Oppose CANSEC and Arms Trade Shows on City Property

Guidelines for Preparing Your Presentations at City Hall

Purpose: To argue in favour of a resolution to ban all Arms Trade Shows from Lansdowne Park, as it already applies to all other municipal properties and facilities.

Tuesday 2 June 2009
10:00 AM , Champlain Room, City Hall
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee 

Contact: Diane Blais 613-580-2424, ext. 28091, Diane.Blais@Ottawa.ca to let her know you will be presenting. Also let Debbie Grisdale <debbiegrisdale@gmail.org> know, if you are not already on her list.

Here is the make-up of the committee (Mayor O’Brien will be absent).

Chair:                                                                                       Mayor Larry O’Brien
Vice Chair:                                                                               Councillor Steve Desroches

Members:
Councillor Rainer Bloess,                                                          Councillor Glenn Brooks
Councillor Rick Chiarelli,                                                          Councillor Diane Deans,
Councillor Eli El-Chantiry,                                                         Councillor Peter Hume,
Councillor Rob Jellett,                                                               Councillor Maria McRae,
Councillor Marianne Wilkinson

Here is our chance to make the case for the resolution.  We will want to have many different reasons as possible for banning military trade shows from city property.  See Suggested

Your presentation cannot exceed 5 minutes.  It will probably have the following components:

Introduce yourself

• Name
• Identification
  • If you are speaking on behalf of a group, Group name and brief description.
  • If you are speaking as an individual, a brief statement of why this issue is important to you
  • If you are in a ward of one of the councillors on the committee or outside of the core, identify which ward you are from.
• Present your reasons for supporting the resolution.
  • With only 5 minutes, it is probably best to stick to a single concern. 
  • See General Questions > Topics for June 2 on the collaborative website for suggestions.
  • Your argument might be based on facts (you can get a lot of background facts at  http://coat.ncf.ca/) or personal experiences/expertise.
• Conclusion

Finish off with a strong conclusion.  “For these reasons, I strongly support the resolution …” 

Delivery.  Be sure to practice your presentation to be sure it stays within the 5 minute limit.  You can use powerpoint if you wish, but it is not necessary.  You can make your points forcefully, but do not rant.  And do not verbally attack the committee members.  

This is a vital component of our effort to get a new resolution.  We appreciate everyone who comes forward to speak.  It can seem scary if you have not done this before, but it is the best exercise in participatory democracy that we get at city hall.  With a good set of arguments and high level of participation, citizen views can make a difference. 

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this democratic process.