Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

It’s a topic we’re really not comfortable discussing, but it’s just not going away. With a constitutional court challenge in BC and legislation pending in Quebec, the question of whether Canadians should be able to choose medical help to die when they are at the end of life is one of the most significant civil rights issues of our time. The speaker will be addressing this issue from a variety of perspectives including the language of the debate, the logic of the arguments, the legal principles at stake, the evidence from experience and the impact on those working with the sick and dying. Speaker: Wanda Morris Wanda Morris is Executive Director of Dying With Dignity. She has been involved in the right to die movement for many years, including making a submission to the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care and acting as a witness in the recent Gloria Taylor case in BC. Ms. Morris is a Chartered Accountant, a former member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and

It’s a topic we’re really not comfortable discussing, but it’s just not going away. With a constitutional court challenge in BC and legislation pending in Quebec, the question of whether Canadians should be able to choose medical help to die when they are at the end of life is one of the most significant civil rights issues of our time. The speaker will be addressing this issue from a variety of perspectives including the language of the debate, the logic of the arguments, the legal principles at stake, the evidence from experience and the impact on those working with the sick and dying. Speaker: Wanda Morris Wanda Morris is Executive Director of Dying With Dignity. She has been involved in the right to die movement for many years, including making a submission to the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care and acting as a witness in the recent Gloria Taylor case in BC. Ms. Morris is a Chartered Accountant, a former member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and

The answers to these questions are clear but not widely known. Juries are completely free to return any verdict they wish to return. Juries are not constrained in this by the law. There is no penalty for coming to whatever verdict the jury wishes to come to. Coming to a verdict which is at odds with the letter of the law is called jury nullification. Juries can, in effect, nullify the law. Juries, in regard to their verdicts, are free of the law and of judicial instruction. Jury nullification is n

The answers to these questions are clear but not widely known. Juries are completely free to return any verdict they wish to return. Juries are not constrained in this by the law. There is no penalty for coming to whatever verdict the jury wishes to come to. Coming to a verdict which is at odds with the letter of the law is called jury nullification. Juries can, in effect, nullify the law. Juries, in regard to their verdicts, are free of the law and of judicial instruction. Jury nullification is n

The Lethbridge Hurricanes Western Hockey League (WHL) franchise began in Winnipeg 45 years ago as the Winnipeg Jets. The franchise stayed in Winnipeg until the conclusion of the 1976-1977 season, along the way changing its name to the Winnipeg Clubs and later, the Winnipeg Monarchs. The franchise moved to Calgary for the 1977-78 season playing there as the Wranglers for 10 seasons before relocating to their current home in Lethbridge as the Hurricanes in 1987. The first Lethbridge WHL franchise arrived in 1974 when the Broncos were acquired from Swift Current only to see them return there following the 1985-86 season. The speakers will present their perspective on the many and ongoing issues that a WHL franchise has to deal with in order to be competitive, viable and respected. They will also discuss community versus corporate ownership as well as the impact the Hurricane franchise has on the City of Lethbridge and the surrounding area. Speakers: Brian McNaughton and Brian Wichers Brian McNaughton i

The Lethbridge Hurricanes Western Hockey League (WHL) franchise began in Winnipeg 45 years ago as the Winnipeg Jets. The franchise stayed in Winnipeg until the conclusion of the 1976-1977 season, along the way changing its name to the Winnipeg Clubs and later, the Winnipeg Monarchs. The franchise moved to Calgary for the 1977-78 season playing there as the Wranglers for 10 seasons before relocating to their current home in Lethbridge as the Hurricanes in 1987. The first Lethbridge WHL franchise arrived in 1974 when the Broncos were acquired from Swift Current only to see them return there following the 1985-86 season. The speakers will present their perspective on the many and ongoing issues that a WHL franchise has to deal with in order to be competitive, viable and respected. They will also discuss community versus corporate ownership as well as the impact the Hurricane franchise has on the City of Lethbridge and the surrounding area. Speakers: Brian McNaughton and Brian Wichers Brian McNaughton i

Resource development inside municipal boundaries might sound strange, but given Alberta’s geological landscape it is rare to find municipalities that don’t have some type of energy project affecting lands within their corporate boundaries. The City of Lethbridge is one of these municipalities so affected. Arguable, the challenge is to ensure impacts are minimized, public safety is maintained and corporate needs are met all the while providing business opportunity and contributing to society’s growing energy demands. How can the balance be struck? The speakers will present specific plans for further development of existing resource extraction potentially underlying portions of the southwest sections of the municipality. The presentation will cover the details of the drilling, completion, and production plans while also giving a background of the company, the regulatory environment, and future land use matters. The presenters will be pleased to field any questions and provide further information as requeste

Resource development inside municipal boundaries might sound strange, but given Alberta’s geological landscape it is rare to find municipalities that don’t have some type of energy project affecting lands within their corporate boundaries. The City of Lethbridge is one of these municipalities so affected. Arguable, the challenge is to ensure impacts are minimized, public safety is maintained and corporate needs are met all the while providing business opportunity and contributing to society’s growing energy demands. How can the balance be struck? The speakers will present specific plans for further development of existing resource extraction potentially underlying portions of the southwest sections of the municipality. The presentation will cover the details of the drilling, completion, and production plans while also giving a background of the company, the regulatory environment, and future land use matters. The presenters will be pleased to field any questions and provide further information as requeste

Private ownership is one of the cornerstones of our system. Each person is responsible for the care, maintenance and development of their own land, house or business. But what happens when a privately owned historic building is historically valuable? Lethbridge has a number of historically significant buildings that need repair and some of them are held privately. In some cases, like the Bow on Tong and Manie Opera Society buildings, provincial and municipal governments have provided approximately $80,000 in support of stabilization of these historically important privately held buildings. But should public money support the restoration of private historic buildings? And, if so, how? The speaker will explore this issue and suggest ways for private ownership and public need to harmoniously work together. Speaker: Belinda Crowson Belinda Crowson is a member of the Lethbridge Historical Society's Heritage Conservation Committee and sits as the LHS representative on the City of Lethbridge's Heart of Our

Private ownership is one of the cornerstones of our system. Each person is responsible for the care, maintenance and development of their own land, house or business. But what happens when a privately owned historic building is historically valuable? Lethbridge has a number of historically significant buildings that need repair and some of them are held privately. In some cases, like the Bow on Tong and Manie Opera Society buildings, provincial and municipal governments have provided approximately $80,000 in support of stabilization of these historically important privately held buildings. But should public money support the restoration of private historic buildings? And, if so, how? The speaker will explore this issue and suggest ways for private ownership and public need to harmoniously work together. Speaker: Belinda Crowson Belinda Crowson is a member of the Lethbridge Historical Society's Heritage Conservation Committee and sits as the LHS representative on the City of Lethbridge's Heart of Our

Recently, lively debates have emerged in the social sciences about how to think about the unexpected return of religion to the public sphere. This phenomenon has occurred not only in modernizing societies around the globe, but also in modern Western democracies. Scientific rationality and technical expertise have always been regarded as the most powerful forces for modernization. Yet it turns out that Western secularism is in central respects deeply Christian and even Protestant, and that there are multiple secularisms--at least one for each religion. How multicultural and democratic can Western (secular) modernization be in light of such circumstances? This presentation will sort out some of the implications of these discussions for philosophies of science. Speaker: Dr. Sandra Harding Sandra Harding is a Professor of Education and Gender Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a philosopher. She taught for two decades at the University of Delaware before moving to UCLA in 1996.

Recently, lively debates have emerged in the social sciences about how to think about the unexpected return of religion to the public sphere. This phenomenon has occurred not only in modernizing societies around the globe, but also in modern Western democracies. Scientific rationality and technical expertise have always been regarded as the most powerful forces for modernization. Yet it turns out that Western secularism is in central respects deeply Christian and even Protestant, and that there are multiple secularisms--at least one for each religion. How multicultural and democratic can Western (secular) modernization be in light of such circumstances? This presentation will sort out some of the implications of these discussions for philosophies of science. Speaker: Dr. Sandra Harding Sandra Harding is a Professor of Education and Gender Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a philosopher. She taught for two decades at the University of Delaware before moving to UCLA in 1996.

During the disastrous June 2013 Southern Alberta floods, thousands of people were displaced and entire communities were affected by flooding that brought dramatic change to how people live, work and interact with each other. Furthermore, the financial losses are in the billions, which when everything is said and done will affect everyone in the province. The speaker will argue that the critical element to planning for the future is community engagement. Johnston will also argue that construction of flood-control dams, or physically changing or dredging parts of a river to better manage water flow -- need to be matched with non-structural or policy-based responses, such as incorporating current and best available flood hazard information into land-use planning and legislation, and even prohibiting development in high-risk places. It is extremely important that in addition to scientists and engineers, governments and developers, we have community involvement in any land-use planning process, not only to ens

During the disastrous June 2013 Southern Alberta floods, thousands of people were displaced and entire communities were affected by flooding that brought dramatic change to how people live, work and interact with each other. Furthermore, the financial losses are in the billions, which when everything is said and done will affect everyone in the province. The speaker will argue that the critical element to planning for the future is community engagement. Johnston will also argue that construction of flood-control dams, or physically changing or dredging parts of a river to better manage water flow -- need to be matched with non-structural or policy-based responses, such as incorporating current and best available flood hazard information into land-use planning and legislation, and even prohibiting development in high-risk places. It is extremely important that in addition to scientists and engineers, governments and developers, we have community involvement in any land-use planning process, not only to ens

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited under sections 15 and 28 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? The speaker contends that women's reduced political position in Canada is a result of 1) a lack of demand for women candidates from Canada's political parties; 2) the reaction of some (male) voters to women candidates; and 3) stereotypes about women's political engagement. All three go some to way explaining why women in Canada are so perniciously underrepresented in federal politics. Speaker: Melanee Thomas Melanee Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the causes and conse

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited under sections 15 and 28 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? The speaker contends that women's reduced political position in Canada is a result of 1) a lack of demand for women candidates from Canada's political parties; 2) the reaction of some (male) voters to women candidates; and 3) stereotypes about women's political engagement. All three go some to way explaining why women in Canada are so perniciously underrepresented in federal politics. Speaker: Melanee Thomas Melanee Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the causes and conse

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media about their research. The federal Government contends that when federal scientists speak with the media, they do so under media rules that were changed a few years ago. Interviews may now be permitted days, weeks or months after a request is made and by that time, of course, the story could be old news. The speaker will argue that there are few issues more fundamental to democracy than the freedom of our taxpayer funded scientists to follow their passion in research and our ability to access the scientific information that they produce. A society cannot make informed choices about critical issues if we don’t have th

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media about their research. The federal Government contends that when federal scientists speak with the media, they do so under media rules that were changed a few years ago. Interviews may now be permitted days, weeks or months after a request is made and by that time, of course, the story could be old news. The speaker will argue that there are few issues more fundamental to democracy than the freedom of our taxpayer funded scientists to follow their passion in research and our ability to access the scientific information that they produce. A society cannot make informed choices about critical issues if we don’t have th

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Has excessive partisanship eroded the “sober second thought” of the Senate? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed 58 Senators since taking office in 2006, despite his stated intention to either transform the Senate into an elected body or abolish it altogether. The Harper Government is presently seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its powers to change the Senate. Will the recent scandals involving Harper appointees change that strategy? The speaker will voice his opinion related to those questions and also argue that the current appointment process is not in step with the preference Canadians consis

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Has excessive partisanship eroded the “sober second thought” of the Senate? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed 58 Senators since taking office in 2006, despite his stated intention to either transform the Senate into an elected body or abolish it altogether. The Harper Government is presently seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its powers to change the Senate. Will the recent scandals involving Harper appointees change that strategy? The speaker will voice his opinion related to those questions and also argue that the current appointment process is not in step with the preference Canadians consis