On June 23rd, 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU). This vote was met with disappointment from EU leaders and global market volatility. Although the “Brexit”, itself, will be a complex process over a period of years, the vote has triggered an extraordinary series of immediate events. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced his resignation, other party leaders have stepped down under the pressure, the pound tumbled to lows not seen since 1985, and the future of the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) may now face even further setbacks.

Before the vote, Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, remarked that “market volatility” are to be expected, but that the Bank is well-prepared. Business leaders, however, are restless and have appealed for more clarity over how the process of leaving the EU will proceed and who will lead it. Firms are reassessing their investment in the UK, with banks threatening to move operations to Dublin or Frankfurt. Critical to the EU’s future, the UK’s decision is fueling demands from populist anti-EU parties in France, Netherlands, and other members for referendums of their own on EU membership. This “fight for liberalism” is laced with many complex issues, but is at its most fraught with immigration.

So, now what?

There are significant questions to be considered now that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU. How long will the process take? Will other EU members vote to leave? What does this mean for the future relations for one of Canada’s largest trading and investment partners?

Join the CIC Vancouver and the French Consulate General, Vancouver, on Thursday, July 28th at the St. Regis Bar and Grill for a panel discussion on “Brexit and the European Union: Now What?”. Doors will open at 5:00pm, with food served at 5:30pm. We will begin the panel at 6:15pm, followed by a Q&A at 7pm.

Speakers’ Biographies

Allen Sens | Professor of Political Science, UBC
Allen G. Sens (Ph.D, Queen’s) is a Professor of Teaching in the Political Science Department at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He specializes in international conflict and conflict management, with a research focus on peace operations, European security, and NATO. His teaching expertise includes international relations, international security, armed conflict, peacekeeping, Canadian foreign and defence policy, and nuclear weapons and arms control. Dr. Sens has served as a consultant to the Canadian government on the future of peacekeeping and NATO enlargement. He is currently directing a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council project on knowledge mobilization in the social sciences.

Greg Feldman | Professor, School for International Studies, SFU
Gregory Feldman (PhD Syracuse) is a political anthropologist interested in migration, globalization, securisty, the state, political action, technocracy, and neoliberalism. His geographic focus is Europe with emphasis on its relations with countries in the Mediterranean Sea region. Dr. Feldman is currently conducting the ethnographic project titled “The ‘Gray Zone’: Ethics, Action, and Police Investigations in the Mediterranean Space of Control (funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant). His latest book is titled We are All Migrants: Political Action and the Ubiquitous Condition of Migrant-hood (Stanford University Press 2015). His previous book is titled The Migration Apparatus: Security, Labor, and Policymaking in the European Union (Stanford University Press 2012).

Dr. Feldman is the founder and President of the Vancouver Society for the Promotion of the Liberal Arts. He co-founded the Interest Group for the Anthropology of Public Policy (now the Association for the Anthropology of Policy). He is also co-founded and is a steering committee member of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.

Jean-Christophe Fleury | Consul General of France in Vancouver
Holds a Diploma from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris [Paris Institute of Political Studies] (public service section) Master’s degree in international business and management (Paris-IX-Dauphine). His previous positions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include:
– Assistant Director, external audiovisual and communications technology policy, at the Directorate-General of Global Affairs;
– Press counselor at the Embassy of France in Ottawa;
– 1st Secretary in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago;
– Assistant Secretary-General for the organization of the Ministerial Conference on Drug Routes;
– 1st Secretary in Copenhagen: support mission during the Danish presidency of the European Union;
– Director of the West Africa office of the Foreign Office;
– United Nations Economic Affairs Editor
– Editor at the former Directorate for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Registration

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CIC Member
Student Member
Young Professional Member
Non-Member

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$3.00
Free
$3.00
$6.00

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Venue
St. Regis Bar and Grill
Regis Room
608 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC  V6B 1Y6