Day One: Report from the conference floor... Peter Bleyer, President of the CCSD, opened the conference with a rather grim prognosis of Canadian social policy: a fall of 10 percentage points in government spending in the last 10 years; one million children living in poverty, making Canada’s child poverty rate the 9th highest in the OECD; welfare incomes reaching all time lows in many provinces in 2004. Pointing out the few glimmers of hope, such as improving incomes for seniors and ongoing discussions towards a national child care program, he encouraged participants to mix theory and practice, experience and ideas, research and policy to provide a much-needed boost to social progress in this country. Workshops probed public discourses which discourage social policy investment, and offered a multitude of reasons for reinvestment in social development. Dr. Jane Jenson, Canada Research Chair in Citizenship and Governance at the Université de Montréal, delivered a brilliant analysis of the growing disjuncture between existing social policies and evolving families and labour markets. She focused attention on the "new social risks" such as growth of the working poor, struggling lone-parent families, and "bean-pole" families whose smaller numbers and rising work commitment give them decreasing capacity to care for vulnerable members such as elders – who meanwhile are living longer lives. Concise yet evocative, Jenson’s talk opened a debate on the place of child care, income supplements and government regulation in addressing these pervasive social realities. The day concluded with an informal reception featuring the launch of the CCSD’s new social architecture series. Community activists joined with conference delegates to highlight the importance of this new effort to grasp the overall shape of Canada’s social support system. CCSD Vice-President of Research Katherine Scott offered some comments on her publication, "The World We Have," and its companion-piece, "Postponed Adulthood" by John Myles. Entertainment was provided by local band "Minimum Wage" – which is rumoured to be considering a name change to "Living Wage."