Congress 2023 Special Events page_banner

Indigenous Caucus Social & Networking | Monday, April 17, 6:00-8:00pm | Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq

Hosted in partnership with Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services   

Come together with members of the Indigenous Caucus for an evening of socializing and networking. This event is open to all who purchase a ticket upon registration.

Meet and Greet | Tuesday, April 18, 5:00-7:00pm | Delta Hotel, Assiniboia Room

Come together with your colleagues for a mix-and-mingle cocktail reception. Brush up on your networking skills, catch up with old friends and make some new ones at this popular event that kicks off the social side of Congress.

Meet and Greet Afterparty | Tuesday, April 18, 6:00-11:00pm

This event will bring together sector leaders for conversation, food, and music at the Winnipeg Art Gallery—Qaumajuq, home to the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. The Honorable Lorne Kusugak, Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, will be present.

Hosted by the Community Housing Transformation Centre and Nunavut Housing Corporation.

                                                   

[Registration full]

Opening Ceremonies | Wednesday, April 19, 8:30-10:30am

French translation will be available.

Join us as we kick off Congress at the Opening Ceremonies. This event will feature an in-depth conversation between CHRA Executive Director Ray Sullivan and Romy Bowers, President & CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Romy will be answering questions collected in advance from CHRA members.

Other speakers to be announced.

President’s Reception and CHRA Awards Presentation | Wednesday, April 19, 6:00-8:30pm | The Metropolitan Entertainment Centre

Sponsored by Yardi Canada   

Join us at the CHRA President’s Reception! Catch up with your colleagues, enjoy a sit-down dinner, and help us honour and recognize the people and organizations who have truly gone above and beyond in community housing and homelessness sector in Canada as we present our national awards:

Community Builder Award: Recognizes an individual, a business, or an organization that has had a major impact at the community level in promoting affordable housing and/or preventing and ending homelessness. This year we will be honouring an individual and an organization.

Leadership Award: Recognizes an individual who has shown leadership in improving housing in Canada through program innovation, policy change, outreach and/or advocacy efforts.

 

We’re excited to welcome Althia Raj as our guest speaker for the President’s Reception.

Althia Raj is a multiple award-winning journalist, ranked as one of the top 100 most influential people in Canadian politics by The Hill Times since 2015. She is currently a national columnist with the Toronto Star; the host/producer of the podcast, It’s Political; and a regular weekly panelist on CBC’s At Issue panel. Having worked at the heart of Canadian politics for more than a decade, Raj shares a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of Ottawa, the state of politics, and what it means for her audience.

 

Keynote Address | Thursday, April 20, 8:30-10:30am

The Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould
Former Member of Parliament, Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Bestselling Author

Sponsored by the Aboriginal Housing Management Association   

French translation will be available

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, OBC, KC, was raised to be a leader. The daughter of a hereditary chief and Indigenous leader, she always knew that she would seek leadership roles and responsibilities. As a lawyer, an advocate, and a leader among Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, she’s built a strong reputation as a bridge builder and champion of good governance and accountability. She shares her unique perspective as both a community and political leader on topics such as Indigenous rights and reconciliation, democracy and governance, leadership, and justice.

Wilson-Raybould was first elected as a Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Vancouver Granville in 2015. She was then appointed the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada making her the first Indigenous person to serve in this portfolio. In January 2019, she was appointed the Minister of Veterans Affairs of Canada and Associate Minister of National Defence, positions she held until her resignation from cabinet in February 2019.

During the 2019 election, Wilson-Raybould was re-elected as an Independent Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, making her Canada’s first ever female Independent MP elected and the only elected Independent in the 43rd Parliament.

Prior to politics, Wilson-Raybould was a provincial crown prosecutor in Vancouver and served three terms as an elected Commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission. She was also elected BC Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2009, where she devoted herself to the advancement of First Nations governance, fair access to land and resources, as well as improved education and health care services. She served until 2015, holding responsibilities for governance and Nation building on the Assembly of First Nations Executive.

Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka’wakw and also known as the Kwak’wala speaking peoples. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation with her traditional name, Puglaas, meaning “woman born to noble people.” She served two terms as an elected councillor for her Nation and was also a director and chair of the First Nations Finance Authority and a director of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board.

Wilson-Raybould is the national #1 bestselling author of political memoir "Indian" in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power, which was a finalist for The Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. She is also the author of From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada. Wilson-Raybould is set to release her third book entitled True Reconciliation: How to be a Force For Change in November 2022.

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould will speak on ‘True Reconciliation’

Closing Ceremonies | Thursday, April 20, 6:00-8:30pm | The Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Closing Keynote: Leilani Farha

Join us to wrap up the 2023 Congress. We’re pleased to welcome our Closing Keynote Speaker Leilani Farha in cooperation with The Social Housing and Human Rights (SHHR) Steering Committee.

Leilani Farha is a Canadian lawyer, Global Director of The Shift, and the United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing (2014-2020). Her documentary PUSH: The Film exposed the growing crisis caused by the financialization of housing, inspiring right to housing advocates to scale up efforts to call on governments to take immediate action. In this keynote address Leilani will provide her insights on the crisis in low-cost rental housing, how Canada’s Right to Housing legislation can be used as a tool for housing advocates to mobilize to shift public discourse and public policy toward a renewed commitment to expand social housing in Canada.