UPEI hosts national forum on immigration policy
Public-and-private sector leaders from across the country will gather at UPEI this week for a discussion about policy and practice with regards to immigration in Canada. The third annual Palmer Conference on Public Sector Leadership meets August 15 and 16.
The Palmer Conference is named in honour of public-policy advocate James S. Palmer, a prominent Calgary-based lawyer of the firm Burnet, Duckworth, and Palmer, and native Prince Edward Islander. The Palmer Conference gathers the finest minds in the country to discuss issues of high priority to the public sector and to Canada. This year's theme is 'Canada as a Leader in Immigration Policy and Practice.'
The conference's keynote speaker, Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary, will address the conference on Wednesday evening. His talk, designed to engage conference participants and inspire the two-day dialogue, is entitled 'The Promise of Diversity in Canada' and will reflect his experience as both a child of immigrants and the mayor of an increasingly diverse city. He will discuss the value of smart immigration that considers the people our cities need, the programs that will help, and the policy that will reflect the best interest of all Canadians.
The conference continues on Thursday with three high-level panel discussions on different issues of immigration policy. Jane Taber, political journalist with The Globe and Mail, will moderate a discussion entitled 'Lessons Learned from Provincial/Regional/Municipal Programs.' Natasha Fatah, journalist with CBC and former host of the program, Promised Land, will moderate a discussion on 'Integration and Settlement, Economic and Social.' Monique Collette, former president of ACOA and senior advisor of the Privy Council Office, will moderate a discussion on 'Challenges and Rewards for Public Servants Working in Immigration.'
Conference Chair Wade MacLauchlan, former president of the University of Prince Edward Island, said the Palmer Conference is leading the discourse on issues of public sector leadership in Canada. 'The Palmer Conference is the home of big ideas, but it's also a forum for turning those ideas into big action,' said MacLauchlan. 'At the inaugural conference in 2010, we discussed public servants and their relationship with both politicians and the media; in 2011, the Palmer Conference theme was a Canadian energy strategy. This year, you see some of the brightest minds in the country coming together to discuss Canada's leadership in immigration policy and practice.'
The conference agenda is designed to encourage engaged dialogue and to reflect a diversity of opinion. For more information, visit palmerconference.ca.
About the Palmer Conference
