Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Democracy is for all intentional purposes based on mutual respect, which means free and fair elections, human rights, and ethical government. How well are we doing with current standards of ethics in politics and the public service, how successfully are they enforced, and how could they be improved? These standards involve conflicts of interest, lobbying, election financing, whistleblowing, expense claims, and public sector accountability. This presentation will contextualize some of the past and present scandals involving both Canadian public servants and elected politicians. Is there a trend towards less accountability and are ethics being compromised as part of a larger problem within society? The speaker will offer hope and suggestions for the future and argue that democracy is not a spectator sport.….. Voter apathy makes it very fragile. Speaker:

Democracy is for all intentional purposes based on mutual respect, which means free and fair elections, human rights, and ethical government. How well are we doing with current standards of ethics in politics and the public service, how successfully are they enforced, and how could they be improved? These standards involve conflicts of interest, lobbying, election financing, whistleblowing, expense claims, and public sector accountability. This presentation will contextualize some of the past and present scandals involving both Canadian public servants and elected politicians. Is there a trend towards less accountability and are ethics being compromised as part of a larger problem within society? The speaker will offer hope and suggestions for the future and argue that democracy is not a spectator sport.….. Voter apathy makes it very fragile. Speaker:

CKXU began as CKUL in 1972, when a public address system was set up in Section A of University Hall at the University of Lethbridge to broadcast musical content inside the building during the day. The station was managed by the University of Lethbridge Students' Union. The CKUL Radio Society was incorporated in Oct. 1977, to govern the affairs of the station, and a year later the CRTC granted the society a license to broadcast on 530 AM In 2003, the CRTC approved the application to operate a new English language community based campus FM radio station in Lethbridge. CKUL’s call letters were changed to CKXU, and on April 8, 2004, the station began to broadcast at 88.3 FM to the city of Lethbridge and the surrounding area from a 125W transmitter located on top of the Students’ Union Building at the University of Lethbridge. CKXU 88.3 FM now broadcasts for more than 168 hours per week, year-round, with a volunteer core of over 100 members. The importance of community radio and independent media will be discuss

CKXU began as CKUL in 1972, when a public address system was set up in Section A of University Hall at the University of Lethbridge to broadcast musical content inside the building during the day. The station was managed by the University of Lethbridge Students' Union. The CKUL Radio Society was incorporated in Oct. 1977, to govern the affairs of the station, and a year later the CRTC granted the society a license to broadcast on 530 AM In 2003, the CRTC approved the application to operate a new English language community based campus FM radio station in Lethbridge. CKUL’s call letters were changed to CKXU, and on April 8, 2004, the station began to broadcast at 88.3 FM to the city of Lethbridge and the surrounding area from a 125W transmitter located on top of the Students’ Union Building at the University of Lethbridge. CKXU 88.3 FM now broadcasts for more than 168 hours per week, year-round, with a volunteer core of over 100 members. The importance of community radio and independent media will be discuss

What is meant by civil liberties? According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil liberties are protecting those freedoms that are considered fundamental in a democratic society. These fundamental freedoms include freedom of opinion, thought, belief and expression, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience and religion, and freedom of association and peaceful assembly. It is almost impossible to imagine how a democracy would work without protection for these most basic rights and freedoms, and yet they continue to be under attack in many ways. The speakers qualified as finalists in the recently held University of Lethbridge Student Speaker Challenge, beating out six other talented competitors. Sponsored by SACPA, LPIRG and ULSU, each year’s competition addresses a different topic and this year, civil liberties or the lack thereof was the topic. The presenters will address civil liberties from different perspectives and give a glimpse of how post-secondary students view the importance of fre

What is meant by civil liberties? According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil liberties are protecting those freedoms that are considered fundamental in a democratic society. These fundamental freedoms include freedom of opinion, thought, belief and expression, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience and religion, and freedom of association and peaceful assembly. It is almost impossible to imagine how a democracy would work without protection for these most basic rights and freedoms, and yet they continue to be under attack in many ways. The speakers qualified as finalists in the recently held University of Lethbridge Student Speaker Challenge, beating out six other talented competitors. Sponsored by SACPA, LPIRG and ULSU, each year’s competition addresses a different topic and this year, civil liberties or the lack thereof was the topic. The presenters will address civil liberties from different perspectives and give a glimpse of how post-secondary students view the importance of fre

ECMap was an Alberta Government funded 5-year project that worked to raise community awareness of the results of an intensive study on the readiness of Alberta’s children for kindergarten. The Government invested 26 million dollars to gather Early Development Instrument (EDI) data, interpret it, and share the results with communities province-wide. We learned that Alberta’s kindergarten children are behind the Canadian average in their performance, with children in Lethbridge behind the Provincial average. Why is it so when we know that the preschool years are the most important time for brain development? We also know that skills that support a child’s success in school and in life are trainable and can be developed through simple play activities that stimulate thinking, problem solving and self-regulation. Our speakers will share some of the work currently underway that aims to address these issues.

ECMap was an Alberta Government funded 5-year project that worked to raise community awareness of the results of an intensive study on the readiness of Alberta’s children for kindergarten. The Government invested 26 million dollars to gather Early Development Instrument (EDI) data, interpret it, and share the results with communities province-wide. We learned that Alberta’s kindergarten children are behind the Canadian average in their performance, with children in Lethbridge behind the Provincial average. Why is it so when we know that the preschool years are the most important time for brain development? We also know that skills that support a child’s success in school and in life are trainable and can be developed through simple play activities that stimulate thinking, problem solving and self-regulation. Our speakers will share some of the work currently underway that aims to address these issues.

A motion to mandate that Alberta schools support the creation of student-led gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in schools where students have requested it, was defeated in the Alberta Legislature early last year. In late 2014 two Bills dealing with the same student-led gay-straight alliances were brought before the legislature. The first, Bill 202, was a private members Bill, which prompted the Government to draft its own, Bill 10. By the time the dust settled and amendments were attempted, neither Bill was passed as Premier Prentice stepped in and put the Bills on hold pending further studies. Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently released the results of an extensive study showing that GSAs reduce the risk of suicide for all students, LGBTQ and straight. The speaker will present further background information on this controversial topic and discuss what is known about the effects GSAs can have for all students in the schools where they are established.

A motion to mandate that Alberta schools support the creation of student-led gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in schools where students have requested it, was defeated in the Alberta Legislature early last year. In late 2014 two Bills dealing with the same student-led gay-straight alliances were brought before the legislature. The first, Bill 202, was a private members Bill, which prompted the Government to draft its own, Bill 10. By the time the dust settled and amendments were attempted, neither Bill was passed as Premier Prentice stepped in and put the Bills on hold pending further studies. Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently released the results of an extensive study showing that GSAs reduce the risk of suicide for all students, LGBTQ and straight. The speaker will present further background information on this controversial topic and discuss what is known about the effects GSAs can have for all students in the schools where they are established.

Lethbridge residents could send a lot less garbage to the landfill if a city-wide curbside organics recycling program were to be implemented. Diverting residential food and yard waste from the landfill could save not only valuable landfill space, it could also eliminate much of the methane that organics generate in a landfill. It is well known that recycling organics is better for the environment in many ways as it turns waste material into new and friendly products of value, with the possibility of also creating biogas capable of generating power. The speaker will explain the challenges Lethbridge residents are likely to face, including costs, while describing the experience she had helping implement Airdrie’s curbside organics recycling program recently. Speaker: Kathleen Muretti Kathleen Muretti is Manager of Fleet, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Wa

Lethbridge residents could send a lot less garbage to the landfill if a city-wide curbside organics recycling program were to be implemented. Diverting residential food and yard waste from the landfill could save not only valuable landfill space, it could also eliminate much of the methane that organics generate in a landfill. It is well known that recycling organics is better for the environment in many ways as it turns waste material into new and friendly products of value, with the possibility of also creating biogas capable of generating power. The speaker will explain the challenges Lethbridge residents are likely to face, including costs, while describing the experience she had helping implement Airdrie’s curbside organics recycling program recently. Speaker: Kathleen Muretti Kathleen Muretti is Manager of Fleet, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Wa

On March 16, 2009, the Alberta Government announced an ambitious plan to end homelessness in this province, the first to make such declaration in Canada. This plan saw a shift from relying on emergency shelters to manage the problem and instead use Housing First principles to create not only housing stability but diversion from future homelessness. From a financial perspective, simply managing homelessness was projected to cost the Alberta Government more than six billion dollars over 10 years. This figure does not include the indirect costs of homelessness that tax payers absorb through the health, corrections and justice systems which conservatively is estimated at 100,000 dollars per homeless person per year. This is a far cry from the projected 3.16 Billion dollars that the implementation of the plan to end homelessness will cost over the same 10 year period. From a human stand point, healthier Canadians mean healthier homes and children which means a brighter future for Canada. The speaker will argue th

On March 16, 2009, the Alberta Government announced an ambitious plan to end homelessness in this province, the first to make such declaration in Canada. This plan saw a shift from relying on emergency shelters to manage the problem and instead use Housing First principles to create not only housing stability but diversion from future homelessness. From a financial perspective, simply managing homelessness was projected to cost the Alberta Government more than six billion dollars over 10 years. This figure does not include the indirect costs of homelessness that tax payers absorb through the health, corrections and justice systems which conservatively is estimated at 100,000 dollars per homeless person per year. This is a far cry from the projected 3.16 Billion dollars that the implementation of the plan to end homelessness will cost over the same 10 year period. From a human stand point, healthier Canadians mean healthier homes and children which means a brighter future for Canada. The speaker will argue th

The Canadian Government recently passed Bill C-36, the “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act” in response to a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that found many parts of the existing law concerning prostitution in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore unconstitutional. At first glance, the Government seems to have accomplished exactly what they intended with this controversial new law regarding prostitution, but many will argue the new legislation is less about policy and more about politics. Furthermore, some experts believe the bill will in fact worsen the situation for sex workers. It is believed Bill C-36 will also be challenged in the courts and that the new law will end up back before the Supreme Court. The speaker will weigh in on the legal aspects of the new legislation and speculate on its durability. Speaker

The Canadian Government recently passed Bill C-36, the “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act” in response to a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that found many parts of the existing law concerning prostitution in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore unconstitutional. At first glance, the Government seems to have accomplished exactly what they intended with this controversial new law regarding prostitution, but many will argue the new legislation is less about policy and more about politics. Furthermore, some experts believe the bill will in fact worsen the situation for sex workers. It is believed Bill C-36 will also be challenged in the courts and that the new law will end up back before the Supreme Court. The speaker will weigh in on the legal aspects of the new legislation and speculate on its durability. Speaker

In December 2014 Danielle Smith and eight members of her caucus announced that they were crossing the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives and Premier Jim Prentice. The announcement elicited a great deal of vitriolic responses from the public and reignited calls for floor crossing to be banned or at least for floor crossers to require a by-election to sit as a member of another party. The speaker will argue that floor crossing is a necessary part of the parliamentary process and must not be limited but that the floor crossers from the Wildrose Party, especially leader Danielle Smith, need a strong lesson in another piece of parliamentary democracy: a loyal opposition. The history, and value, of opposition will be reviewed and the speaker will argue that Smith’s democratic breech was in dismissing the value of opposition in a parliamentary democracy, not in crossing the floor. Speaker: Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert served as SACPA’s Administrative Manager from 2009-2014 while she conducted her doct

In December 2014 Danielle Smith and eight members of her caucus announced that they were crossing the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives and Premier Jim Prentice. The announcement elicited a great deal of vitriolic responses from the public and reignited calls for floor crossing to be banned or at least for floor crossers to require a by-election to sit as a member of another party. The speaker will argue that floor crossing is a necessary part of the parliamentary process and must not be limited but that the floor crossers from the Wildrose Party, especially leader Danielle Smith, need a strong lesson in another piece of parliamentary democracy: a loyal opposition. The history, and value, of opposition will be reviewed and the speaker will argue that Smith’s democratic breech was in dismissing the value of opposition in a parliamentary democracy, not in crossing the floor. Speaker: Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert served as SACPA’s Administrative Manager from 2009-2014 while she conducted her doct

Russia’s annexation of Crimea has called into question the future of Arctic cooperation. After years of working together on pollution prevention, search and rescue, shipping and fisheries management, people are asking: Can we trust Russia to behave differently in the North than it is behaving in the South? Michael Byers has just returned from a term as a Visiting Professor at the University of Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia. His presentation will address the issue of Arctic sovereignty, peace and security in a time of geopolitical tension and rapidly advancing climate change. Speaker: Michael Byers A graduate of Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. He has been a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, a Professor of Law at Duke

Russia’s annexation of Crimea has called into question the future of Arctic cooperation. After years of working together on pollution prevention, search and rescue, shipping and fisheries management, people are asking: Can we trust Russia to behave differently in the North than it is behaving in the South? Michael Byers has just returned from a term as a Visiting Professor at the University of Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia. His presentation will address the issue of Arctic sovereignty, peace and security in a time of geopolitical tension and rapidly advancing climate change. Speaker: Michael Byers A graduate of Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. He has been a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, a Professor of Law at Duke