The 'LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium' is a
Canadian forum created through the joint effort of
John Ralston Saul and the
Dominion Institute. Founded in 2000, the Symposium's purpose is to stimulate debate about the historical antecedents and future shape of the Canadian democracy. Canada's existence and democratic foundation owes a great deal to the partnership of two 19th century political visionaries,
Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and
Robert Baldwin, the first democratically elected
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada. The Symposium's annual venue honours these two great political reformers.
According to
Jocelyn Létourneau, a history professor at
Université Laval in
Quebec City and senior researcher at the
Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Francophone Literature, Arts and Traditions in North America, "the myths we (Canadians) used in building our nation have made us victims of our past. And, it's not easy to break the cycle."
An annual lecture at the Symposium is broadcast on
CBC Radio One's ''
Ideas''.
External links
★ LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium:
[1]
★ The Dominion Institute:
[2]