Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Lethbridge is a city that comes with many benefits including a small geographical footprint. Despite its small size it is largely a motorized vehicle culture. In light of rising costs for vehicle operation, health benefits from physical activity, and benefits in maintaining environmental integrity, very few citizens view bicycles as an effective mode of transportation. This presentation presents some perspectives on how public policy has influenced this perception. Speakers: Annabree Fairweather and Mark Pijl-Zieber Annabree Fairwweather has a Master of Science in Psychology. She works at the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association and she occasionally instructs at the university and at the Lethbridge College. Annabree’s experiences with cycling in Lethbridge have motivated her to join the board of BikeBridge Cycling Association. Her goal is to develop more efficient—and less ambiguous—cycling infrastructure for commuters in Lethbridge. Mark Pijl Zieber is a registered nurse and faculty member at the University of Lethbridge. He has been an avid cyclist all of his life and has made cycling an important part of his transportation profile. He is a founding member of the BikeBridge Cycling Association. This association is committed to promoting the use of bicycles as a means of transportation in Lethbridge. Moderator: Carly Adams Date: Thursday, May 3, 2012 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr S Cost: $10.00 (includes lunch) Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

When it comes to energy, there seems to be a very large gap between scientific, economic and environmental facts, on the one hand and what the general public believes, on the other. While the public can be excused, because all the energy technologies involved are much more complex than they appear on the surface, the people behind each of these technologies have contributed in a significant way to the existence of many of these gaps in communication. This presentation will focus on one of the largest gaps – that which exists about nuclear power. This gap will be identified; the causes and especially the consequences of this gap will be analyzed. Speaker: Cosmos Voutsinos Cosmos Voutsinos is a mechanical engineer graduated from the University of Waterloo and McMaster University. He specializes in energy conversion systems, in particular conversion to electrical energy. He has worked in various capacities in the design, construction and manufacturing of equipment and operation of energy conversion facilities for most energy technologies. This list includes nuclear and fossil fuel fired power plants as well as a variety of renewable energy projects. In nuclear power he has participated as a design engineer, as a construction manager, as a manufacturer of nuclear equipment and as a techno-economic consultant. His work has brought him from Canada, to USA, Taiwan, China, S. Korea, Japan and Belgium. He has been a member of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), Organization of Candu Industries (OCI) and the Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS). At present he retains his Alberta P. Eng membership. Over his 40 year working career Cosmos has got to know not only the energy technologies involved but also the people and the social structures behind them.

When it comes to energy, there seems to be a very large gap between scientific, economic and environmental facts, on the one hand and what the general public believes, on the other. While the public can be excused, because all the energy technologies involved are much more complex than they appear on the surface, the people behind each of these technologies have contributed in a significant way to the existence of many of these gaps in communication. This presentation will focus on one of the largest gaps – that which exists about nuclear power. This gap will be identified; the causes and especially the consequences of this gap will be analyzed. Speaker: Cosmos Voutsinos Cosmos Voutsinos is a mechanical engineer graduated from the University of Waterloo and McMaster University. He specializes in energy conversion systems, in particular conversion to electrical energy. He has worked in various capacities in the design, construction and manufacturing of equipment and operation of energy conversion facilities for most energy technologies. This list includes nuclear and fossil fuel fired power plants as well as a variety of renewable energy projects. In nuclear power he has participated as a design engineer, as a construction manager, as a manufacturer of nuclear equipment and as a techno-economic consultant. His work has brought him from Canada, to USA, Taiwan, China, S. Korea, Japan and Belgium. He has been a member of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), Organization of Candu Industries (OCI) and the Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS). At present he retains his Alberta P. Eng membership. Over his 40 year working career Cosmos has got to know not only the energy technologies involved but also the people and the social structures behind them.

During the past Federal election campaign the Federal Conservatives promised a number of changes in the area of justice. During this winter's session of Parliament, that has taken the form of the "Federal Omnibus Crime Bill". The bill, which arguable was passed with imposed minimal debate, has not only been criticized by opposition parties, but also by several provinces and some non-parliamentary organizations such as the John Howard Society. But what is really in this lumped together bill? How much is minimum sentencing for many crimes likely to cost the federal and provincial governments? And is it the best way to fight crime? The speaker will explore the bill, and some of its implications for both Canada as a whole, and for the Province of Alberta. Speaker: Sheila French Sheila French is currently completing a PhD in Applied and Experimental Psychology with a focus on Criminal Justice Research. She has recently taken a Faculty position at Lethbridge College in the Criminal Justice Program. Prior to this she was a Director of Clinical Services within the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Government of Saskatchewan. She has researched and published in the areas of offender rehabilitation and criminal risk prediction. Her primary research method is meta-analysis which is the quantitative synthesis of large bodies of related research.

During the past Federal election campaign the Federal Conservatives promised a number of changes in the area of justice. During this winter's session of Parliament, that has taken the form of the "Federal Omnibus Crime Bill". The bill, which arguable was passed with imposed minimal debate, has not only been criticized by opposition parties, but also by several provinces and some non-parliamentary organizations such as the John Howard Society. But what is really in this lumped together bill? How much is minimum sentencing for many crimes likely to cost the federal and provincial governments? And is it the best way to fight crime? The speaker will explore the bill, and some of its implications for both Canada as a whole, and for the Province of Alberta. Speaker: Sheila French Sheila French is currently completing a PhD in Applied and Experimental Psychology with a focus on Criminal Justice Research. She has recently taken a Faculty position at Lethbridge College in the Criminal Justice Program. Prior to this she was a Director of Clinical Services within the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Government of Saskatchewan. She has researched and published in the areas of offender rehabilitation and criminal risk prediction. Her primary research method is meta-analysis which is the quantitative synthesis of large bodies of related research.

SACPA in Partnership with the Lethbridge Public Library Logging the Oldman Headwaters – What’s all the Fuss About? Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Location: Lethbridge Public Library, 810 – 5th Ave. South Free admission, everyone welcome. Beginning in the late 1800s government recognized the importance of preserving the forests of the southern Eastern Slopes to protect the headwaters of prairie watersheds. In addition to creating Waterton Lakes National Park (that initially included the Castle drainage) the federal government took measures to manage timber harvest and control wildfires. After assuming jurisdiction over natural resources in 1931 and following large wildfires that swept through the Eastern Slopes, the Province established the Alberta Forest Service in 1948 to control timber harvest and forest fires. The Eastern Slopes Policy in the late 1970s and the Forest Conservation Strategy in the 1990s were developed in response to public concerns about adverse impacts of land uses, including logging and off-road vehicle use, on watersheds and fish and wildlife. There are signs that current forest management in the southern Eastern Slopes is not meeting a growing society’s needs and values. The Alberta Forest Service’s 2010 C5 Forest Management Plan is widely criticized for being a “logging” plan that does not recognize ecological and social values of headwater forests. The Oldman Watershed Council has recently identified headwaters protection as a priority for its work. Recent proposals for logging in the southern Eastern Slopes, including the Castle watershed, have been met with widespread and vocal opposition, including legal action. What is all the fuss about? Three presenters will shed light on various aspects of this issue including wildfire in headwater forests, the ecological legacy of clear-cut logging, increasing human use in the Oldman headwaters and a renewed commitment to headwaters protection that would include establishment of a park in the Castle. Presenters: Marie-Pierre Rogeau, M.Sc., Wildland Disturbance Consulting, Banff. Ms. Rogeau has two decades of experience in documenting fire history, fire ecology, fire management and wildfire threat assessment in Alberta and British Columbia. Lorne Fitch, B. Sc., professional biologist, Lethbridge. Mr. Fitch has four decades of experience as a fish and wildlife biologist with a focus on managing fisheries and aquatic ecosystems in southern Alberta. Sarah Elmeligi, MNRES, senior conservation planner, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Canmore. Ms. Elmeligi has experience in conservation planning for large landscapes. She has investigated the impacts of tourism on grizzly bears. She has participated in planning for the Oldman watershed.

SACPA in Partnership with the Lethbridge Public Library Logging the Oldman Headwaters – What’s all the Fuss About? Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Location: Lethbridge Public Library, 810 – 5th Ave. South Free admission, everyone welcome. Beginning in the late 1800s government recognized the importance of preserving the forests of the southern Eastern Slopes to protect the headwaters of prairie watersheds. In addition to creating Waterton Lakes National Park (that initially included the Castle drainage) the federal government took measures to manage timber harvest and control wildfires. After assuming jurisdiction over natural resources in 1931 and following large wildfires that swept through the Eastern Slopes, the Province established the Alberta Forest Service in 1948 to control timber harvest and forest fires. The Eastern Slopes Policy in the late 1970s and the Forest Conservation Strategy in the 1990s were developed in response to public concerns about adverse impacts of land uses, including logging and off-road vehicle use, on watersheds and fish and wildlife. There are signs that current forest management in the southern Eastern Slopes is not meeting a growing society’s needs and values. The Alberta Forest Service’s 2010 C5 Forest Management Plan is widely criticized for being a “logging” plan that does not recognize ecological and social values of headwater forests. The Oldman Watershed Council has recently identified headwaters protection as a priority for its work. Recent proposals for logging in the southern Eastern Slopes, including the Castle watershed, have been met with widespread and vocal opposition, including legal action. What is all the fuss about? Three presenters will shed light on various aspects of this issue including wildfire in headwater forests, the ecological legacy of clear-cut logging, increasing human use in the Oldman headwaters and a renewed commitment to headwaters protection that would include establishment of a park in the Castle. Presenters: Marie-Pierre Rogeau, M.Sc., Wildland Disturbance Consulting, Banff. Ms. Rogeau has two decades of experience in documenting fire history, fire ecology, fire management and wildfire threat assessment in Alberta and British Columbia. Lorne Fitch, B. Sc., professional biologist, Lethbridge. Mr. Fitch has four decades of experience as a fish and wildlife biologist with a focus on managing fisheries and aquatic ecosystems in southern Alberta. Sarah Elmeligi, MNRES, senior conservation planner, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Canmore. Ms. Elmeligi has experience in conservation planning for large landscapes. She has investigated the impacts of tourism on grizzly bears. She has participated in planning for the Oldman watershed.

A new report from the U of A’s Parkland Institute says that despite a provincial deficit, the Alberta government will forego some $55 billion in potential revenue over the next three years as a result of overly generous royalty cuts and the government’s failure to meet even the modest targets set by previous administrations. The report looks at the most recent data on profits in the oil and gas industry versus government share and determines that despite tremendous growth in the industry the share of profits to Albertans is shrinking. Alberta has gone from capturing close to 40% in 1979 to only 10% in 2009 and 13% in 2010.That is arguably all money that has gone directly from serving the public interest to serving the bottom lines of huge oil and gas corporations. Peter Lougheed set a target of capturing 35% of the revenue from oil and gas production, which his government met or exceeded. Ralph Klein lowered those targets significantly, yet in most years even failed to meet those. If Lougheed’s 35% target had prevailed, and been met, Alberta would have collected an extra $195 billion between 1971 and 2010. The current provincial budget seeks to capture only between 9% and 12% of oil and gas revenues, instead of working towards Lougheed’s target of 35% for conventional oil and gas and 25% in the tar sands, which could yield an extra $55 billion in revenues over the next three years. The speaker will argue that by properly managing oil and gas revenues in Alberta, we could quickly pay off our current deficit and begin to build a fund that would generate enough revenue to support future generations as is the case in Norway, where their Oil Fund is currently valued at around $600 billion. Speaker: David Campanella David Campanella is the Public Policy Research Manager for the Parkland Institute and is based in Calgary. In 2011, David received his Masters degree from York University where he studied environmental politics and focused on the political history of carbon capture and storage in Alberta's oil and gas industry.