- About
- People
- What We Do
- Public Programming
- Initiatives
- When the Map Is Useless
- Democratic Renewal and Resilience
- Moving in a Livable Region
- The Dialogue on Technology Project (DoT)
- Urban Resilient Futures Burnaby
- Action on Climate Team
- Clean Energy Canada
- Hey Neighbour Collective
- New Economy Canada
- Renewable Cities
- Renovate the Public Hearing
- SFU Demshot Challenge
- Mitigating Wildfire Initiative
- Signature Events
- Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue
- Award Recipients
- 2024/25: Bringing Justice Home with Judge Abby Abinanti
- 2021/22: Reimagining Social Justice and Racial Equity with adrienne maree brown
- 2019/20: Climate Change and Human Rights with Sheila Watt-Cloutier
- 2017/18: Peace, Pluralism and Gender Equality with Alice Wairimu Nderitu
- 2015/16: Climate Solutions with Tim Flannery
- 2013/14: Reconciliation with Chief Robert Joseph
- 2011/12: Twelve Days of Compassion with Karen Armstrong
- 2009/10: Widening the Circle with Liz Lerman
- 2005: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Right to Health with Mary Robinson
- 2002: Environmental Sustainability with Maurice Strong
- Nomination Details
- History of the Award
- Award Recipients
- Bruce & Lis Welch Community Dialogue
- The Economics of What's Possible: An Evening with Stephanie Kelton
- 2026: Economics for the People: Inside Inequality with Mohsen Javdani
- 2024: AI: Beyond the Hype—Shaping the Future Together with Stephanie Dick and Daniel Barcay
- 2022: Facing the Flames: New and Old Ways of Co-Existing with Fire with Joe Gilchrist and Paul Hessburg
- 2021: All My Relations: Trauma-Informed Engagement with Karine Duhamel
- 2019: Power of Empathy with Kimberly Jackson Davidson
- 2019: Rethinking BC Referendums with John Gastil
- 2017: Strengthening Democratic Engagement with Valerie Lemmie
- 2015-16: THRIVE! Surrey in 2030
- 2014: Citizen Engagement and Political Civility with Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer
- 2013: Building a Culture of Participation with Dave Meslin
- 2012: Riots and Restorative Justice with Dr. Theo Gavrielides
- 2011: Growing Out of Hunger with Will Allen
- 2010: The Age of Unequals with Richard Wilkinson
- Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue
- Student Engagement
- Consulting Services
- Services
- Workshop and Training Offerings
- Our Projects
- Burnaby Community Assembly
- Centering Equity and Inclusion in an Engagement Framework
- Framework for Diabetes in Canada
- COVID-19 and Public Health: The Faith and Spiritual Leaders Dialogue Series
- Burnaby Business Recovery Task Force
- CleanBC Job Readiness Workshops
- Your Voice. Your Home.
- Perspectives on Reconciliation
- Establishing a Chinese-Canadian Museum
- Citizen Dialogues on Canada’s Energy Future
- Clients and Partners
- Get in Touch
- Knowledge & Practice
- Resources
- News
- Give
The Economics of What's Possible: An Evening with Stephanie Kelton
This wasn't really an event about economics. It was about what economics quietly decides for us: how long you wait in an ER, whether your kid gets a daycare spot, and why transit projects take so long to build.
So often, when a program doesn't get funded, we're told it's a budget problem. Dr. Stephanie Kelton, the economist behind the bestselling book The Deficit Myth and the documentary Finding the Money has spent her career studying that pattern: not whether a federal government can spend money, but why it chooses to spend on some things and not others.
On September 24, we explored the real-world consequences of those choices with Dr. Kelton. Did you miss the event? Watch it back on our YouTube channel, linked below.
This Bruce & Lis Welch Community Dialogue was co-presented by SFU Public Square and SFU Centre for Dialogue. It was the third offering of When the Map is Useless: Conversations for a World in Transition, a multi-year series that convenes SFU and the broader community to strengthen public sense-making and civic discourse during a time of profound social, political, and ecological change. This initiative is supported in part by the North Family Foundation.
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Location:
The Vancouver Playhouse,
600 Hamilton St
Vancouver, BC V6B 2P1
Tickets:
General Admission: $19.99
Student & Senior Ticket: $9.99
Speakers
Speaker: Dr. Stephanie Kelton
About Dr. Kelton
Dr. Stephanie Kelton is a leading authority on Modern Monetary Theory, a new approach to economics that is taking the world by storm. She is considered one of the most important voices influencing the policy debate today.
Her New York Times bestseller, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy, shows how to break free of the flawed thinking that has hamstrung policymakers around the world.
In addition to her many academic publications, she has been a contributor at Bloomberg Opinion and has written for the Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, and many others.
Read more about Dr. Kelton here.
Moderator: Dr. Joy Johnson
About Dr. Johnson
Dr. Joy Johnson, SFU's president and vice-chancellor, is committed to carrying out SFU's vision to be a leading research university advancing an inclusive and sustainable future, as outlined in What's Next: The SFU Strategy.
Joy is widely respected in academic and research communities. Prior to her appointment as president, Joy served as SFU’s vice-president, research and international from 2014 to 2020. Under her strong leadership, SFU’s research income grew from $103 million in 2014 to $161 million in 2020—the fastest growth in research income of any Canadian university.
Video
Programming Partner
