Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

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 not a frequent occurrence, but arises in cases where the law seems at odds with justice. The most famous case in Canada was that of Henry Morgentaler, who was tried four times for conducting abortions in the 1970s and 80s when this was clearly illegal. There was no question that Morgentaler had conducted abortions in defiance of the law; he publicly admitted to having conducted thousands of them and even conducted one on television. But none of his four juries would convict him. Why don’t more people know about this power of jury nullification? Most judges want juries to follow the law and render verdicts accordingly, and they do everything they can to suppress the possibility of juries acting independently of the law. That is understandable: judges are agents of the legal system and their job is to make the system work. So they correctly emphasize the law in their instructions to juries. We ought not to expect them to do otherwise. It would seem reasonable then, that defense lawyers could tell juries that they have this right. But in Canada, lawyers are prohibited from mentioning that possibility to juries. It is all a big secret and as such, it is not available to most juries. If they do not know about this power they cannot use it. The speaker will contend that some Canadian defendants may be blocked from having the benefit of an independent jury, which arguable could be a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Speaker: Gary Bauslaugh Gary Bauslaugh is a writer and editor who spent many years as teacher and administrator in the BC College and University system, ending with a stint in 1994 to 98 as CEO of a Provincial education agency. Bauslaugh, who has a PhD in Chemistry from McGill, has written scientific research papers as well as many articles for various publications such as The Skeptical Inquirer, The Humanist, Humanist Perspectives, University Affairs and Policy Options. In the early 2000’s he wrote a series of seventeen op ed articles for the Vancouver Sun. He was Editor of the magazine Humanist Perspectives (previously The Humanist in Canada) from 2003 to 2008. His boo

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 is the President of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and active with Hockey Alberta. Away from hockey, he has agriculture businesses in Canada, USA and Chile. Brian Wichers is a Lethbridge businessman and strong supporter of many community associations. He is currently the Vice-President of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

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 is the President of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and active with Hockey Alberta. Away from hockey, he has agriculture businesses in Canada, USA and Chile. Brian Wichers is a Lethbridge businessman and strong supporter of many community associations. He is currently the Vice-President of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

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 requested. Speakers: Tim Robillard and David Hill Tim Robillard and David Hill are speaking as company representatives Moderator: Bob Campbell Date: Thursday, October 3, 2013 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch)

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 requested. Speakers: Tim Robillard and David Hill Tim Robillard and David Hill are speaking as company representatives Moderator: Bob Campbell Date: Thursday, October 3, 2013 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch)

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 City Committee. The LHS Heritage Conservation Committee, one of many initiatives of the historical society, is designed to advocate for historic buildings. Belinda is also the current President of the Historical Society of Alberta and the author of four books on local history.

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 City Committee. The LHS Heritage Conservation Committee, one of many initiatives of the historical society, is designed to advocate for historic buildings. Belinda is also the current President of the Historical Society of Alberta and the author of four books on local history.

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. She directed the UCLA Center for the Study of Women from 1996-2000, and co-edited the journal Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society from 2000-05. She is the author or editor of fifteen books and special journal issues including: Sciences From Below: Feminisms, Postcolonialities and Modernities and The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader. Dr. Harding has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam, the University of Costa Rica, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and the Asian Institute of Technology. She has been a consultant to several United Nations organizations including the Pan American Health Organization, UNESCO, the U.N. Development Fund for Women, and the U.N. Commission on Science and Technology for Development. In 2007-08 she was a Phi Beta Kappa national lecturer. She has lectured at over 300 colleges, universities, and conferences on five continents.

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. She directed the UCLA Center for the Study of Women from 1996-2000, and co-edited the journal Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society from 2000-05. She is the author or editor of fifteen books and special journal issues including: Sciences From Below: Feminisms, Postcolonialities and Modernities and The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader. Dr. Harding has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam, the University of Costa Rica, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and the Asian Institute of Technology. She has been a consultant to several United Nations organizations including the Pan American Health Organization, UNESCO, the U.N. Development Fund for Women, and the U.N. Commission on Science and Technology for Development. In 2007-08 she was a Phi Beta Kappa national lecturer. She has lectured at over 300 colleges, universities, and conferences on five continents.

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 ensure that the challenge of flooding is minimized, but also to have the community members be made aware of, and fully involved in, future risks concerning their community. Speaker: Dr. Tom Johnston Tom Johnston enrolled at the University of Guelph after graduating from high school in 1975. Selecting geography for his major, he earned two degrees at Guelph, a B.A. and an M.A. After working for a year as a Research Associate in the Geography Department at Guelph, Johnston entered the University of Waterloo where he completed his Ph.D. in 1989. Johnston then travelled to New Zealand to take up Post-doctoral fellowship in the Geography Department at Massey University in Palmerston North for one year before accepting an appointment at the University of Lethbridge in the summer of 1990. Included among his areas of research interest are the human dimensions of natural hazards.