In this issue:
CBERN 2nd Annual Conference
CBERN Business and Human Rights Symposium
CBERN Receives Two SSHRC Grants
CBERN Atlantic Region Event Summary
CBERN Hosts Special Series on Ethics & the Financial Crisis
Rethinking the Extractive Industry
Personnel Changes at CBERN
Regional Hub Updates


CBERN 2nd Annual Conference: May 29-31, 2009, Ottawa, ON
Mark your calendar and register by May 22! CBERN's 2nd Annual Conference will take place in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ottawa.

The theme for the 2nd Annual Conference, "Responsible Investment, Ethics and the Global Financial Crisis," is a cutting edge, global issue of the day and one of CBERN's ethical clusters. For more information and to register for this very exciting weekend, visit: www.cbern.ca/about/conference2009

Registration is FREE!

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CBERN Business and Human Rights Symposium
In 2010, CBERN is planning an interdisciplinary symposium on Business and Human Rights at the Schulich School of Business. This event is designed to draw Canadian academics, who are engaged in research on business and human rights from a variety of disciplines, into dialog with each other and with non-academics actively engaged with human rights issues in what is becoming a dominant theme in the field of business ethics.

For more information, visit: www.cbern.ca/about/bhrs/index.html

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CBERN Receives Two SSHRC Grants
CBERN's letter of intent application for the Community-University Research Alliances (CURA) program, "Northern Communities: Towards Social and Economic Prosperity" was successful. A $20,000 grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has been awarded to CBERN to develop the project entitled the "Socially Responsible Development in the Rapidly Evolving Canadian North."

In addition, CBERN has been awarded a year-long $75,000 SSHRC Northern Communities Public Dissemination grant. The focus will be ethically responsible economic development in the Canadian and circumpolar north.

For more information, or to get involved, please email Alex Barber at abarber@cbern.ca or visit: www.cbern.ca/dialogue/news/newsboard/x20090415cbern.html

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CBERN Atlantic Region Event Summary
With the intention of developing potential concepts for CBERN's 2010 annual national conference, CBERN and the Arthur Irving Academy for the Environment at Acadia University hosted a lunch symposium on April 17th to discuss ethics and universities. The event featured guest speaker Bernard Shapiro, former Federal Ethics Commissioner and former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University.

Shapiro addressed the group informally over lunch, discussing the relationship between universities and government, the need for university faculty to take on greater roles as policy critics and social activists, and the ethical implications of the structure of undergraduate programs.

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CBERN Hosts Special Series on Ethics & the Financial Crisis
In April, CBERN initiated a series of workshops and public dialogue around the ethical dimensions of the financial crisis. Two CBERN sponsored public forums held at the Schulich School of Business and one joint CBERN/Ethics Centre workshop at the University of Toronto, explored the ethical consequences and implications surrounding the recent turmoil in the financial markets. Please visit the CBERN website for power point presentations, lists of presenters, and a video of the most recent public forum: www.cbern.ca/dialogue/events/financial_crisis/index.html

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Rethinking the Extractive Industry
CBERN was a sponsor for a conference, "Rethinking the Extractive Industry: Regulation, Dispossession and Emerging Claims," held at York University 5-7 March 2009.

The conference brought together cutting-edge research on the socio-ecological, spatial, and political-economic dimensions of industrial extraction. For further information, visit: www.cbern.ca/dialogue/events/evtXOsCOCvAho.html

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Personnel Changes at CBERN
After one and a half years with CBERN, Administrative Services Coordinator, Breanne Whitwell, left to work with the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University. We wish to thank Breanne for her great work and solid contribution.

With the shifting of ensuing responsibilities, it became evident a full-time Project Coordinator was required. Alex Barber began in this position with CBERN on 16 March. As Project Coordinator Alex is responsible for coordinating and implementing several ongoing projects and grants. He brings with him several years of expertise in social media, networking, fundraising, and Ontario politics. Alex is a veteran of several political campaigns in Canada and the U.S. Alex can be reached at abarber@cbern.ca or 416-736-5809.

Bronwyn Best, former Project Manager with CBERN, will remain as a Consultant with the project.

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Regional Hub Updates
CBERN Atlantic: Thank you Louise Hanavan!Welcome Chris Stover
Louise Hanavan, CBERN Atlantic Region HUB Coordinator for the past year and a half, will be leaving her position to pursue academic interests. Louise has done an exceptional job at establishing a CBERN presence in the Atlantic region and has worked tirelessly at developing networking opportunities and coordinating events for CBERN in the Atlantic Region. We wish Louise the best of luck in all of her future endeavours.

We are currently in the process of finalizing the shifting of responsibilities of the CBERN Atlantic Region Hub Coordinator to Chris Stover, General Manager of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs (CCEPA). Based in Halifax, CCEPA is a CBERN Partner and has been the home office of the CBERN Atlantic Region Hub since its inception. More info on CCEPA available at: www.ccepa.ca

Welcome Simon Handelsman: CBERN Pacific Region Hub Coordinator
Simon Handelsman recently completed his PhD through the University of British Columbia, on the thesis topic "Realities and perceptions of human rights and the mining industry - A case study". His research work is intimately concerned with ethical considerations and resource extraction, where the boundaries of human rights issues and the extractive industries overlap those of corruption and security issues. Simon can be reached at pacific@cbern.ca.

Welcome Inga Gusarova: CBERN Western Region Hub Coordinator
A native of Russia, Inga Gusarova came to Canada to obtain her Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University (2000-2004). She has since worked in personal insurance & finance, freelance marketing and copywriting, and as a staff member of the University of Calgary. Her experience and interests lie in the area of communications, social marketing and sustainability. Inga can be reached at western@cbern.ca.