Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society - Thirteenth Annual Vancouver Raoul Wallenberg Day Including Presentation of the Civil Courage Award
The Civil Courage of a Whistleblower
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2018, 1:30 P.M.
AUDITORIUM AT H.R. MACMILLAN SPACE CENTRE, 1100 CHESTNUT STREET, VANCOUVER
VANCOUVER, Jan. 5, 2018 /CNW/ - The Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society is pleased to announce the presentation of the 2018 Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Award. The award is given to an individual associated with British Columbia, who at personal risk helped improve the lives of others and society, while defying unjust laws, norms or conventions of the time and place.
The 2018 Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Award will be presented to Alayne Fleischmann, a BC lawyer, who while working with mortgage-backed securities as a transaction quality control manager in 2006-8 at JPMorgan Chase bank in New York, first witnessed, and then tried to stop what she described as "massive criminal securities fraud" in the bank's mortgage operations. She made repeated attempts at multiple levels to address real concerns about risky purchases but were blocked, including a "no e-mails" rule by her superior. Ultimately, this and similar practices in other banks led to the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007 and sparked the global financial crisis, impacting millions of people, and called one of the most significant white-collar crimes in US history. Alayne Fleishmann's efforts and paper trail led to the Department of Justice calling on her as a witness and levying a $9 billion fine on the bank. She credits her actions to her small-town values growing up, like "you're not allowed to steal". "If we don't start speaking up, then this really is all we're going to get: the biggest financial cover-up in history."
The keynote speaker will be The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh on the courage and challenges of whistleblowing.
This year's event will include screening a film documenting the Alayne's courageous activities. A reception will follow. Come and join us. Entrance is free; donations are appreciated.
The Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society (WSCCS) was formed by members of the Swedish Community, including the Honourary Swedish Consul, and descendants of Holocaust victims and survivors. It aims to educate and inspire people and future generations. Visit www.wsccs.ca.
The Annual Raoul Wallenberg Day pays tribute to the courageous actions inspired by Raoul Wallenberg and Chiune Sugihara, who engaged in selfless acts of civil courage, at grave risk to themselves, their families, and their future, by choosing to follow their own personal moral code, thus saving the lives of many thousands of Jews during WWII.
"One person can make a difference."
www.wsccs.ca • https://www.facebook.com/wsccs.ca • https://twitter.com/wscivilcourage
SOURCE Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society
Alan Le Fevre, Director, at 604-266-0358 or [email protected]
Share this article