AME BC-CIM-MEG Lunch

Date: Thursday, January 26
Location: Stanley Park Ballroom
Time: 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Sponsored by: Midas Gold Corp.
(ticket required)

Keynote Speaker: Rex Murphy, Social Commentator and Editorialist

Rex Murphy was born and raised in Newfoundland, where he graduated from Memorial University. A Rhodes scholar, he attended Oxford University (along with U.S. President Bill Clinton).   When he returned to Newfoundland he was soon established as a quick-witted and accomplished writer, broadcaster and teacher.

Murphy's primary interest is in language and English literature, but he also has a strong link with politics. Murphy gained an insider's view of the political world when he worked as executive assistant to the Newfoundland Liberal Party leader. To get an even closer taste of politics, Murphy ran twice as a Liberal candidate in the provincial elections. 

Murphy contributes extensively to CBC on many current affairs issues. He contributes a regular televised essay to CBC’s The National, dealing with topics as diverse as the Royal Family, smoking, and Quebec politics. He has also created a number of documentaries from Newfoundland, including the highly acclaimed "Unpeopled Shores," about the collapse of the Newfoundland fisheries.  Additional documentary work has included pieces on the Second World War, scientist Hubert Reeves, business tycoon Conrad Black, and William Shakespeare.

Rex Murphy writes a weekly column for The National Post and is the author of the book, Points of View, a collection of his columns and commentaries.

Murphy also hosts Canada's only national open-line radio program, CBC Radio’s Cross Country Checkup, with close to half-a-million listeners tuning in every Sunday afternoon. The program is broadcast live across Canada on CBC Radio One, on Sirius satellite radio, and around the world on the Internet.

Rex Murphy has won several national and provincial broadcasting awards and has been awarded honorary doctorates in letters by Memorial University, St. Thomas University, and Nipissing University.

Much in demand as a speaker, his oratory -- a volatile mix of insight, humour and biting political commentary, powered by an extraordinary vocabulary -- brings audiences to their feet at events from coast to coast.