Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

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.

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited under sections 15 and 28 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? The speaker contends that women's reduced political position in Canada is a result of 1) a lack of demand for women candidates from Canada's political parties; 2) the reaction of some (male) voters to women candidates; and 3) stereotypes about women's political engagement. All three go some to way explaining why women in Canada are so perniciously underrepresented in federal politics. Speaker: Melanee Thomas Melanee Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of gender-based political inequality in Canada and other post-industrial democracies. She has published research in journals such as Politics & Gender, Electoral Studies, and the Canadian Journal of Political Science. Dr. Thomas is well known to Lethbridge residents. As well as doing her first degree at the University of Lethbridge and serving as Students’ Union President, Dr. Thomas twice ran in the Lethbridge federal riding for the NDP.

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited under sections 15 and 28 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? The speaker contends that women's reduced political position in Canada is a result of 1) a lack of demand for women candidates from Canada's political parties; 2) the reaction of some (male) voters to women candidates; and 3) stereotypes about women's political engagement. All three go some to way explaining why women in Canada are so perniciously underrepresented in federal politics. Speaker: Melanee Thomas Melanee Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of gender-based political inequality in Canada and other post-industrial democracies. She has published research in journals such as Politics & Gender, Electoral Studies, and the Canadian Journal of Political Science. Dr. Thomas is well known to Lethbridge residents. As well as doing her first degree at the University of Lethbridge and serving as Students’ Union President, Dr. Thomas twice ran in the Lethbridge federal riding for the NDP.

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media about their research. The federal Government contends that when federal scientists speak with the media, they do so under media rules that were changed a few years ago. Interviews may now be permitted days, weeks or months after a request is made and by that time, of course, the story could be old news. The speaker will argue that there are few issues more fundamental to democracy than the freedom of our taxpayer funded scientists to follow their passion in research and our ability to access the scientific information that they produce. A society cannot make informed choices about critical issues if we don’t have the ability to examine relevant facts in a timely fashion. Speaker: Mark Goettel Ph.D. Mark is the Editor-in-Chief, Biocontrol Science & Technology and a presenter for Scientists in School, Southern Alberta Region. He is also a Jinshan Scholar, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Applied Ecology and Research, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China. He was employed at the Lethbridge Research Centre for 21 years as an Insect Pathologist studying insect pathogens and their role in managing pest insect populations. Mark earned his B.Sc. in Biology (Honors) at Concordia University 1975, his M.Sc. in Insect Eco-physiology at the University of Ottawa 1977 and his Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Alberta 1987. He conducted post-doctoral research at Cornell University in 1987 & 1988 and spent a year on work study leave in France at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. Moderator: Christina Cuthbertson Date: Thursday, June 13, 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) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media about their research. The federal Government contends that when federal scientists speak with the media, they do so under media rules that were changed a few years ago. Interviews may now be permitted days, weeks or months after a request is made and by that time, of course, the story could be old news. The speaker will argue that there are few issues more fundamental to democracy than the freedom of our taxpayer funded scientists to follow their passion in research and our ability to access the scientific information that they produce. A society cannot make informed choices about critical issues if we don’t have the ability to examine relevant facts in a timely fashion. Speaker: Mark Goettel Ph.D. Mark is the Editor-in-Chief, Biocontrol Science & Technology and a presenter for Scientists in School, Southern Alberta Region. He is also a Jinshan Scholar, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Applied Ecology and Research, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China. He was employed at the Lethbridge Research Centre for 21 years as an Insect Pathologist studying insect pathogens and their role in managing pest insect populations. Mark earned his B.Sc. in Biology (Honors) at Concordia University 1975, his M.Sc. in Insect Eco-physiology at the University of Ottawa 1977 and his Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Alberta 1987. He conducted post-doctoral research at Cornell University in 1987 & 1988 and spent a year on work study leave in France at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. Moderator: Christina Cuthbertson Date: Thursday, June 13, 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) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Has excessive partisanship eroded the “sober second thought” of the Senate? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed 58 Senators since taking office in 2006, despite his stated intention to either transform the Senate into an elected body or abolish it altogether. The Harper Government is presently seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its powers to change the Senate. Will the recent scandals involving Harper appointees change that strategy? The speaker will voice his opinion related to those questions and also argue that the current appointment process is not in step with the preference Canadians consistently express as polls show a more democratic process for the Senate is preferable. As well, pending a more comprehensive reform, new procedures could have been established to create an independent and less partisan Senate appointment commission. Speaker: The Honourable Daniel P. Hays Dan Hays has been with Norton Rose Fulbright in their Calgary office (previously Macleod Dixon LLP) since his call to the bar and has practised in different areas, most recently in international and corporate operations. Mr. Hays was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Trudeau in 1984. Following retirement from the Senate on June 30, 2007, he was appointed Chair of Macleod Dixon LLP. During his years of service in the Senate, Mr. Hays held a number of leadership positions and at different times served as chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, the Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources and the Special Committee on Senate Reform 2006. As well, he served as President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1994-98. In 1999 he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, and in 2001, Prime Minister Chrétien appointed him Speaker of the Senate, a position he continued to hold under Prime Minister Martin. Following the 2006 federal general election, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. On January 22, 2007, he was made a Privy Councillor by Prime Minister Harper.

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Has excessive partisanship eroded the “sober second thought” of the Senate? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed 58 Senators since taking office in 2006, despite his stated intention to either transform the Senate into an elected body or abolish it altogether. The Harper Government is presently seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its powers to change the Senate. Will the recent scandals involving Harper appointees change that strategy? The speaker will voice his opinion related to those questions and also argue that the current appointment process is not in step with the preference Canadians consistently express as polls show a more democratic process for the Senate is preferable. As well, pending a more comprehensive reform, new procedures could have been established to create an independent and less partisan Senate appointment commission. Speaker: The Honourable Daniel P. Hays Dan Hays has been with Norton Rose Fulbright in their Calgary office (previously Macleod Dixon LLP) since his call to the bar and has practised in different areas, most recently in international and corporate operations. Mr. Hays was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Trudeau in 1984. Following retirement from the Senate on June 30, 2007, he was appointed Chair of Macleod Dixon LLP. During his years of service in the Senate, Mr. Hays held a number of leadership positions and at different times served as chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, the Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources and the Special Committee on Senate Reform 2006. As well, he served as President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1994-98. In 1999 he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, and in 2001, Prime Minister Chrétien appointed him Speaker of the Senate, a position he continued to hold under Prime Minister Martin. Following the 2006 federal general election, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. On January 22, 2007, he was made a Privy Councillor by Prime Minister Harper.

When the topic of evolution comes up it is often to discuss the debate, to choose sides, and to balance the arguments, but is it time to quit debating evolution? By affording anti-evolutionists equal time we risk spending all our time debating evolution and missing the real debates within evolution. These debates, full of exciting controversy and disagreement, are obfuscated when the focus is on the wrong discussion. The speaker will start with a brief look at the amazing diversity and beauty of nature, then the weight of the evidence in favour of our current understanding of evolution by natural selection, and then he will delve into the interesting but entirely understandable debates within evolutionary science. Speaker: Dr. Dan Johnson Dan Johnson studied at the University of Minnesota (started in Anthropology), University of Saskatchewan (biology and geography), and University of British Columbia (graduate degrees, Institute of Animal Resource Ecology, and Department of Plant Science). He is currently a Professor of Environmental Science at U of L where he teaches biogeography, impacts of climate, sustainable development, environmental science for First Nations Transition Program, and data analysis. Dan was part of the AIBS Presidents' Summit in Washington, DC, 1999, which established the teaching of evolution as one of the key objectives of biological scientific societies (at the time, he was President of the Entomological Society of Canada). Dan wrote one of the first position statements by a scientific society on the teaching of evolution, and argued the case through to a successful vote and ratification. He also served on species-at-risk recovery teams in Canada, developed biocontrol agents for sustainable agriculture, and has conducted environmental research in Africa, North America and Asia. Dan is also a member of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board.

When the topic of evolution comes up it is often to discuss the debate, to choose sides, and to balance the arguments, but is it time to quit debating evolution? By affording anti-evolutionists equal time we risk spending all our time debating evolution and missing the real debates within evolution. These debates, full of exciting controversy and disagreement, are obfuscated when the focus is on the wrong discussion. The speaker will start with a brief look at the amazing diversity and beauty of nature, then the weight of the evidence in favour of our current understanding of evolution by natural selection, and then he will delve into the interesting but entirely understandable debates within evolutionary science. Speaker: Dr. Dan Johnson Dan Johnson studied at the University of Minnesota (started in Anthropology), University of Saskatchewan (biology and geography), and University of British Columbia (graduate degrees, Institute of Animal Resource Ecology, and Department of Plant Science). He is currently a Professor of Environmental Science at U of L where he teaches biogeography, impacts of climate, sustainable development, environmental science for First Nations Transition Program, and data analysis. Dan was part of the AIBS Presidents' Summit in Washington, DC, 1999, which established the teaching of evolution as one of the key objectives of biological scientific societies (at the time, he was President of the Entomological Society of Canada). Dan wrote one of the first position statements by a scientific society on the teaching of evolution, and argued the case through to a successful vote and ratification. He also served on species-at-risk recovery teams in Canada, developed biocontrol agents for sustainable agriculture, and has conducted environmental research in Africa, North America and Asia. Dan is also a member of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board.

In 2008, Prime Minister Harper apologized for the shared government and church-run Indian Residential School System. As part of that apology, an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck, using a model practiced by only a handful of countries worldwide. Its mandate runs through 2014, and in June and July it will hold local public hearings in Alberta- hearings where former students and others will stand before us and tell their stories. What does this kind of courage have to do with Albertans and Canadians? What is the TRC trying to address, and why? Should we care? Should we attend? This presentation will address these questions, and invites you to bring your own. Speakers: Julie Graham and Mike Frank Julie Graham is the human rights Education and Campaigns Coordinator for KAIROS, the social justice organization of eleven national Canadian churches and church agencies, represented in Lethbridge by an energetic local chapter. The daughter of immigrants, she is from Coast Salish territory in BC and has Mennonite and United Church roots. Graham is an educator and writer and has worked on right relations and Indigenous rights for the past 20 years. Currently her work focuses on the TRC and what Indigenous rights mean for non-Indigenous Canadians. Mike Frank is the Director of Operations for the Blood Tribe Department of Health. His background includes working as a health support worker with the Indian Residential School program, Lethbridge College Instructor and Peigan Board of Education Instructor for their Native studies programs and most recently been the Chief Electoral Officer for the Kainai Chief and Council elections. Mike is also a graduate of the U of L and a member of the U of L FNMI Alumni chapter.