Media Advisory

August 30, 2007

Workers with Disabilities to Conference in Ottawa,

Defending Quality Public Services on Agenda

OTTAWA – Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) delegates, observers and guests from across Canada will gather in Ottawa September 7-9 to attend the PSAC’s 2007 National Access Conference.

Transforming Our World: Moving Forward will highlight the need to defend quality public services for person’s with disabilities. The conference will also feature panel discussions on lobbying techniques to empower persons with disabilities to advance the disability rights agenda. The conference is an opportunity for PSAC members to come together to strategize, discuss and debate issues important to persons with disabilities.

Keynote speaker John Rae will address the issue of defending quality public services for persons with disabilities. Rae, a public service retiree and a veteran of the labour movement, was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ontario Coalition of Social Justice.

Jim Derksen and Florence Pardo will be the panel speakers on “The Art of Lobbying.” Currently a policy advisor to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Derksen has been active in numerous disability rights organizations and is a frequent speaker and lecturer at conferences and universities. Pardo is a development officer with the Regroupement des aveugles et amblyopes du Quebec (RAAQ) (Quebec Association of the Blind and Low Vision Persons).

When:
September 7-9, 2007

Where:
Westin Ottawa Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario

Information:
Mark Rogers, PSAC Communications
613-560-5482; cell: 613-323-1728

27-300807

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