ACORN Canada’s Third National Convention a Great Success!

ACORN Canada’s third National Convention in Montreal last weekend (June 13-15) was our best yet! Over 230 ACORN members – from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and everywhere in between – came together to share our victories, plan our campaigns, and take action!

 

Members participated in many diverse campaign workshops: Tenant Rights Organizing, Wages Rising, Disability Rights, Internet for All, Predatory Lending and more! The next day members took to the streets to go doorknocking in low and moderate income Montreal neighbourhoods, building interest in ACORN campaigns. The energy was high all weekend and ACORN members showed they work hard! 

 

This year our convention culminated in a huge action at BMO’s historic headquarters demanding that BMO divest in predatory lenders and practice fair lending – over 200 members packed into the ornate BMO lobby, refusing to leave until we got a meeting with a banking executive!  We also delivered a letter to Videotron, one of the major telecommunications companies in Quebec, to demand a meeting as part of our Internet for All campaign. 

 

 

Many thanks to the inspiring speakers who took the time to join us in Montreal: speakers from the Immigrant Workers Centre/Centre des Travailleurs; Philippe Lapointe from Fonds de solidarité FTQ; Canadian Union of Postal Workers National President Mike Palecek; Julia Posca from L’IRIS: Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques; Karina Sihota from the Canadian Labour Congress; and NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice! 

 

Many thanks also to our union sponsors: ACEP-CAPE, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Teachers’ Federation, CUPE National, CUPE 4400, CUPW National, CUPW Pacific Region, ETFO, IBEW 353, NUPGE, ODLC, OPSEU, PSAC Atlantic, PSAC NCR, PSAC Ontario, SEIU Local 2, Society of Energy Professionals, Unifor Western Region, Unifor National, United Steelworkers, United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council.

 

As always it was the ACORN leaders and members who made this possible. Lets keep up the fight!