Workshop on Canada’s Past and Future in the Americas

• In-person event
• RB2220, 224 & 228, Richcraft Hall, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Latin America and the Caribbean constitute the starting ground for Canada’s connections to the world beyond the United States, with much of our diplomacy, trade, investments and a significant part of our migratory flows linked to that region. This proposed workshop will provide a platform for discussion of our recent and current relations in the Americas, to inform academic and policy communities about the most pressing issues and to propose ways in which Canada can further contribute to human rights, governance, and inclusive and sustainable growth in the region.

The event will link recent and current policy questions with wider debates of common interest for Canada and Latin America, such as innovation and education, trade and regional value chains, migration, human security, green growth and climate change, and democratic governance and human rights in the Western Hemisphere.

The workshop will assemble a distinguished list of experts from across Canada, United States and Latin America with support from Carleton University and a series of institutional funders and private supporters. The proposed topics are: historical determinants of Canada’s role in the Americas, bilateral and multilateral foreign policy relations, trade and investment relations, security issues, extractive industries, migration, human rights and democracy. Our panelists will come from or bring specific knowledge on aspects relevant to Canada from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.

Agenda 

March 27th

8:30 to 9:15am

Welcoming Remarks

− Isabelle Bérard, Director General for Central America and the Caribbean, Global Affairs Canada, Government of Canada

− André Plourde, Dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs, Carleton University (TBC)

− Laura Macdonald, Department of Political Science, Carleton University

− Markus Gottsbacher, Governance and Justice, International Development Research Centre

9:15-10:45am

Historical Perspectives on Canada’s Relations with Latin America

− Canadian Church Groups in Latin America and Civil Society Organizations

Catherine Legrand (McGill University, Quebec)

–      Amigos extraños: Canada and Cuba since 1959

Asa McKercher (Queen’s University)

− Mexico’s History of Interactions with Canada

Teresina Gutirrez Haces (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

10:45-11:00am

Meeting Break

Concurrent Sessions 1 and 2

11:00am-12:30pm

Session 1: Latin American and Caribbean Migration and Labour Issues in Canada

− Scales and Spaces of Action: International and Transnational Tensions around the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program 

Christina Gabriel (Carleton University)

− Gender Issues in Cross-Border Migration in North America

Marianne Marchand (Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, Mexico)

–     Title TBC

Geraldina Polanco (Wilfrid Laurier University, Mexico)

11:00am-12:30pm

Session 2: International Trade and Integration and Prospects for Development in the Americas

− MERCOSUR – Possible Trajectories Post-Commodities Boom  

Juliana Peixoto (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales – Argentina)

− Nothing but Chicken, Beans and Pork? Critically Examining Brazilian Exports in a Post-Commodity Boom Era

Sean Burges (Australia National University)

− The Pacific Alliance and the Andean Community: Some Connections 

Alan Fairlie Reinoso (Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú) 

− Assessing Canadian Trade Policy and Performance towards Latin America and the Caribbean 

André Downs (Trade Research Services, Global Affairs Canada) 

12:30 – 2:00pm

Lunch   (Speaker: Jennifer Loten, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the Organization of American States –TBC)

Concurrent Sessions 3 and 4

2:00 – 3:30pm

Session 3: Energy Policies and Climate Change

− Energy Policies and Climate Change in North America: How Far South Is Canada Reaching?

Debora Van Nijnatten (Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University) 

− Mexico’s Energy Reform and its impact on North American energy markets  

Isidro Morales (Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública. Tecnológico de Monterrey/Director in Chief Latin American Policy)

− The effects of resource nationalism on democracy: The case of accountability in oil exporting countries in Latin America

Guillaume Fontaine (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Ecuador)

2:00 – 3:30pm

Session 4: Corporate Social Responsibility & Socio-Environmental Impacts of Extractives Industries 

− Non-Governmental Organizations and Extractive Industry Development in Latin America

Kalowatie Deonandan (University of Saskatchewan)

− Assessing Uses of CSR Policies to Administer Conflicts in Mining

Paul Haslam (University of Ottawa)

− Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Perspectives on the Colombian Peace Process, and What it Means for Mining

Viviane Weitzner (Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, CIESAS-DF)

− Challenges Facing Canadian Mining Firms in Implementing Good Practices in Latin America 

Jeffrey Davidson (CSR Counsellor, Global Affairs Canada)

3:30-3:45pm

Meeting Break

Concurrent Sessions 5 and 6

3:45pm – 5:15pm

Session 5: Public Security and State Fragility

− Canadian Security and Rule of Law Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean: In Whose Interest? 

Stephen Baranyi (University of Ottawa) 

− Violence in Latin America and Caribbean: Shifting from Punishment to Prevention 

Irvin Waller (University of Ottawa) 

− Comparative of Responses to Youth Violence in Central America and Mexico

Arturo Alvarado (Colegio de Mexico)

− Post-Earthquake Haiti: Endless Political Transition and Continued Economic Hardship

Yasmine Shamsie (Wilfrid Laurier University)

– Title TBC

Monica Serrano (El Colegio de México)

3:45pm – 5:15pm

Session 6: Economic Development Policies and Extractive Industries 

− Canada: Tax Incentives, Mining Internationalization, and Foreign Policy 

Paola Ortiz Loaiza (University of Ottawa)

− Vulnerabilities to Corruption in the Mining Industry: Firm Size and Environmental Governance

Michael L. Dougherty (Illinois State University)

− The Political Economy of Post-Commodity Boom Latin America 

Ramiro Albrieu (CEDES, Argentina)

− Comparing Latin American Experiences in Mining and Development 

Pablo Heidrich (Carleton University)

March 28th

Concurrent Sessions 7 and 8

9:00 – 10:30am

Session 7: Human Rights/Democracy/Civil Society

− Indigenous Law, Gender, and Neoliberal State Restructuring in Oaxaca 

Isabel Altamirano (University of Alberta) 

− From Pink Left to Hard Right? Experiences of Civil Society in South America

Marcelo Saguier (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Argentina) 

− Promoting Women’s Peace and Security in Central America and Mexico 

Rachel Vincent (Nobel Women’s Initiative) 

− From Global Rights to Local Practices: Fostering Participation at the Micro-Level In Latin America 

Rene Urueña Hernandez (Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia) 

9:00 – 10:30am

Session 8: Political Dialogue: Reconstructing Bilateral and Multilateral Relations

− James M. Lambert, Secretary for Hemispheric Relations, Organization of American States

− Representative, Global Affairs Canada (TBC)

− Canada, Regional Multilateralism, and the Political Crises in Brazil and Venezuela 

Jean Daudelin (Carleton University) 

− Beyond Visas: Mexico and Canada Relations in a New Phase

Laura Macdonald (Carleton University)

− Public Opinion Views of Canada in Latin America

Jorge Schiavon (CIDE, Mexico)

10:30-10:45pm

Meeting Break

10:45 – 12:30

Roundtable with Government, Private Sector and Civil Society

–      Ken Frankel (Canadian Council for the Americas) TBC

–      Julia Sánchez (Canadian Council for International Cooperation)

–      Jen Moore (Mining Watch Canada)

–      Global Affairs Canada participant TBC

–      Other participants TBC

Concluding Remarks and Discussion of Next Steps