Section navigation links:

This page relates to an event which has already taken place, but is retained for archival purposes.

Guide Dog Users of Canada has historically held all of its annual general meetings in Toronto. This year, we would like to try something a little different, and to that end, our annual conference and general meeting will be held in Montreal.

Related documents:

• Schedule for the day
• June 14, 2008 Conference Press Release
• Call for board nominations and resolutions

Special Thanks To …

• VIA Rail, for donating rail passes for GDUC founders, past presidents and past and current board members to attend this conference;
• CNIB, for Saturday’s lunch and a $500 contribution to the conference;
• Frontier Computing, for covering the cost of the meeting room rentals ($400);
• MAJ Holdings, for a $100 contribution to the conference;
• Guido & Angelina’s (Atwater) restaurant in Montreal, for their financial contribution to the conference;
• Monique Beaudoin, for the preparation of the Braille version of the AGM materials.

Overview

We plan to hold two workshops at the conference, including one on “doggy first-aid,” and another on dog attacks (and how best to deal with aggressive, off-leash dogs that guide dog teams often encounter in their travels).

Accommodations

A block of 15 rooms has been set aside for GDUC at this hotel, for the evenings of Friday, October 31st and Saturday, November 1st. Guide Dog Users of Canada has negotiated a room rate of $91.95 per night (double occupancy, two queen beds) plus applicable taxes (approximately $110 per night total).

Members must book their room with the hotel directly (and secure their booking with a credit card) by quoting room block number 339207 (‘Guide Dog Users of Canada’) when booking. Rooms must be booked prior to October 1st, 2008 in order to guarantee the negotiated conference rate. All rooms (and indeed, virtually all public spaces in Quebec) are non-smoking. Check-in time is 3:00pm, and check-out time is noon.

NOTE: If you are planning to attend and wish to share a room with someone to help reduce the cost, but need assistance in locating a willing roomate, contact us and we’ll see what we can do!

About Montreal

Montreal is the second-largest city in Canada (next only to Toronto), and the largest city in the province of Quebec, with approximately 1.6 million people living in the city proper, and more than 3.5 million people living in the greater Montreal region. Known for its smoked meat, bagels, and vibrant cultural activities (including the annual Jazz and Just For Laughs festivals), Montreal is a dynamic city comprised of a culturally diverse population.

In the fall, depending on how quickly the leaves fall, the foliage and scenery on Mount Royal (the large, three-headed hill for which the city is named) is perhaps one of the more popular tourist attractions. Home to the 1976 Olympics, Montreal also boasts a number of other attractions (such as the Biodome) which have been developed to make use of the former olympic facilities.

Montreal is particularly known for its shopping offerings along St. Catherine Street, and in its ‘underground city’ - a 5km square area conneted entirely indoors by over 32km of tunnels in the downtown area. This ‘underground city’ is truly only minutes from the hotel.

The city is served by a vast public transit system which encompasses commuter trains, busses, and a subway system (called the ‘Metro’). The nearest metro stop to the hotel is the Guy Concordia station. More information than you could ever want to know about that station (and all others) can be found either on the official STM web site, or the more descriptive hobbyist Metro de Montreal web site.

For more information

For more information on Montreal, the hotel, or other such details, please contact us. Thank you!