A Symposium to mark the 50th Anniversary of Parkdale Community Legal Services
The origin of Parkdale Community Legal Services, now more than 50 years ago, was grounded in a vision of a community-controlled legal clinic that would work alongside movement actors in Parkdale to change the systems and structures that reproduce oppression. In the years since, neo-liberalism, austerity, ongoing colonialism, and the expansion of the carceral state have proliferated the harms of structural violence, at times making that original vision seem yet more distant.
The Symposium is designed to share critical analyses of current injustices, invite reimaginings of just communities, and share ideas of pathways – including the role of community legal clinics — towards that reimagined future.
Lunch Provided and Masks Required (masks will also be available free of charge)
PCLS at 50: Defining our Future
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022
Location: Friendship Hall of the Bonar-Parkdale Presbyterian Church, 250 Dunn Avenue. The symposium will be recorded, and the recording posted at a later date on the PCLS website.
Draft Program Schedule
9:00 – 9:30 Registration, Coffee/tea/light refreshments, and informal socializing time
9:30-9:35 Welcome: Kara Gillies
9:35-10:30 A Radical Reimagining of Just Communities
Keynote Speaker: El Jones
Moderator: Husoni Raymond
10:30-11:00 Break (coffee/tea/light refreshments)
11:00-12:30 Panel Discussion – Building Just Communities: Abolition work across carceral domains touching on the work of clinics
Moderator: Adam Lee
Panelists: Ameil Joseph, Mac Scott, and TBC
12:30-1:15 Lunch on site
1:15-2:45 Panel Discussion – Building Just Communities: Reimagined housing, employment and income Security
Moderator: Fay Faraday
Panelists: Pam Frache, Sam Tecle, and Cole Webber
2:45-3:15 Break (coffee/tea/light refreshments)
3:15-5:00 Panel Discussion – Reimagining the Strategies to Secure Justice Communities and the Role of Community Legal Clinics
Moderator: Irina Ceric
Panelists: Butterfly GoPaul, Stephanie Pangowish, AJ Withers
Covid Protocol
Masks required except when drinking/eating; tables/chairs set up to maximize space between folks. Masks will be available at the registration table.
Registration
Register at https://bit.ly/symposiumpcls
If you are unable to register online, please visit our clinic during business hours or call us at 416-531-2411 for support.