Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Carding is the police practice of arbitrarily stopping people in public for identification and questioning. The practice has come under fire as discriminatory and a violation of civil rights. And while some jurisdictions are working to reduce or eliminate this practice, it is arguable still commonplace in Lethbridge and Alberta. Data shows black people may be nine times more likely and Indigenous people five times more likely to be stopped and asked by police to provide identification and other personal information in Lethbridge. Should police be able to stop people and ask for information without being advised that they can refuse to answer without consequence? Is carding part of an ongoing systemic racist practice and an example of discrimination in our system? Will consultations by the Alberta Government result in tighter regulations? Generally, there are questions whether carding is in fact a legal process and there are court challenges ongoing in Ontario asking if carding is consistent with Canadian l

Carding is the police practice of arbitrarily stopping people in public for identification and questioning. The practice has come under fire as discriminatory and a violation of civil rights. And while some jurisdictions are working to reduce or eliminate this practice, it is arguable still commonplace in Lethbridge and Alberta. Data shows black people may be nine times more likely and Indigenous people five times more likely to be stopped and asked by police to provide identification and other personal information in Lethbridge. Should police be able to stop people and ask for information without being advised that they can refuse to answer without consequence? Is carding part of an ongoing systemic racist practice and an example of discrimination in our system? Will consultations by the Alberta Government result in tighter regulations? Generally, there are questions whether carding is in fact a legal process and there are court challenges ongoing in Ontario asking if carding is consistent with Canadian l

The Senate is going through a period of remarkable change as the institution aims to become more independent, transparent, and accountable and less partisan. A significant part of this modernization process has involved the establishment of a new, non-partisan, merit-based process to advise on Senate appointments. Furthermore, the Government has created a Representative Team in the Senate, consisting of three Independent Senators, to ensure Senate business can be effectively coordinated in Parliament.  These measures have catalyzed changes that will have an historic impact on how the Senate functions, improve its capacity to serve Canadians, and help restore public confidence. The speaker will share his perspective on the changing dynamics in the Senate of Canada and outline his role as Government Liaison. Speaker: Senator Grant Mitchell Senator Grant Mitchell is proud to represent Alberta as an Independent Senator. He has had careers in the public service, business, and politics in Alberta, and was call

The Senate is going through a period of remarkable change as the institution aims to become more independent, transparent, and accountable and less partisan. A significant part of this modernization process has involved the establishment of a new, non-partisan, merit-based process to advise on Senate appointments. Furthermore, the Government has created a Representative Team in the Senate, consisting of three Independent Senators, to ensure Senate business can be effectively coordinated in Parliament.  These measures have catalyzed changes that will have an historic impact on how the Senate functions, improve its capacity to serve Canadians, and help restore public confidence. The speaker will share his perspective on the changing dynamics in the Senate of Canada and outline his role as Government Liaison. Speaker: Senator Grant Mitchell Senator Grant Mitchell is proud to represent Alberta as an Independent Senator. He has had careers in the public service, business, and politics in Alberta, and was call

Liberal education and its role in the 21st century do not appear to be widely understood or valued in society as a whole. Many parents and prospective students are attracted to professional programs or applied studies perceiving that they are the best routes for gainful employment. The University of Lethbridge is committed to a strong liberal education program at the undergraduate level but needs to modernize and remodel the program and communicate the uniqueness of its approach and the positive outcomes of such an education. Many University of Lethbride graduates only understand the value of their liberal education degree years after the fact. This observation underscores their degree’s true worth as a pathway to meaningful employment and engaged living, but also how challenging it might be to build a tangible case for liberal education in today’s crowded market. The speaker will give perspective to U of L’s long standing commitment of supporting liberal education and offer insight into U of L’s decision to

Liberal education and its role in the 21st century do not appear to be widely understood or valued in society as a whole. Many parents and prospective students are attracted to professional programs or applied studies perceiving that they are the best routes for gainful employment. The University of Lethbridge is committed to a strong liberal education program at the undergraduate level but needs to modernize and remodel the program and communicate the uniqueness of its approach and the positive outcomes of such an education. Many University of Lethbride graduates only understand the value of their liberal education degree years after the fact. This observation underscores their degree’s true worth as a pathway to meaningful employment and engaged living, but also how challenging it might be to build a tangible case for liberal education in today’s crowded market. The speaker will give perspective to U of L’s long standing commitment of supporting liberal education and offer insight into U of L’s decision to

Hurricanes, typhoons, killer heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires — these things seem to be getting worse all the time. Are these events caused by global warming? Or are they just bad weather? Climate scientists are careful to explain that one cannot attribute any particular storm or wildfire to climate change alone. But there is strong evidence that global warming is steadily increasing the chance that the intensity and sometimes the frequency of such disasters will occur. Climate is complex, but the simple fact is that there is more heat than there used to be in the atmosphere and oceans and all that heat has to go somewhere. And go it will, whether or not there are people with their vulnerable infrastructures in the way. Is the human species doomed? The speaker will say that reports of our imminent extinction are greatly exaggerated. But there is no hope of getting through our present ecological bottleneck without acknowledging the reality and the seriousness of the self-induced survival cha

Hurricanes, typhoons, killer heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires — these things seem to be getting worse all the time. Are these events caused by global warming? Or are they just bad weather? Climate scientists are careful to explain that one cannot attribute any particular storm or wildfire to climate change alone. But there is strong evidence that global warming is steadily increasing the chance that the intensity and sometimes the frequency of such disasters will occur. Climate is complex, but the simple fact is that there is more heat than there used to be in the atmosphere and oceans and all that heat has to go somewhere. And go it will, whether or not there are people with their vulnerable infrastructures in the way. Is the human species doomed? The speaker will say that reports of our imminent extinction are greatly exaggerated. But there is no hope of getting through our present ecological bottleneck without acknowledging the reality and the seriousness of the self-induced survival cha

At a time when The House of Commons, The Senate and all institutions generally are facing criticism, it can be argued that the long awaited reform of the Canadian Senate couldn’t come at a better time. Indeed, a group of Senators are working on reforms to make the institution less partisan and more effective. The initiative is still being defined and obviously not everyone agrees with recommended changes. However, in the face of public disillusionment with the Senate, bold and decisive reform seems appropriate. Nevertheless, such changes cannot be made without careful consideration by the 36 Conservatives, 35 Independents, 18 Liberals and 7 Non-affiliated Senators currently making up Canada’s Senate. The speaker will relate her views on Senate reform and describe how partisanship sometimes can be beneficial and other times not, while debating legislation and considering amendments to such.   Speaker: The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M. was appointed to t

At a time when The House of Commons, The Senate and all institutions generally are facing criticism, it can be argued that the long awaited reform of the Canadian Senate couldn’t come at a better time. Indeed, a group of Senators are working on reforms to make the institution less partisan and more effective. The initiative is still being defined and obviously not everyone agrees with recommended changes. However, in the face of public disillusionment with the Senate, bold and decisive reform seems appropriate. Nevertheless, such changes cannot be made without careful consideration by the 36 Conservatives, 35 Independents, 18 Liberals and 7 Non-affiliated Senators currently making up Canada’s Senate. The speaker will relate her views on Senate reform and describe how partisanship sometimes can be beneficial and other times not, while debating legislation and considering amendments to such.   Speaker: The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M. was appointed to t

In December 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released their 94 “Calls to Action” calling on all forms of government to begin the process of Reconciliation. The Lethbridge Indigenous Sharing Network (LISN), which is a network of Urban Indigenous Agencies, came together to start discussing Urban Indigenous issues in Lethbridge. In 2016, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit and Native Counselling Services, led the LISN through a series of strategic planning sessions, which resulted in the creation of a community based “Urban Indigenous Community Plan”. Of the recommendations in the plan, reconciliation was considered a main priority to be addressed. In September 2016, a reconciliation sub-committee was formed consisting of many stakeholders and the process towards creating a “Reconciliation Implementation Plan” commenced. The reconciliation sub-committee collaborated with appropriate members of Lethbridge City Council and administration and consulted with Elders from the Blackfoot Confe

In December 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released their 94 “Calls to Action” calling on all forms of government to begin the process of Reconciliation. The Lethbridge Indigenous Sharing Network (LISN), which is a network of Urban Indigenous Agencies, came together to start discussing Urban Indigenous issues in Lethbridge. In 2016, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit and Native Counselling Services, led the LISN through a series of strategic planning sessions, which resulted in the creation of a community based “Urban Indigenous Community Plan”. Of the recommendations in the plan, reconciliation was considered a main priority to be addressed. In September 2016, a reconciliation sub-committee was formed consisting of many stakeholders and the process towards creating a “Reconciliation Implementation Plan” commenced. The reconciliation sub-committee collaborated with appropriate members of Lethbridge City Council and administration and consulted with Elders from the Blackfoot Confe

During a white nationalists protest rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA on August 12, 2017, a 20-year-old man allegedly accelerated his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman, Heather Heyer, and wounding many others. This particular conflict over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert Lee from Charlottesville had been brewing for months, but since the founding of the nation, racial tensions have been present. It can be argued that the confrontation by the white nationalists in Charlottesville, where Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819, was not a fluke as this is the tension the city was founded on and it has long been an ideological battleground. Judging by the response of both protestors and national leaders to the violence on August 12, the history of racial conflict continues to be at the epicentre of the nation’s future. But is the violence in Charlottesville part of a larger movement? Has KKK, white nationalists/supremacists and Nazi sympathiz

During a white nationalists protest rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA on August 12, 2017, a 20-year-old man allegedly accelerated his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman, Heather Heyer, and wounding many others. This particular conflict over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert Lee from Charlottesville had been brewing for months, but since the founding of the nation, racial tensions have been present. It can be argued that the confrontation by the white nationalists in Charlottesville, where Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819, was not a fluke as this is the tension the city was founded on and it has long been an ideological battleground. Judging by the response of both protestors and national leaders to the violence on August 12, the history of racial conflict continues to be at the epicentre of the nation’s future. But is the violence in Charlottesville part of a larger movement? Has KKK, white nationalists/supremacists and Nazi sympathiz

BikeMaps.org is a project that collects reports about cycling collisions and related data and presents the information on an interactive online map and through visualized data (bar charts). More importantly, it also provides information about near-misses, hazards, and bicycle thefts. What makes BikeMaps.org so interesting is that in addition to the official police reports, it collects information provided by cyclists themselves. This is valuable because the data provided by police reports are often very limited and don’t show everything happening on the road and trails. BikeMaps.org began at the University of Victoria in October 2014. In partnership with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), BikeMaps.org received $930,000 from the Public Health Agency of Canada to bring the project to more Canadian cities. It wants to help government planning and infrastructure development for cycling, and it also hopes to encourage more people to get on their bicycles. The speaker will give perspective to how th

Racism is a serious world-wide issue and recently it was on display in Lethbridge, proving that racism is still alive in this community, despite efforts on many fronts to the contrary. Grad students from a local high school organized a “Cowboys and Indians” themed graduation party held off campus and images of students wearing headdresses, war paint and feathers was shared on social media. Many indigenous peoples were upset by the theme and event, which they say illustrates the brutal history of colonization and minimizes the importance of indigenous cultures. Some of the students involved apologized for the theme saying that the event was not intended to be a racist party and that they were very sorry about their actions while apologizing to the aboriginal communities. Although the event was privately held and only attended by some grad students, the school later called an assembly to address the concerns. Dialog among the school and students are continuing, but what is the take-away from this incident?

Racism is a serious world-wide issue and recently it was on display in Lethbridge, proving that racism is still alive in this community, despite efforts on many fronts to the contrary. Grad students from a local high school organized a “Cowboys and Indians” themed graduation party held off campus and images of students wearing headdresses, war paint and feathers was shared on social media. Many indigenous peoples were upset by the theme and event, which they say illustrates the brutal history of colonization and minimizes the importance of indigenous cultures. Some of the students involved apologized for the theme saying that the event was not intended to be a racist party and that they were very sorry about their actions while apologizing to the aboriginal communities. Although the event was privately held and only attended by some grad students, the school later called an assembly to address the concerns. Dialog among the school and students are continuing, but what is the take-away from this incident?

SACPA is proud to present this session as part of the Gordon Campbell Memorial Speaker Series. China is achieving Great Power status based on its economic prowess, its political clout and its increasingly capable military. With the US under President Trump seemingly less willing to lead, China has shown a willingness to take onto itself a much more prominent role. President Xi Jingping and President Trump have, surprisingly, found much common ground, both on trade issues, but also in dealing with the dangerous question of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capability. What does a rising China mean for Canada, and for the international community? What are the benefits and what are the risks of a prosperous Chinese state and a mature or possibly declining United States? Issues ranging from the South China Sea to the Korean Peninsula will be addressed. Speaker: Gordon Houlden Professor Gordon Houlden is the Director of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor of Bus

SACPA is proud to present this session as part of the Gordon Campbell Memorial Speaker Series. China is achieving Great Power status based on its economic prowess, its political clout and its increasingly capable military. With the US under President Trump seemingly less willing to lead, China has shown a willingness to take onto itself a much more prominent role. President Xi Jingping and President Trump have, surprisingly, found much common ground, both on trade issues, but also in dealing with the dangerous question of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capability. What does a rising China mean for Canada, and for the international community? What are the benefits and what are the risks of a prosperous Chinese state and a mature or possibly declining United States? Issues ranging from the South China Sea to the Korean Peninsula will be addressed. Speaker: Gordon Houlden Professor Gordon Houlden is the Director of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor of Bus

Canada has a long and sometimes forgotten history of accepting refugees dating back to its founding. This history connects with present-day refugee approaches and challenges that are in contrast with the emerging policies and attitudes south of our border and in many other countries. It is not only Canada’s reliance on a provision in the 1976 Immigration Act that allows for groups of individuals to privately sponsor refugees that makes Canada a possible model for other countries, but our distinction as an accepting and supportive home for refugees. Refugees to Canada indeed come from war-torn, discriminatory and poor countries throughout the world. Canada resettled 60,000 refugees from places like Vietnam and Cambodia between 1979 and 1980, for example, including about 34,000 who were privately sponsored. Nearly 300,000 refugees have resettled in Canada since the late 1970s.That extraordinary effort helped Canada win the 1986 UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award in recognition of the collective work of the governm