Archived - Media Advisory

Canada will host the 4th Meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean in Calgary, Alberta, on March 25-26, 2011. The meeting will commence with a reception and working dinner on Friday, and conclude with a Ministerial news conference late Saturday afternoon.

Registration and Accreditation

Note: The annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will be held in Calgary, March 23 to 28, 2011. To streamline the process, IDB will handle media registration for both its own event and the Finance Ministers meeting.

Media representatives planning to cover these meetings must be registered, accredited and hold a valid IDB media identification badge to have access to the facilities.

To register for accreditation for the 4th Meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean media must complete the online registration for the IDB meetings using this form.

Members of the press may also register in Calgary. For more details on the requirements for onsite registration, please refer to the IDB website at http://events.iadb.org/calendar/eventDetail.aspx?lang=en&id=1793&OID=195

Accreditation is open to all bona fide news organizations. Freelance media representatives must be sponsored by a recognized news organization and attach a letter of assignment to the accreditation form.

Upon arrival in Calgary, members of the press who have registered online for the Finance Ministers meeting will be able to pick up their identification badge at the registration area located in TELUS 105 (ground floor) of the Convention Center beginning Thursday, March 24.

Media Centre and Facilities

A media centre for accredited media will be available at Hall C of the Calgary Telus Convention Centre starting on Thursday March 24. Finance Canada media relations staff will be on hand to assist with any questions.

International and domestic telephone services will be available, together with Internet access, computers, and printers.  Cellular phone rental service will be available at the Calgary Telus Convention Center.

All questions or requests regarding the media centre and media work stations should be directed to Francine Lévesque, Manager - Media Accreditation/Operations at 403-218-7838.

The media centre hours of operation:

• Thursday March 24 from 07:00 to 22:00
• Friday, March 25 from 07:00 to 22:00
• Saturday, March 26 from 07:00 to 22:00

Access

All working sessions of the meeting are closed to the media. There will be pooled photo opportunities at the family photo, the working dinner involving principals on the Friday night, March 25 and the opening of the plenary session on Saturday, March 26

Media Pools

Media pool members (one per country) should be identified by national governments among accredited media representatives and communicated to the Finance Canada Meeting Secretariat Media Relations Co-ordinator:

George Bentley, Co-ordinator, Media Relations
2011 Finance Canada Secretariat
Telephone: 613-947-5155 or cell 613-897-0281
Email: George.Bentley@fin.gc.ca

Media Program

(subject to change)

An updated schedule of events will be posted each day in the Media Centre.

Friday, March 25

19h15
FAMILY PHOTO
Heritage Park (Gasoline Alley)

19h30
MINISTERIAL WORKING DINNER
Heritage Park (Gasoline Alley)
(photo-op – tour de table at the start of the meeting)

Saturday, March 26

09h00
MINISTERIAL MEETING
Hyatt Regency Calgary (Imperial Ballroom – 3rd Floor)
(photo-op – tour de table at the start of the meeting)

16h30-17h00
NEWS CONFERENCE
Calgary Telus Convention Centre (North Building)
Hall C – Media Briefing Theatre
Chair of the 4th Meeting of Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean holds a closing press conference.

For all questions regarding press conferences or media arrangements for the 4th Meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean, please contact:

George Bentley, Co-ordinator, Media Relations
2011 Finance Canada Secretariat
Telephone: 613-947-5155 or cell 613-897-0281
Email: George.Bentley@fin.gc.ca

Accommodations

Media representatives are required to book and pay for their own hotel accommodation. Neither the Finance Ministers Meeting Secretariat nor the IDB has an allotment of rooms set aside for the media. 

For more information on accommodation, visit the official website of Tourism Calgary,
http://www.visitcalgary.com/

Within North America: 1-800-661-1678
Outside North America: 1-403-263-8510

For more information on the meetings, visit Calgary’s special IDB website at www.Calgary.ca/IDB

For general questions about travel in Alberta, call Alberta’s Visitor information hot lines:

Within North America: 1-800-ALBERTA (252-3782)
Outside North America: 1-780-427-4321

Or visit Alberta’s Officials Tourism websites:  Travel Alberta: http://www.travelalberta.com

Travel Arrangements

Travel arrangements are the responsibility of media representatives.

Media from outside Canada require a valid passport or appropriate travel documentation to enter Canada.

Arrival in Canada

Please note that a valid passport or appropriate travel documentation is required to enter Canada.  For information on Canadian entry requirements, participants should contact the closest Canadian Mission or visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.asp

Passports must be valid for a minimum of six months before entry to Canada.