The My Labour Our Future community spans four generations in the decent work movement.

The Atkinson Foundation has invited decent work activists, advocates and allies from different backgrounds, perspectives, cities and even a few countries. Most are under the age of 39 and over the age of 65. A much smaller than usual group is between the ages of 40 and 65. This community of 100 reflects Canada’s diversity and is a collective voice for its future.

We’re gathering in Montréal — a city with deep roots in the decent work movement and the home of the International Labour Organization during World War II.

We’re meeting on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people. We acknowledge that Tiohtiá:ke has long served as a place for meeting and exchange for many Indigenous nations — and are immensely grateful for the opportunity to connect, celebrate and collaborate here.

Here’s who accepted our invitation.

To mark the International Labour Organization’s centennial, we’re celebrating the vision that inspires and activates the decent work movement from generation to generation — in Canada and around the world.

After more than a 100 years of wins and losses, we know that change is possible but not without a struggle. Every win must be defended and every loss is a stepping stone. Every anniversary is, therefore, an important celebration of the determined and creative people who make history everyday.

We also know we’re stronger together than we are on our own, and slowing down to reconnect and refuel will keep us strong.

My Labour Our Future is not an academic conference, union convention, or community meeting. There are no keynoters or trainers, no papers, presentations or resolutions. Imagine instead a dialogue about the deep narratives that move people to fight for or against decent work. We look forward to talking about how to bust myths and create a new “work story” for this new century.

We have a unique opportunity, at a critical moment, to discuss narrative strategy. Narratives have a major impact on society, everything from swinging elections to filling prisons. They also help fill the streets. Stories told in our own voices have a profound impact on the cultural norms and public policies that affect millions of people’s lives. A collective voice, expressing a powerful idea in a surprising way, can make the difference between a turn in a promising direction or the status quo winning out.

While we can’t predict the insights participants will take away from this dialogue, they can expect:

• Information about what’s happening in different jurisdictions and parts of the country
• New and/or stronger relationships across the decent work movement
• Knowledge about narrative strategy, why it matters and how it works
• Stories with the power to encourage, challenge, surprise and sustain you in your work

Before wrapping up and heading home, we’ll talk about how we’ll stay connected to continue building the decent work movement in Canada.

Hope, voice, vision, and movement are four words that evoke our deepest narratives. They anchor this program, inviting us to slow down to experience this particular moment in the story of the decent work movement more fully. Two participants have agreed to help us do this as co-facilitators.

Kris Archie, a Secwepemc and Seme7 woman from the Ts’qescen First Nation, is the Executive Director of The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada — an open network to promote giving, sharing, and philanthropy in Aboriginal communities across the country. Kris works to transform philanthropy and contribute to positive change by creating spaces of learning, relationship-building and activation.

Jennifer Hollett has worked many jobs over the years, from Arby’s drive-thru cashier to MuchMusic VJ.  As an award-winning broadcast journalist, she’s covered stories across country with CBC, CTV, and CHUM. Most recently she was the head of news and government at Twitter Canada, and uses media and social media to connect people to politics and community issues. Jennifer has a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, and has served on the boards of the Toronto Environmental Alliance and Social Planning Toronto. She has worked with Atkinson on civic tech and public narrative over the years. She also delivered a TEDxTalk called “How to Hate Politics,” about how to remain engaged in an era of political cynicism.

My Labour Our Future will take place at two downtown hotels and a museum.

Hôtel de l’ITHQ is an international training centre for hospitality workers and has been a driving force in Québec’s labour market strategy for more than 50 years.

Hôtel Monville is a brand new hotel with a futuristic bent (robots deliver room service!) and local design influences.

Écomusée du fier monde is a working class and industrial history museum that promotes grassroots involvement.

It’s a 25 minute walk and eight minute drive between Hôtel Monville and Hôtel de I’ITHQ. Shuttle service between the two hotels and to the reception at Écomusée du fier monde is provided.

If you are flying into Montréal, here are your options for getting to the two hotels:

Public Transportation. Take the 747 P.-E. Trudeau Airport/Downtown shuttle, on the route Destination Terminus Berri-UQAM Centre-ville. It costs $10 (a day pass) and takes about 45 minutes to an hour (depending on traffic).

For Hôtel de l’ITHQ, get off at Station Berri-UQAM and walk 10 minutes to the hotel or take the Metro one stop to Sherbrooke Station (the hotel is right above it). The $3.50 subway ticket is covered by the day pass.

For Hôtel Monville, get off at René-Lévesque/Jeanne-Mance and walk about 4 minutes to the hotel.

Taxi. The fixed fare to downtown Montréal is $41 and it takes about 30-45 minutes (depending on traffic). 

If you are taking the train into Montréal, you’ll arrive right downtown at the Gare Centrale.

To get to Hôtel de l’ITHQ, you can take the Metro ($3.50) from Bonaventure, five stops to Sherbrooke – right under the hotel. Alternatively, a taxi costs about $15. 

For Hôtel Monville, you can walk to the hotel in seven minutes along Rue de la Gauchetière O.

Both Hôtel Monville ($35/day) and Hôtel de l’ITHQ ($19/day) offer parking at an additional cost.   

Reach out to Atkinson’s Project Manager Nora Cole with any questions or concerns about accommodation and ground transportation. We do not want these costs to pose a challenge or barrier for anyone. If you are able to cover ground transportation costs, we trust you will. If not, we’re ready to provide financial support.

The Atkinson Foundation is delighted to be your host. Inspired by the Atkinson Principles, we’re grant makers, advocates and investors who are proud to be part of the decent work movement.

We decided to convene this gathering because this important anniversary is an ideal time to step back and take in the big picture. We can see the energy you expend each day in the service of your vision and values. We know all of us benefit from the chance to recharge and remember why we made a commitment to decent work.

We can see the need for an “open table” where you can meet, share challenges, strategize, collaborate and experience the kind of solidarity that helps all of us persevere — over time and against all odds. We know you have few if any opportunities and resources to connect with people who share similar commitments and priorities in Canada.

We can also see the potential of our collective power to change the dominant narrative about the future of work to one that centres workers. We look forward to hearing your voice in this conversation, the myths you’d bust, and the economic rules you’d rewrite to make this possible.

The Toronto Star’s Joseph Atkinson was the only newspaper publisher and editor to interpret the general strikes of 1919 as a “good fight” for collective bargaining and higher wages, not a revolutionary plot by foreign agitators. History has since proven that the Star’s version of events was considerably more credible. His legacy reminds us that narrative change is not only necessary, it’s possible.

We know you share this belief. That’s why we hope you’ll come to Montréal and help make this special gathering an historic one.

The Atkinson Foundation is an Ontario-based philanthropic foundation. We’re grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with the Québec-based Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation. Atkinson and Chagnon share a commitment to preventing poverty by focusing on the educational success of all children and the role of decent work to this end.