Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Ross Kilgour and George Kuhl will provide an overview of the City of Lethbridge’s heritage program. Why should we protect Lethbridge’s heritage? How does the City’s heritage program work today? And how will the upcoming new Heritage Management Plan change things? Speaker: Ross Kilgour and George Kuhl George Kuhl is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge with professional roots in urban and regional planning. As a planner with the Oldman River Regional Planning Commission, George worked on City of Lethbridge projects and an array of rural and small-town projects for over 21 years providing him with invaluable community development experience. He became Senior Development Officer for the City of Lethbridge in 1997 and led the Planning Department for nearly 7 years before becoming the Downtown Revitalization Manager. In 2004, George was advisor to City Council’s Downtown Revitalization Steering Committee (DRSC); his role evolved to becoming the Heart of Our City Master Plan Project Manager. George continues

For nearly 60 years, L’Arche has transformed the lives of people with and without intellectual disabilities around the world. Beginning in France in 1964, at a time when countless people with disabilities in the Western Hemisphere still languished in institutions, separated from their families and cast off from society, L’Arche founders dared to proclaim that people with developmental disabilities had essential gifts to contribute to society. Since then, across Canada and around the world, L’Arche has been creating communities of friendship and belonging, inviting people both with and without intellectual disabilities to live, work, learn, and grow together in homes, day programs and social enterprises. L’Arche demonstrates that when persons with intellectual disabilities take their place at the table, they contribute to a more just, compassionate, and vibrant world for all. L’Arche Lethbridge is a member of L’Arche International and is comprised of three homes in the city. Our speaker will outline how the m

Our official K-12 school curriculum embodies the state’s answer to the question: What must children learn so they can function appropriately as adults in our society? Answering this question is always complicated because it is an expression of what we, as a society, value. The past decade, however, has seen public and professional discussion around curriculum reform descend into ideologically-driven, partisan conflict in Alberta. This talk will address what makes curriculum development complex and how and why the process has become so contentious in the past decade. Finally, it will suggest how we might move forward to ensure that Alberta students get the high-quality curriculum they deserve.   Speaker:    Amy von Heyking Moderator:  Beverly Muendel-Atherstone   Amy von Heyking is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge. Her PhD in Educational Policy Studies focused on the history of Alberta school curriculum, particularly citizenship education. She is the author of 

The speaker will discuss the importance of having this conversation now, while sharing some of her own experience.  She will identify some of the statistics (reported cases, non-reported cases, hospitalizations, deaths, affected children) and what research shows would be a huge step to stop domestic violence before it starts – looking at Mental Health and resilience, stable and positive parenting. The speaker will review what warning signs indicate a possible abusive relationship; why someone being victimized by domestic violence finds it difficult or impossible to leave, and what you can do to be part of the solution   Speaker:    Maria Fitzpatrick Moderator:  Mary Shillington   Maria was born and raised in St. John’s, NL.  She attended Memorial University of Newfoundland pursuing a conjoint degree in Education and Physical Education.  She is a mother, grandmother and a great-grandmother. Maria has worked all across Canada as well as in the United States for 45 years. She has been a teacher, recreation super

Alona will recount how she escaped Ukraine two weeks after Russia invaded her country. She fled with her two teenage boys from Dnipro to Kyiv where she had to make several arduous trips by train to Poland to arrange for visas under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) program which is one of the many special measures the Government of Canada has introduced to support the people of Ukraine. It offers Ukrainians and their family members free, extended temporary status and allows them to work, study, and stay in Canada until it is safe for them to return home. Once authorization was obtained, she and her sons were bused to France where arrangements were made for her family to come and settle in Lethbridge with the help of Lethbridge’s Project Sunflower Aid Society. Speaker:   Alona Sinchuk        Moderator: Mark Goettel Alona was born in Vinnytsia Ukraine and lived in several cities before settling in Dnipro. She has two teenage boys, Stepan, 14, and Arsenii, 12.    She obtained a degree

Danielle Smith is the new leader of the United Conservative Party and premier of Alberta. She is a well-known politician and media personality, but who actually is she? How did she become the UCP’s leader? What does she believe? And where are her political beliefs likely to take the province? These are but a few of the questions the talk will attempt to answer.   Speaker:   Trevor Harrison Moderator:   Colleen Quintal   Trevor W. Harrison is a professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge. He is the 2022 recipient of the U of L Speaker Research Award and former director of the Parkland Institute (2011–2021), of which he was also a founding member. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of nine books, numerous journal articles, chapters, and reports, and a frequent contributor to public media, including radio and television.

A recent report by SHENLA highlights that child and family poverty is an important issue in Lethbridge and area. This report was funded by the City of Lethbridge and the Government of Canada and prepared by HelpSeeker in collaboration with SHENLA. While rates of poverty have declined somewhat over the last twenty years, children 0-5 years of age continue to experience higher rates of low income across age groups. This presentation will explore which groups of children are differentially affected by poverty in our community, the impacts of poverty, and why action is needed. Child poverty is associated with a cascade of negative impacts over the life course, and a variety of negative impacts at a community level.  Recommendations for urgent action are identified. What is the City of Lethbridge’s strategy to address poverty? The speaker will argue that a collective impact approach with broad community participation and municipal support is required to address and end child and family poverty in our community. Sp

Like many other communities across the country, the City of Lethbridge is seeing an increase in individuals experiencing homelessness. Without adequate shelters, transitional and permanent supportive housing in the city, an increase in encampments is being identified throughout the city.  Many questions, ideas, concerns, and comments have been provided over the last several months regarding the solution to encampments and homelessness. Homelessness is a complex social issue, which requires collaboration from stakeholders across the city, the province and the country. Although affordable housing and homelessness supports are the responsibility of the Provincial Government, Lethbridge City Council recently authorized additional funding allocations to provide more services, outreach support and resources to help the vulnerable population in the city.  The speaker will explain the complexity of this issue, the jurisdiction of housing, what the city is currently doing and what the public can do to be part of the s

Mandy will provide an overview of the Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association and all of their hands-on grassroot initiatives as they relate to local food security, sustainability, community building, and reducing waste. The speaker will offer suggestions for simple ways of engaging our local food supporting initiatives, businesses, and organizations. She will discuss the importance of relationships and how this fundamental caring for one another increases our community ability to feed ourselves better while increasing our resiliency to the changing climate and political world instability. During a time where we are seeing food prices and inflation skyrocketing, we want to know that we have agency in where and how our food comes to us. Mandy will point to many local examples of projects, and groups who are making traction towards a more community secure food system.   Speaker:     Mandy Sandbach - Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association and SOULfully SOIL             Mandy Sandbach is an ally, student and

The current social and educational discourse has brought to the forefront the urgent need to address systemic barriers and injustices that have historically excluded voices within academic spaces. The racial and social disparities were further exacerbated by the covid 19 pandemic which has also shown huge gaps within groups, communities, and countries around the world. Educational institutions as an agent of social change have an ethical responsibility to not only acknowledge its role in perpetuating the disparities of historically excluded groups but to be an active participant to call out and address them. The speaker will identify key foundational and guiding principles for EDI (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) and Belonging and will make the ethical and business case for EDI. She will address the myths that continue to impact the successful implementation of EDI strategies, and discuss the importance of allyship & advocacy and the role faculty, staff, students, administrators play in championing equ

Treaty 7 is an agreement between the Canadian government and several, mainly Blackfoot, First Nation band governments in what is today Southern Alberta. The idea of developing treaties for Blackfoot lands was suggested to Blackfoot Chief Crowfoot in 1875. Negotiations were concluded two years later and on September 22, 1877, the agreement was signed at the present-day Siksika Nation reserve, east of Calgary. Chief Crowfoot was one of the signatories to Treaty 7. Another signing of this treaty occurred December 4, 1877 to accommodate other Blackfoot leaders who were not present at the primary September 1877 signing. The Canadian government wanted the treaty to allow them to build the railroad across Canada, but the implications for the Indigenous people after the signing of Treaty 7 were mainly suffering and hardship. The buffalo disappeared rapidly and the promised support from Canada’s government to help transition the First Nations bands into an agricultural lifestyle did largely not happen. The speaker wil

Farming Smarter is a policy governed, non-profit organization with by-laws under the Alberta Societies Act. It is also a Canadian Charity registered under the Canada Revenue Agency. Their farming related projects and programs access funds from numerous sources including research grants, foundations, industry, partners, and all levels of government. The speaker will argue, and many people tend to agree, that applied agri-food research is very important. Yet, funding is a big issue. Rarely have significant government investments been made available and future funding is uncertain. The research Farming Smarter does may not be the most attractive, but it’s the type farmers at field level most value. The fact that Farming Smarter works for farmers and not corporate interests, increases the trust among producers that the information they are getting, is more than just an advertisement for the latest product available. For the family farm to survive, research, innovation and funding of such will be a main challenge

A coordinated effort of reactionary columnists, conservative politicians, right-wing think tanks and others are lining up to push the narrative that our public health care is “broken”; they predictably go on to conclude that the only solution is to privatize it. But the truth is our system isn’t broken, it’s being intentionally dismantled for the benefit of private profits.  There is no doubt that our public health care system is struggling under a series of crises: the ongoing pandemic, a deadly drug poisoning crisis, chronic short staffing and burnout, bed and unit closures, chronic EMS red alerts, the impacts of years of austerity and cuts, and so much more. But rather than respond to this urgent situation with urgent action, our provincial government is using this to justify an aggressive spree of privatization - with recent announcements privatizing surgeries, community labs, ophthalmology, seniors care, home care, food services, and even a scheme to send Alberta surgeons along with their patients to pri

The Lethbridge Drug Treatment Court is contained within the criminal justice system and operates within the same legal framework that governs all adult criminal court proceedings in the Provincial Court of Alberta. The drug court operates based on a guilty plea with a delayed sentencing process (s.720 (2) of the Criminal Code) with entry being dependent on the consent of the Crown, Court, and the Accused. The Lethbridge Drug Treatment Court program is founded on national and international principles for drug treatment courts, is committed to community justice and restoration and are a support service program under the direction of McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association. The speaker will talk about what the court is, how it operates, and the expectations and model of the program.   Speaker:   Chelsey De Groot and Brett Carlson           My Blackfoot name is Naamiitaapii Aahkkoiyiiniimaki. I hold a Master of Arts in Leadership, Bachelor of Applied Arts in Justice Studies, and a Diploma in Child

There are an increasing number of urban jurisdictions that are allowing egg-laying chickens/hens. Arguable, the reasons are clear - chickens provide protein, great fertilizer, pest control and are easy to maintain. But the bigger reason for keeping chickens may be for people to get more control of their food supply, just like growing vegetables etc. Following the past few years of the Covid pandemic, we all know food security should not be taken for granted and urban planning to allow for small scale food production can help many people meet their basic needs. The speakers will argue that urban food production is sustainable and helpful for us to live in this world without depleting its resources. Speakers:                    Gilles Leclair and Kelti Baird Gilles is a founding member and past-president of the Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association. He created the Applefest (an event to promote local food sustainability) and was a long-time executive member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Leth

People increasingly spend a lot of time looking at screens and particularly so during these past two years of the Covid pandemic. Social media chatter and news on computers, phones and other devices have become a big part of our lives. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two technologies that are changing the way we use screens, while creating new and exciting interactive experiences. Virtual reality uses a headset to place you in a computer-generated world that you can explore. Rather than transporting you to a computer-generated world, augmented reality overlays digital content on top of the physical world using a wearable headset of mobile device. The speaker will explain the exciting world of VR/AR and discuss the consequences of this ever-expansive technology.   Speaker:  Michael McCready   Mike McCready is educator and researcher with a focus on immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. He has over 20 years of development and is driven to explore new technologies and

Kathleen hopes to illuminate the ongoing colonial agenda and its extension into COVID-19 and public health relations. Particularly, she will focus on how anti-mask groups- who refer to themselves as Freedom Fighters have interacted with formal institutions like public health, and vice versa, to create expendable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes to demonstrate how Freedom Fighters and public health alike perpetuate colonialism through a new arena of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will provide a perspective critical of both public health and groups like Freedom Fighters’ role in the erasure of lives and ways of knowing. Most importantly, this presentation will ask viewers to reflect upon their positions in society and locate how they may contribute to colonialism knowingly or unknowingly. Speaker:   Kathleen Mah                 Kathleen Mah is a recent graduate of the University of Lethbridge with her BA in Anthropology and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She originally comes from Calgary A

The United Conservative Party (UCP) members voted by mail-in ballots from April 9 to May 11 whether or not they have confidence in their leader and on May 18, 2022, the result was scheduled to be announced. Originally, a special general meeting was planned to be an in-person voting event in Red Deer, but because of soaring attendee numbers, it was decided by the provincial UCP board to move the vote to a mail-in ballot over a five-week period. Plenty of questions have surrounded the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney and his UCP government since being elected in 2019 and even before, in 2017, when Kenney won the UCP leadership race ahead of Brian Jean in a contest still being investigated by the RCMP. The speaker will look back on the past few years of notable controversies involving Kenney before the leadership review and as well, analyze how the result of such, may affect the UCP, Albertans and Alberta politics.         Speaker:  Dr. Duane Bratt Duane Bratt is a political science Professor in the Department

Mahdi will share his journey crossing the gate as Afghanistan fell and the events leading up to it. He will also cover current events, what to believe and what not to believe as well as his process times and integration into first, the United States and now into Canada.  He still has a brother stuck in Abu Dhabi that has been left behind from the NGO that brought him out. There is lots to cover and much to be still resolved. Jennel will share her own journey of desperation in finding ways to get Mahdi out of the country via Canadian Politicians, as well as her involvement with the evacuation of other Afghans and their procurement of special immigrant visas. Speakers:   Mahdi and Jennel Taheri                 Mahdi and Jennel Taheri met six years ago through a high school friend who deployed four times to Afghanistan for the United States Military.  It was through a friend of a friend on social media, that brought this unlikely pair together. Mahdi spent many years serving as a combat Interpreter and Cultural

The Canadian Red Cross has played a significant role in Canadian society for over 120 years, helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting communities in strengthening their resilience.   The speaker will provide an overview of the Canadian Red Cross’ membership in the IFRC (International Federation Red Cross), as well as discussing their mandate, mission and fundamental principles and how they work in Canada and around the world.  Additionally, the speaker will reflect on the Canadian Red Cross’ work and learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic; and provide an update on the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis.    Speaker:     Mark Holzer               Mark began his career in Emergency Management with the American Red Cross, prior to returning to Canada and joining the Canadian Red Cross in 2018. While in the U.S. Mark supported many local responses in Southwestern Pennsylvania, as well as Hurricane Sandy and the Haiti earthquake. Now based in Edmonton, AB Mark supports th