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BC-STV Conference

Submitted by Wendy Bergerud on 17 November 2008 - 9:43pm.
10 Jan 2009 - 9:00am
11 Jan 2009 - 3:59pm
Etc/GMT-7

Electoral Reform Conference and 5th Anniversary of the Citizens' Assembly.

On January 10th and 11th, BC-STV supporters and Citizens' Assembly Alumni from across the province are joining together for a two day conference at the Wosk Center, in Vancouver. This is the fifth anniversary of the forming of the historic Citizens' Assembly.

To register please visit:

>> http://bcstvnewyear.eventbrite.com/

There are a limited number of complimentary tickets available to those wishing to only attend the 5th Anniversary of the Citizens' Assembly ceremony at the Wosk Centre in the morning. Please call 604-720-0541 to request a seat.

Priority will be given to those who have registered for the full conference.

Conference Agenda

5th Anniversary of the BC Citizens’ Assembly

Saturday, January 10, 2009, 9:30-11:00

  • 5th Anniversary Ceremony for the BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (open to all conference registrants)

Working to Win - STV for BC Conference

Saturday, January 10, 2009, 1:00-5:00

  • Putting FPTP On Trial and Countering STV Myths
    Dr. Dennis Pilon, University of Victoria
    Author of “The Politics of Voting”

  • Understanding the Yes Vote in 2005
    Dr. Fred Cutler, University of British Columbia
    Co-author of "The BC Citizens’ Assembly As Agenda-Setter: Shaking Up Voter Choice"

  • BC-STV and the Electoral Boundaries
    Dr. Ken Carty, University of British Columbia
    Former research director, BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform

6:30pm Dinner at Steamworks Restaurant (separate ticket required); special guest speaker is Dr. Patrick Boyer: Going for Gold in Electoral Reform Gymnastics.

Sunday, January 11, 2009
**Sunday's session will be across the street at Harbour Center**

  • 9:00am Key Messaging – Talking about STV
    Shoni Field Fair Voting BC, Communications Co-chair

  • 10:30am –2:30 Concurrent Workshops (with working lunch)
    1. Organizing for STV: Developing a Local Campaign Strategy
      Neil Monkton, Political Organizer, Public Solutions
      Matt Takach, BC-STV organizer

    2. Communicating Effectively on STV: Media and Presentation Skills
      Facilitators TBA
  • 2:30-3:00pm Wrap-up

Meeting rooms will be available until 4pm for informal discussions

Accommodations

  1. We may have limited billets in and near Vancouver. If you are interested in billeted or being billeted please send an e-mail to FairVotingBC at telus.net.
  2. The Seymour Hostel (http://www.thecambie.com/v2/seymour) located half a block away. (shared and private rooms available).
  3. The Delta Vancouver Suites (http://www.deltahotels.com/hotels/hotels.php?hotelId=21), which is right next to the Wosk Centre and Harbour Centre where the conference will take place, has a special weekend getaway rate (http://www.deltahotels.com/hotels/specials.html?hotelId=21#1944) right now for just $99 a night.

    If you can’t get that deal then you should be able to get rooms for $169 a night (plus taxes etc.) if "Attendees . . . mention that they will attend a meeting at one of the SFU buildings. The MECS (Meetings & Conferences Rate) is a special rate and Reservations use it all the time." This is also considered the corporate rate so if quoting MECS doesn’t work try that.

    We didn’t reserve a block of rooms there since the room rate was also $169 a night.

  4. Other Hotel suggestions (I’d be pleased to add other suggestions to this list if you have one!)
    • Tanis likes “The Coast Plaza on Denman”. Check out their pay now and save package(http://www.coasthotels.com/hotels/canada/bc/vancouver/coast_plaza/packag...)! Rooms as low as $99 a night.
    • Linda: “If people don't care which hotel they stay in www.hotwire.com has 4 star hotel rooms for $67 in the entertainment district (east of Hornby, probably the Delta, Opus Hotel, Westin or another 4 star in the area). They also have 5 star hotels in downtown west (west of Hornby street) Vancouver for $91 per night). With hotwire you don't find out the hotel name until you've paid with your credit card on-line. I've used hotwire before for renting cars, worked great since I got the rental for $12/day. I don't know why hotels do that ... they give you their so called best rate which is more then what you can find online where they end up getting even less after expedia's commission.”