The Climate Justice and Politics Workshop is part of the Climate Justice II Workshop Series, 鈥淏ringing a Democratic Canadian Perspective to the Climate Change Conference in South Africa: Taking Action on Climate Change.鈥澛燭he event will take place Oct. 26, from 1 to 4pm, 305 91亚色 Lanes, Keele campus. It is hosted by 91亚色鈥檚 Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability () and Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (), and co-ordinated by Mihae Ahn, a student in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), and JP Sapinski, a PhD student at the University of Victoria.

The workshop will feature five student panelists with follow-up commentary by guest discussant 91亚色 FES Professor Ellie Perkins. It will also be virtually available for those outside the University to participate. For instructions on how to connect,聽. The idea is to help spark discussion about people who are already marginalized 鈥� women, dispossessed classes, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and citizens of poorer countries 鈥� and who are bearing the brunt of the consequences of a warming world.

The workshop is just one of the events being organized by IRIS and APECS in advance of the United Nations climate change conference, , in Durban, South Africa, in November. It is an opportunity to meet and share ideas with like-minded climate justice activists and academics. It is also intended to solicit input from the audience to inform the work of the 91亚色 delegates, some of whom will participate in an exhibit booth intended to highlight Inuit experiences and perspectives of climate change. "We are also waiting to hear about the approval of our side event, 'Bridging Knowledges: Communicating on Climate Change Experiences to Build Resilient Communities'," says Rachel Hirsch,聽a FES post-doctoral fellow and IRIS executive member at 91亚色.

Two of the delegates are youth from Arviat, Nunavut. It is important to have the voice of the Arviat youth at COP17, says Hirsch, as they are one of the groups most affected by climate change. The whole idea is to create dialogue. The booth is a joint effort between 91亚色, the Inuit聽Circumpolar Council and the Nanisiniq Project. 鈥淏ringing people to COP17 is one way to get people鈥檚 voices heard regarding climate change, but it聽has become a pan-Canadian initiative,鈥� says Hirsch. The result is that 鈥渨e all want this to be an ongoing network for continuing dialogue. It has become something so much bigger.鈥澛�

The five panelists will discuss climate justice and politics from perspectives ranging from ethics and philosophy to critical discourse analysis to the political economy of global warming. FES student Aaron Saad will discuss, 鈥淛ust and Unjust Solutions to Climate Change and Human Displacement,鈥� Ahn will look at 鈥淐limate Change and Hybrid Ethics: A Review of Four Ethical Theories,鈥� University of Toronto students Rachel 91亚色-Bridgers and Paul 91亚色 will discuss 鈥淎nimals and Climate Change,鈥� Sapinski will talk about 鈥淐apitalism, Climate Change and the Discourse of Ecological Modernization鈥� and University of Ottawa student Chris Bisson will look at 鈥淩esilient Cooperation 鈥� A (Re)new(ed) Alternative to Sustainable Development." Sapinski and Bisson will join the workshop virtually.

鈥淪uch a workshop is crucial because it challenges the way that climate change is currently addressed at the global level. The impacts of climate change on people force them to migrate to other countries or regions (climate refugees) or change their whole way of life (First Nations and Inuit people, especially in the North), among others,鈥� says Sapinski. 鈥淗owever, the issue of climate justice is not limited to the impacts of climate change, as injustices and inequalities also come from the way governments deal with the issue.鈥�

For more information on the workshop, its presenters and their abstracts, visit the website. For more information about the Arviat youth, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The symposium will take place Thursday, Oct. 6, from 8:30am to 12:30pm, at 280N 91亚色 Lanes, Keele campus, followed by lunch from 12:30 to 2pm.

The presenters will also discuss the 鈥渟o-whatness鈥� or policy implications of their research.

鈥淪ervice Preferences of Homeless Youth: Housing First, Treatment First or Both Together?鈥� will be discussed by 听(谤颈驳丑迟), acting associate director of nursing research at the University of Western Ontario. Housing-first initiatives focus on interventions designed to move individuals to appropriate and available housing, and ongoing housing supports. It has been found to produce good outcomes for homeless adults with mental illness but has not been specifically tested聽for youth. With the treatment-first initiative, the individual is not housed until psychiatrically stable.

Forchuk will look at a current study聽that examined three approaches to service for homeless youth 鈥� housing first, treatment first for mental health and addictions, and simultaneous attention to both housing and treatment. Youth were given the opportunity to choose which service method they preferred.

听(濒别蹿迟), director of the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg, will discuss 鈥淗omelessness and Mental Health: Winnipeg鈥檚 Approach to Building Capacity and Housing Those in Need鈥�. Distasio鈥檚 presentation will provide an overview of a massive five-city study by the Mental Health Commission of Canada,聽that examined the effectiveness of a housing-first intervention in the Canadian context. Distasio will focus on the unique aspects of the Winnipeg approach, which has been built on the strengths of the local Aboriginal community.

听(谤颈驳丑迟), of St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto, will talk about 鈥淗ealth Care Utilization Among People Who Are Homeless鈥�. He will discuss research that measured health care utilization rates among homeless adults in a large Canadian urban centre and compared observed utilization rates to matched controls from the general population. Most of the research on this topic has been conducted in the United States.

University of Ottawa psychology Professor (left) will discuss 鈥淟esson Learned from the Implementation of Housing First in a Small Canadian City鈥�. His talk聽will focus on the Mental Health Commission of Canada鈥檚 housing-first study and the results of the housing-first approach in Moncton, NB.

A key feature of the Canadian response to homelessness is the use of law enforcement to manage its visibility. 's research presentation, 鈥�Can I See Your ID? Policing and the Criminalization of Youth Homelessness in Toronto鈥�, will focus on the interactions that Toronto street youth have with members of the Toronto Police Service. Gaetz, a professor in聽91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education and associate dean of research & field development for the homeless hub, will discuss his research with of the University of Guelph.

Right: Stephen Gaetz

Their research has found that youth who use drop-ins and emergency housing services regularly have encounters with the police. For youth who are severely marginalized, many of these encounters take place because of their public drinking and illegal substance use. But for other homeless youth not involved in crime or illegal drug use, they, too, are under close police surveillance and contact. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on the implications of social profiling and the criminalizing of youth homelessness.

The symposium is presented by the and . For more information, visit the homeless hub symposium聽web page.

Space is limited. To guarantee a spot, RSVP to Susan Atkinson at satkinson@edu.yorku.ca or ext. 30208. The symposium will also be presented as a webinar. To register for the webinar, .

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