Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The session will address the history of CPP, who governs CPP, relationship to QPP, funding methodology for pensions, necessary changes to ensure viability in the 1990s, the unfunded liability, viability of the current plan, fiduciary responsibilities of decision makers, ownership of the assets, who gets the liability on separation, the UCP proposal, gaping holes in their promises, UCP’s ability to manage the referendum, and finally serious questions for Albertans to ponder.

Speaker: David Bruce Carpenter

Chartered accountant, tax emphasis, FCA. Involved in private publishing, printing, real estate. Board Trustee Calloway REIT. Lethbridge City Councillor: 3 terms; additional five terms as Mayor of Lethbridge. Director, Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Vice-Chair, The Special Forces Pension Plan. Chair, WCB-Alberta. Director, Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada. Director, Alberta Capital Finance Authority. Chair of Finance, Audit and Risk Committees as well as Official Administrator of Alberta Health Services. Alberta Human Rights Commission award for advances in native/non-native relations. Honoured with the Blackfoot name of Piita Poot-Ta (Flying Eagle). Alberta Venture Magazine (July 1998) honoree as one of the 50 most influential people in Alberta. Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel 20 Independent Field Battery and Honorary Colonel 18 Air Defence Regiment. Awarded four commemorative medals. Commendation by Secretary of State for contributions to Canadian citizenship. Senate sesquicentennial medal recognizing valuable service to the nation.

There is a wealth of evidence highlighting the bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. This communication highway, facilitated by many pathways, forms the cornerstone of what we now recognize as the gut-brain axis. But why should we care about this intricate web of connections?

The answer lies in the profound implications it holds for our overall health and wellness. Research has shown that disruptions in the delicate balance of the gut-brain axis can contribute to a wide array of health issues, ranging from gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to neurological conditions such as anxiety and depression.

However, amidst the challenges lie immense opportunities. By understanding how the gut and brain communicate, we can optimize the functioning of this axis, paving the way for improved gut health, enhanced cognitive function, and greater overall well-being.

Speaker: Dr. Chelsea Matisz

Chelsea Matisz obtained a MSc in Parasitology at the University of Lethbridge, and her PhD in Gastrointestinal Sciences at the University of Calgary (2016). She is an NSERC postdoctoral scholar at the Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge, where her research seeks to understand how gut health affects brain health and mental health. She has received national awards, including an Alice E Wilson Award from the Royal Society of Canada (2022), and L’Oreal Wilson Women in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Recently, the Alberta government announced an investment of over $200 million to train more physicians for rural areas, with a significant share of that money being invested at ULethbridge for a new rural medical education program training centre, one of two that will be established in the province. ULethbridge will be working with the University of Calgary on the centre here while the University of Alberta will partner with Northwestern Polytechnic to develop one in Grand Prairie.

Capital funding of $43.2 million is being invested at ULethbridge. The speakers will detail the current state of health science education at ULethbridge, the vision for distributed medical education and different successful models that exist, the challenges involved in starting a medical education training centre, but also the many possible benefits to not only ULethbridge and Lethbridge but to rural Alberta and beyond.

Speaker: Dr. Jon Doan

Jon Doan is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. Jon completed his PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience at ULethbirdge in 2006 and started his faculty position in the Department of Kinesiology the year previous. Jon’s teaching and research is in the area of biomechanics, with an interest in the intersection between context and movements in the workplace and the community. His work also looks at exercise as movement therapy for people living with Parkinson disease.

This talk will outline the brain bases of age-related dementia. Dementias can be reversed or avoided by modifying specific risk factors. Some are only available early in life, while others can be addressed in later years. A current understanding of the full range of risk factors, modifiable and non-modifiable, will be presented.

Speaker: Dr. Rob Sutherland

Rob Sutherland is Professor & Chair of Neuroscience, Tier 1 Board of Governors Research Chair in Neuroscience, Director of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, and Director of the Hub for Neuroengineering Solutions. He was recently elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was awarded the Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award by the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science. He has held faculty positions at the University of Lethbridge, University of New Mexico, University of Colorado Boulder, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Please join us for a session that cuts through the confusion surrounding hearing loss and cognitive health with info on:

• A clear breakdown of the links between hearing loss and cognitive decline.
• How your brain health could be affected by untreated hearing loss.
• Strategies to protect your hearing and minimize risks.
• How to identify misleading marketing and scare tactics being used in the hearing health
• industry.

Speaker: Glenn Hole

Glenn is a published researcher interested in psychoacoustics, hearing aid technology, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Audiology from Bristol University in the UK (2009), an Advanced Studies Certification in Tinnitus and Hyperacusis (2016), and a Master of Science degree in Clinical Audiology from Salus University (2020).

Glenn is undertaking his Doctor of Audiology AuD degree course and will graduate in 2025. Outside work, Glenn enjoys fitness, music, hiking, camping, and spending time with his wife and three young children.

The latest data indicates a concerning increase in drug-related incidents and overdose deaths in Lethbridge. Over the past years, there has been a significant rise in the use of opioids and methamphetamines. The trend mirrors the provincial and national crisis but is exacerbated locally by socio-economic factors unique to Lethbridge. Sergeant Darroch will provide an updated overview of the ongoing drug crisis in Lethbridge. He will explore current trends, the community impact, response efforts, and propose directions for future intervention.

Speaker: Sergeant Ryan Darroch

Sgt. Ryan Darroch is with the Lethbridge Police Service Downtown Policing Unit. He is in 21st year of policing with Lethbridge Police Service with the bulk of his career being in a front line role. He has spent his first 5 years on the street in patrol division, then the Special Operations Unit which morphed into ALERT, patrol again, Intel Section and then into the Downtown Policing Unit in 2017 during the height of the drug crisis.

In 2022, Darroch was moved into the Sergeant role of the Downtown Policing Unit where he currently works. His most important job in life is being a dad of two amazing young ladies and married to a fantastic lady.

In the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada, the purpose of protecting freedom of expression is to enable “the pursuit of truth, participation in the community, and individual self-fulfillment and human flourishing.” However, expressive freedoms can be and have been subject to limits. Where these limits should be located, and for what purposes, is a matter of near constant debate. The speaker will provide an overview of existing arguments for and against limiting freedom of expression.

Speaker: Dr. Susan Dieleman

In 2023, Dr. Dieleman was named the Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership and Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lethbridge. Before coming to Lethbridge, she taught at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2018-2023), the University of Saskatchewan (2015-2018) and Dalhousie University (2012-2015).

Dr. Dieleman completed her PhD in Philosophy at York University (2011), an MA in Public Policy and Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University (2012), an MA in Philosophy at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (2005) and a BA (Hons) in Philosophy at Wilfrid Laurier University (2002).

Join us for an enlightening presentation by Apooyak’ii / Dr. Tiffany Hind Bull-Prete as she delves into crucial topics surrounding the Stolen Children Era. Discover the origins of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and gain insight into why the Calls to Action are relevant to all of us. This lecture is a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of these important issues.

Speaker: Apooyak’ii/Dr. Tiffany Prete

Apooyak’ii/Dr. Tiffany Prete (nee Hind Bull) is a member of the Kainai (Blood Tribe) of the Siksikasitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), located in the Treaty 7 area. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge. Her program of work consists of implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action on the Blood Reserve.

Dr. Prete earned her bachelors of elementary education specializing in math and science, and completed her master of education and doctor of philosophy in education at the University of Alberta. She held both a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship, and was an inaugural recipient of the University of Calgary’s Provost’s postdoctoral award for Indigenous and Black scholars at the University of Calgary.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently a hot topic — some people tout it as the next best thing for increasing productivity and reducing costs while others are concerned robots will be replacing workers. Every day brings a new headline, and the average person may be left to wonder whether AI is a good or bad thing.

The speaker will argue that AI is in the midst of a big transition. Companies are looking at how to innovate and deliver more value for shareholders, that is, make more money by automating everything. But that can backfire, as has happened with self-checkouts. Overall, AI is just a tool with benefits and drawbacks and the legal system hasn’t caught up with the implications of AI, so it’s unlikely it’ll take over the world anytime soon. A house builder, for example, may find some AI tools helpful with certain aspects of the work, but humans are still needed to build the home.

Until computers get much more powerful, it’s going to be difficult to have AI analyze what people want and possibly transform our lives. Reality is, there’s a lot of hype in AI right now and that hype probably overestimates what we can do with it. AI can certainly be a useful tool, but it doesn’t replace what we can do as people, which is to come up with original ideas. The speaker will elaborate

Speaker: Dr. Sidney Shapiro

Dr. Shapiro is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at the Dhillon School of Business. With a decade of experience in data science, he specializes in integrating business intelligence, data engineering, and machine learning. Dr. Shapiro’s academic focus includes teaching data analytics courses and conducting research in AI applications in business.

Prior to his current role, he has led data science teams and contributed to academia as a program coordinator and educator. Dr. Shapiro holds a PhD in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies from Laurentian University focused on social network analytics. He is dedicated to equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary for the evolving field of data analytics.

oin us for an insightful presentation by Minister Nathan Neudorf, MLA for Lethbridge-East and Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities. Minister Neudorf will delve into the details of Alberta’s electricity market providing valuable insights into its current state and discussing key factors impacting electricity affordability.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Alberta’s electricity sector, and discover how government initiatives are working towards ensuring a reliable and affordable electricity grid for all Albertans. Don’t miss the opportunity to stay informed and engaged on critical issues shaping our province’s electricity landscape.

Speaker: Nathan Neudorf MLA for Lethbridge East

Nathan Neudorf was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge East on April 16, 2019, and was re-elected on May 29, 2023. Prior to his election, Mr. Neudorf worked in commercial construction. He has his civil and structural engineering diploma and is a red seal journeyman carpenter as well as a gold seal project manager.

An active community volunteer and leader, Mr. Neudorf served as the past president of the Lethbridge Construction Association and on the board of directors for the Alberta Construction Association, Alberta Construction Safety Association, and Worker’s Compensation Board. Nathan Neudorf was sworn in as Minister of Affordability and Utilities and Vice Chair of the Treasury Board on June 9, 2023. He previously served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure.

Mr. Neudorf, his wife Deanne, and their five children live in Lethbridge. In his spare time, he enjoys running with his wife and pet beagle and spending time outdoors.