LINK TO DETAILED PROGRAM FOR THE CTS 2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
The detailed program is a living document that aims to provide complete, accurate, and up-to-date information regarding all aspects of the conference. In an evolving situation, the detailed program will serve as an ongoing point of reference.
CHANGE TO CONFERENCE LOCATION:
All three days of the Canadian Theological Society conference will now take place at the Newman Centre (3484 Rue Peel, Montreal). We are grateful to Liam Farrer, Director of the Newman Centre and member of CTS, for his support in facilitating these last-minute changes.
UPDATE FOR CTS MEMBERS:
Dear members of CTS,
The annual conference of the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) is set to take place in Montreal from June 17 to 19. As highlighted in the update shared last week, there are two ongoing issues at McGill that have complicated our planning this year: 1) the ongoing strike action on the part of the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL-AMPD: https://ampl-ampd.ca/); and 2) a pro-Palestinian student protest encampment on campus and the associated police response that included tear-gas and arrests on June 6.
In recent weeks, the CTS had been receiving updates from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Congress regarding both issues. They continue to advise us that the campus at McGill University is open and accessible, and that Congress will be proceeding as planned.
The CTS executive recognizes that members are concerned about participating in the conference given these two ongoing issues. Several members have noted that they would be unwilling to cross picket lines and others have expressed concern about how student protesters may continue to be treated by security and law enforcement.
In response to these challenges and members’ concerns, the executive met online on Thursday, May 30 to discuss how best to move forward. As an act of solidarity with faculty labour movements, we initially planned to move the first day of the conference off the McGill campus to the Newman Centre. We selected the first day because it includes two flagship lectures, the Diversity, Equity, and Justice Lecture and the Newman Lecture. We also canceled our catering order with McGill for the duration of the meeting. The networking lunch will feature at least one table group focused on conversation about labour movements in higher education.
Following the police action against student protestors on June 6, the executive consulted by email and decided to move the entire conference to the Newman Centre to ensure members can participate in the conference with a sense of personal safety and integrity. A statement regarding violence in Gaza and direct action on university campuses will be presented for discussion at the CTS AGM.
As a small society that survives on a year-to-year budget, and with more than half of the sixty participants in attendance at the meeting being graduate students or people who are precariously employed, this is the extent to which we are financially capable of changing plans at this late date.
Because the entire conference will now take place at the Newman Centre, we have ended our relationship with McGill. However, we are maintaining a relationship with Congress, including providing access to the conference online through the Virtual Platform. Pulling out of Congress entirely would have serious financial and logistical implications for a small society like the CTS and our members:
- The CTS has a contract with Congress to host our conference. Cancellation of that contract would result in a significant financial loss including the loss of all delegate fees that have been paid by members to the Federation.
- Many of our members have already made non-refundable travel and accommodation commitments.
- The Federation provides resources that include accessibility provisions, association assistant staff, and technical support.
Since our meeting, we have been in contact with AMPL-AMPD leadership and they have expressed gratitude for our solidarity. As an organization in solidarity with the union, the AMPL-AMPD has assured the CTS executive that all members of CTS will receive “picket passes” and those holding a “picket pass” will not be considered by the union to be crossing the picket line. Although all CTS events will take place at the Newman Centre or elsewhere off campus, some members may still have on-campus accommodations or other reasons to be at McGill. Details about how to receive picket passes will be provided when available from the union.
Please reference the detailed online program which will be updated as plans continue to evolve: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CNvT4SO1leJVrS2mCxQqsaYO_mRTPXF-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107981292537749654187&rtpof=true&sd=true
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to CTS president Sarah Kathleen Johnson (Sarah.Kathleen.Johnson@ustpaul.ca) or program chair Meghan Bowen (meghan.bowen@mail.utoronto.ca) if you have any additional questions or concerns relating to your participation in the conference.
We continue to believe that the agenda for our meeting is aligned with the values of dignity, equity, and justice present in these movements. We thank our members for their patience and flexibility in these final days before our meeting in Montreal.
Sincerely,
Sarah Kathleen Johnson
President, Canadian Theological Society
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