Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The Alberta Biochar Initiative (ABI) was established on December 15, 2011 to develop and demonstrate technologies that will enable the large scale commercial deployment of biochar products and applications for the benefit of Albertans. Significant progress has been made including CFIA approval for Air Terra supplied biochar as a soil supplement, and the development of value added products including activated carbons from biochar. Biochar has particular benefits including the improvement of marginal soils, the reclamation of soils damaged by human activity, and its affinity to adsorb toxic organic extractive compounds from oil sands tailings water and the potential to capture mercury from coal fired power generating stations. It also sequesters carbon when applied to the soil. Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures (AITF) has been at the forefront of biochar research efforts and continues to lead the research and networking activities of the ABI after the successful conclusion of the WD funded project in June 2015. The speaker will provide an update on biochar research and the ABI. As a supplement to this presentation, Lethbridge College is providing a tour of their Aquaponics facility, which illustrates another opportunity to make the most of carbon dioxide produced and consumed by living organisms. The tour begins at 2:00 pm at the Aquaponics facility near the College (south end) Speaker: Don Harfield, P.Eng. P.M.P. Don Harfield is the Thermochemical Processing and Special Projects Leader of Alberta Innovates Technology Futures. Don specializes in the development of thermo-chemical biomass conversion technologies which convert solid waste materials into value added products and energy. Tour Host: Dr. Nick Savidov, M. Sc., Ph. D., Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian State Agricultural University, Moscow. Research Scientist, Lethbridge College. Moderator: Duane Pendergast Date: Thursday, June 2, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 pm Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

The Alberta Biochar Initiative (ABI) was established on December 15, 2011 to develop and demonstrate technologies that will enable the large scale commercial deployment of biochar products and applications for the benefit of Albertans. Significant progress has been made including CFIA approval for Air Terra supplied biochar as a soil supplement, and the development of value added products including activated carbons from biochar. Biochar has particular benefits including the improvement of marginal soils, the reclamation of soils damaged by human activity, and its affinity to adsorb toxic organic extractive compounds from oil sands tailings water and the potential to capture mercury from coal fired power generating stations. It also sequesters carbon when applied to the soil. Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures (AITF) has been at the forefront of biochar research efforts and continues to lead the research and networking activities of the ABI after the successful conclusion of the WD funded project in June 2015. The speaker will provide an update on biochar research and the ABI. As a supplement to this presentation, Lethbridge College is providing a tour of their Aquaponics facility, which illustrates another opportunity to make the most of carbon dioxide produced and consumed by living organisms. The tour begins at 2:00 pm at the Aquaponics facility near the College (south end) Speaker: Don Harfield, P.Eng. P.M.P. Don Harfield is the Thermochemical Processing and Special Projects Leader of Alberta Innovates Technology Futures. Don specializes in the development of thermo-chemical biomass conversion technologies which convert solid waste materials into value added products and energy. Tour Host: Dr. Nick Savidov, M. Sc., Ph. D., Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian State Agricultural University, Moscow. Research Scientist, Lethbridge College. Moderator: Duane Pendergast Date: Thursday, June 2, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 pm Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

Early in April the Alberta Progressive Conservative Caucus launched an initiative, “ENGAGE – A Conversation with Albertans”. ENGAGE will invite Albertans into a conversation about budget, finances and where our province is heading. With low oil prices, increasing budgetary pressures, and job losses in industries across the province, Alberta is experiencing many challenges.   ENGAGE will seek public input on a variety of policy issues facing Alberta. Ric McIver will address these issues, and invite response as to future directions for our province. We will hear an update on what he is hearing from Albertans in the early stages of this conversation. He will also address the recent provincial budget, the PC response to it and offer some ideas about where he would lead Albertans. Speaker: Alberta P.C. party leader, Ric McIver Ric McIver is the MLA for Calgary-Hays and Interim leader of PC Alberta. He currently serves as a member of Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services and as critic for Treasury Board & Finance, Municipal Affairs, and Labour portfolios.    Mr. McIver is a former cabinet minister who served on the Treasury Board and Transportation, Infrastructure and Jobs, Skills Training and Labour ministries. He is also a former City of Calgary alderman and a former food distribution and marketing wholesale business owner. He is married to Christine, the founder and CEO of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta Moderator:   Terry Shillington Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)

Early in April the Alberta Progressive Conservative Caucus launched an initiative, “ENGAGE – A Conversation with Albertans”. ENGAGE will invite Albertans into a conversation about budget, finances and where our province is heading. With low oil prices, increasing budgetary pressures, and job losses in industries across the province, Alberta is experiencing many challenges.   ENGAGE will seek public input on a variety of policy issues facing Alberta. Ric McIver will address these issues, and invite response as to future directions for our province. We will hear an update on what he is hearing from Albertans in the early stages of this conversation. He will also address the recent provincial budget, the PC response to it and offer some ideas about where he would lead Albertans. Speaker: Alberta P.C. party leader, Ric McIver Ric McIver is the MLA for Calgary-Hays and Interim leader of PC Alberta. He currently serves as a member of Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services and as critic for Treasury Board & Finance, Municipal Affairs, and Labour portfolios.    Mr. McIver is a former cabinet minister who served on the Treasury Board and Transportation, Infrastructure and Jobs, Skills Training and Labour ministries. He is also a former City of Calgary alderman and a former food distribution and marketing wholesale business owner. He is married to Christine, the founder and CEO of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta Moderator:   Terry Shillington Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)

The speaker will be discussing the current global refugee crisis and its implications for Canada. What are the root causes of the refugee crisis and how are governments responding? What are the limitations of the current government's announcement to welcome Syrian refugees? What are the systemic barriers to inclusion, access, permanent residency and full rights and dignity for all migrants, refugees, and migrant workers in Canada?  How can we oppose all forms of displacement and affirm the inherent human right to stay, freedom to move, and right to return. Speaker: Harsha Walia Harsha Walia is a South Asian author and activist, currently residing in Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish territories. Harsha is a cofounder of the migrant justice group, No One Is Illegal and the progressive South Asian network Radical Desis. She attended law school at UBC and currently works at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. Haesha is the author of Undoing Border Imperialism, which is currently in its second print run and she has won the CCPA Power of Youth Award, the Westender's Best of the City in Activism and been called "one of Canada's most brilliant and effective organizers" by Naomi Klein. Moderator:   Sage Strobel Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)

The speaker will be discussing the current global refugee crisis and its implications for Canada. What are the root causes of the refugee crisis and how are governments responding? What are the limitations of the current government's announcement to welcome Syrian refugees? What are the systemic barriers to inclusion, access, permanent residency and full rights and dignity for all migrants, refugees, and migrant workers in Canada?  How can we oppose all forms of displacement and affirm the inherent human right to stay, freedom to move, and right to return. Speaker: Harsha Walia Harsha Walia is a South Asian author and activist, currently residing in Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish territories. Harsha is a cofounder of the migrant justice group, No One Is Illegal and the progressive South Asian network Radical Desis. She attended law school at UBC and currently works at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. Haesha is the author of Undoing Border Imperialism, which is currently in its second print run and she has won the CCPA Power of Youth Award, the Westender's Best of the City in Activism and been called "one of Canada's most brilliant and effective organizers" by Naomi Klein. Moderator:   Sage Strobel Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)

Because the Royal Proclamation of 1763 stated that the Crown must negotiate and sign treaties with the indigenous people before land could be ceded to a colony, the Numbered Treaties were negotiated in most parts of the Prairie Provinces. The Government of the Colony of British Columbia however, largely failed to negotiate treaties and as a result, most of the province's land is not covered by treaties. The Numbered Treaties (or Post-Confederation Treaties) are a series of eleven treaties signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada (or First Nations) and the reigning monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. Today, these agreements are managed by the Government of Canada, administered by Canadian Aboriginal law and overseen by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. What are the myriad of issues related to the upholding of these treaties and how are non-treaties being viewed in the context of Canadian law? The speaker will paint a picture of the historical and current negotiation process and how First Nations Peoples arguable were/are at a disadvantage. Speaker: Don McIntyre Don McIntyre is an Ojibway of the Wolf Clan from Timiskaming First Nation and is an award winning painter and carver working throughout his life in the traditional style of his territories, and more recently layering modern urban-life visions into his work. A lifetime academic as well, Don is currently completing his PhD in Laws looking at Legal Pluralism and the abilities of Indigenous Socio-Legal practices to enhance and improve Western legal paradigms. He received his LLB/JD and Master of Laws from University of British Columbia. Briefly working in the area of Corporate-Commercial Litigation for a large international law firm, Don went on to launch his own law corporation specializing in the areas of Aboriginal Law, Governance, Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge, and Art Law. His passion for academics and creativity drew him away from his practice and naturally to teaching.  Don has taught at colleges, universities and in First Nation communities in North America and around the world providing knowledge in the areas of Indigenous Art and Traditions, Social Innovation, Law and Society, Negotiations, and Treaty. He is presently Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Native American Studies Department.  He is also ongoing faculty at The Banff Centre in the Indigenous Leadership and Management Development programs.  Moderator:   Larry Elford Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

Because the Royal Proclamation of 1763 stated that the Crown must negotiate and sign treaties with the indigenous people before land could be ceded to a colony, the Numbered Treaties were negotiated in most parts of the Prairie Provinces. The Government of the Colony of British Columbia however, largely failed to negotiate treaties and as a result, most of the province's land is not covered by treaties. The Numbered Treaties (or Post-Confederation Treaties) are a series of eleven treaties signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada (or First Nations) and the reigning monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. Today, these agreements are managed by the Government of Canada, administered by Canadian Aboriginal law and overseen by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. What are the myriad of issues related to the upholding of these treaties and how are non-treaties being viewed in the context of Canadian law? The speaker will paint a picture of the historical and current negotiation process and how First Nations Peoples arguable were/are at a disadvantage. Speaker: Don McIntyre Don McIntyre is an Ojibway of the Wolf Clan from Timiskaming First Nation and is an award winning painter and carver working throughout his life in the traditional style of his territories, and more recently layering modern urban-life visions into his work. A lifetime academic as well, Don is currently completing his PhD in Laws looking at Legal Pluralism and the abilities of Indigenous Socio-Legal practices to enhance and improve Western legal paradigms. He received his LLB/JD and Master of Laws from University of British Columbia. Briefly working in the area of Corporate-Commercial Litigation for a large international law firm, Don went on to launch his own law corporation specializing in the areas of Aboriginal Law, Governance, Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge, and Art Law. His passion for academics and creativity drew him away from his practice and naturally to teaching.  Don has taught at colleges, universities and in First Nation communities in North America and around the world providing knowledge in the areas of Indigenous Art and Traditions, Social Innovation, Law and Society, Negotiations, and Treaty. He is presently Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Native American Studies Department.  He is also ongoing faculty at The Banff Centre in the Indigenous Leadership and Management Development programs.  Moderator:   Larry Elford Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

The University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College are now partners in a project designed to further cooperation between the institutions in the delivery of agriculture-related programming. The agreement is a commitment between the university and college to collectively advance learning, research and innovation opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness, including the development of the Centre for Agricultural Research and Agribusiness Innovation (CARAI) and the implementation of the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program. It also calls for the formalization of initiatives that will bring together the mandates of other agencies and organizations in the region, such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry as well as relevant producer and agriculture industry companies and organizations. How will new programs benefit learners and the future of the agricultural industry? What will be the main focus of such research and innovation? Will the emphasis be mainly on large scale industrial farming or are smaller local producers also likely to benefit? Is sustainability the primary aim? Will crops depending on irrigation be prioritized? The speaker will explain challenges and possible benefits of this new project which is funded by both private and public money. Speaker: Mr. David Hill David Hill currently holds two roles at the University of Lethbridge. He is jointly appointed by the University of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge College as the Director of Development for the Southern Alberta Agriculture Program. This initiative brings together and integrates academic training, research and applied research across the university college in the areas of agriculture and agribusiness and capitalizes on research collaborations with federal, provincial, industry and producer groups. David is also the Director of Centres and Institutes and Research Advocacy for the University of Lethbridge. In this role, David assists university research institutes and centres in meeting their goals and objectives, in finding new opportunities for trans-disciplinary collaboration between centres and institutes and between the University of Lethbridge and other national and international research universities and organizations. David has over 40 years of experience in water, agriculture and natural resource management. He was a member of the Alberta Water Council for 9 years until joining the University of Lethbridge in 2012. David is the Chair of the ASTech Foundation, a Board member of the Agriculture and Food Council and Inside Education. He also serves as Water Policy Co-Chair for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region. Moderator:   Bobbi Cullum Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)

The University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College are now partners in a project designed to further cooperation between the institutions in the delivery of agriculture-related programming. The agreement is a commitment between the university and college to collectively advance learning, research and innovation opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness, including the development of the Centre for Agricultural Research and Agribusiness Innovation (CARAI) and the implementation of the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program. It also calls for the formalization of initiatives that will bring together the mandates of other agencies and organizations in the region, such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry as well as relevant producer and agriculture industry companies and organizations. How will new programs benefit learners and the future of the agricultural industry? What will be the main focus of such research and innovation? Will the emphasis be mainly on large scale industrial farming or are smaller local producers also likely to benefit? Is sustainability the primary aim? Will crops depending on irrigation be prioritized? The speaker will explain challenges and possible benefits of this new project which is funded by both private and public money. Speaker: Mr. David Hill David Hill currently holds two roles at the University of Lethbridge. He is jointly appointed by the University of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge College as the Director of Development for the Southern Alberta Agriculture Program. This initiative brings together and integrates academic training, research and applied research across the university college in the areas of agriculture and agribusiness and capitalizes on research collaborations with federal, provincial, industry and producer groups. David is also the Director of Centres and Institutes and Research Advocacy for the University of Lethbridge. In this role, David assists university research institutes and centres in meeting their goals and objectives, in finding new opportunities for trans-disciplinary collaboration between centres and institutes and between the University of Lethbridge and other national and international research universities and organizations. David has over 40 years of experience in water, agriculture and natural resource management. He was a member of the Alberta Water Council for 9 years until joining the University of Lethbridge in 2012. David is the Chair of the ASTech Foundation, a Board member of the Agriculture and Food Council and Inside Education. He also serves as Water Policy Co-Chair for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region. Moderator:   Bobbi Cullum Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)