Cory Doctorow Headlines BC Policy Solutions Gala

If U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars have taught Canadians anything, it’s how risky it is to be so dependent on our southern neighbours. While recent conversations have heavily focused on resources like lumber, steel and oil, less has been said about our digital lives. What is the impact of a handful of U.S. tech giants now holding a tremendous share of the digital economy that Canadians rely on every day?

That's the question BC Policy Solutions is putting front and centre for its first-ever annual gala . Held at Fraserview Hall in Vancouver on Nov. 12, the event will feature keynote speaker Cory Doctorow, the New York Times bestselling author, journalist and activist behind Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It . Doctorow will be expanding on this topic, presenting “Disenshittification: How We Break Free from the U.S. Tech Grip and Leverage Digital Sovereignty for the Public Good.”

Also joining for the evening is MC Mo Amir, host of the This Is Vancolour podcast, as well as Cecilia Point, delivering an Indigenous welcome.

It's the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year, and it's built to be more than a dinner. BC Policy Solutions is an independent, non-partisan research institute working on the housing, racism, climate and affordability pressures compounding across the province, resulting in our current polycrisis. Every ticket sold goes directly toward funding that research.

"This is our first gala event, and we wanted to bring in a speaker who would ignite our community to engage with us in timely, thoughtful conversation over a delicious meal," said Amanda Adams, co-executive director at BC Policy Solutions.

"You get dinner, a speaker who's thinking hard about key problems we are facing, the chance to connect with other thought leaders and advocates in the community, and every ticket sold goes directly toward research that's trying to solve these problems that affect everyone in B.C."

The annual gala takes place Nov. 12 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Fraserview Hall in Vancouver. For more information and to buy tickets, visit bcpolicy.ca/gala/ .

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