribution to health policy in this country during his term as Deputy Minister of Health (1998-2001). 

"Leadership is the courage to speak the truth, to start a dialogue, and to be vulnerable to criticism," notes President of the Couchiching Institute, Rima Berns-McGown. Furthermore, she says, "Leaders present a vision when we are unsure where to go; they present a plan when we don't know how to get there; they lead the charge when we must join the battle.  David Dodge has shown himself to possess these qualities."

Past recipients of the Award include:  Michael Wilson (2004), Jane Jacobs (2005), Henry Morgentaler (2005), Elizabeth May (2006), Preston Manning (2007), Fraser Mustard (2008), Lincoln Alexander (2009), Sylvia Ostry (2010), and Stéphane Dion (2011).

David Dodge will receive the award in the midst of the Couchiching Summer Conference, which will examine the fast-changing events in the Middle East and North Africa. Titled The Arab Spring: Implications and Opportunities for Canada and organized by Conference Chair and former Member of Parliament Martha Hall Findlay, the 81^st Conference will challenge Western assumptions, provide context and understanding of the region's complexities, the uprisings, their meaning, and their future. Most particularly, it will explore what the current changes mean for Canada.

The speaker line-up thus far includes:  journalists Robert Fisk of The Independent; Akiva Eldar of Ha'aretz; Lyse Doucet of the BBC; lawyer-academics Diana Buttu of the Harvard Middle East Initiative and Mohammad Fadel of the University of Toronto ; author-academics Tyseer Aboulnasr, Nader Hashemi , and Jens Hanssen;  diplomats Paul Heinbecker and Ferry de Kerckhove. While panelists are still being finalized, the lineup will also include bloggers from the Middle East, North Africa, and Canada; business interests; and NATO/DND speakers. A wide, balanced range of perspectives will be represented by conference speakers so as to allow of the fullest possible discussion of the topic. Registration is now open to the public at www.couchichinginstitute.ca

The Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, a charitable non-partisan organization, has played a pre-eminent role in Canada's civic discourse on public affairs since its inaugural conference in 1932. A civil place to disagree, its mission is to increase awareness, understanding and knowledge of domestic and international issues among people in Canada through open and inclusive discussion, without advocacy or partisanship at its annual Summer Conference and throughout the year in programs across Canada.

For more information about the Public Policy Award and the 2012 Conference please visit www.couchichinginstitute.ca.

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Photo of David Dodge attached.

Image with caption: "David Dodge Recipient of Couchiching Award for Public Policy Leadership (CNW Group/Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120328_C8669_PHOTO_EN_11672.jpg

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Candida Paltiel
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Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs
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