Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The mission of the Law Society of Alberta is to serve the public interest by promoting a high standard of legal services and professional conduct through the governance and regulation of an independent legal profession.

This discussion will focus on why and how the regulator of the legal profession is involved in promoting access to high quality legal services in Alberta.

Topics to be discussed will include the delivery of legal services by non-lawyers, the delivery of legal services pro bono (for free), the use of limited scope retainers, promotion of diversity in the legal profession, recognition of foreign trained lawyers, and the retention and re-engagement of lawyers in the private practice of law.

Speaker: Rodney Jerke Q.C.

Rodney Jerke was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1955. He graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Science Degree, with Distinction and then from the University of Alberta with an LLB, with Distinction. He was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1980 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998.

Professionally, Rodney Jerke’s practice is concentrated on civil litigation at trial and appellate levels. He has conducted numerous trials and appeals and handled a variety of litigation files, including land disputes, serious motor vehicle accidents, commercial disputes, constitutional and administrative law cases, fraudulent preference and fraud actions, foreclosure, bank litigation, insurance litigation, environmental claims and professional negligence claims.

After 60 years of debate and research, controversy still rages in the relatively few countries where fluoridation is widespread. Many studies suggest that the benefits of fluoride result from mainly topical action on dental enamel, not from swallowing it, begging the question: “Why are we still adding fluoride to our public drinking water”.

Variable amounts of natural fluoride are present in most water sources. However the fluoride used for water fluoridation is not of pharmaceutical grade, but is in fact a chemical waste by-product. The speaker will contend that the safety margin of fluoride is much lower than was originally envisaged and likely affecting children, our bone composition and the thyroid gland adversely, questioning the ethics of exposing all people to fluoridated water.

It will also be suggested that the benefits of water fluoridation is largely a myth, as evidence shows a lack of correlation between dental health and fluoridation status. Important issues not addressed in many dental studies hint that claimed fluoridation benefits against caries are overstated. If proposed today, fluoridation of drinking water to prevent tooth decay would stand little chance of being adopted, given the current status of scientific knowledge.

Speaker: James Beck M.D., Ph.D.

James S. Beck is professor emeritus of medical biophysics, University of Calgary. He has an M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. He has held positions in physiology and physics at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and joined the University of Calgary in 1969 as a founding member of the Faculty of Medicine. In addition to research and teaching he served with the faculty association and on the board of governors of the university and retired in 1991.

Dr. Beck was asked to join a committee of dentists and a family physician opposed to fluoridation in Calgary about ten years ago. He has studied the scientific literature on effectiveness of fluoridation and on its possible toxicities since then. He is co-author of the book, The Case against Fluoride, released in November of this year.

After 60 years of debate and research, controversy still rages in the relatively few countries where fluoridation is widespread. Many studies suggest that the benefits of fluoride result from mainly topical action on dental enamel, not from swallowing it, begging the question: “Why are we still adding fluoride to our public drinking water”.

Variable amounts of natural fluoride are present in most water sources. However the fluoride used for water fluoridation is not of pharmaceutical grade, but is in fact a chemical waste by-product. The speaker will contend that the safety margin of fluoride is much lower than was originally envisaged and likely affecting children, our bone composition and the thyroid gland adversely, questioning the ethics of exposing all people to fluoridated water.

It will also be suggested that the benefits of water fluoridation is largely a myth, as evidence shows a lack of correlation between dental health and fluoridation status. Important issues not addressed in many dental studies hint that claimed fluoridation benefits against caries are overstated. If proposed today, fluoridation of drinking water to prevent tooth decay would stand little chance of being adopted, given the current status of scientific knowledge.

Speaker: James Beck M.D., Ph.D.

James S. Beck is professor emeritus of medical biophysics, University of Calgary. He has an M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. He has held positions in physiology and physics at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and joined the University of Calgary in 1969 as a founding member of the Faculty of Medicine. In addition to research and teaching he served with the faculty association and on the board of governors of the university and retired in 1991.

Dr. Beck was asked to join a committee of dentists and a family physician opposed to fluoridation in Calgary about ten years ago. He has studied the scientific literature on effectiveness of fluoridation and on its possible toxicities since then. He is co-author of the book, The Case against Fluoride, released in November of this year.

Canada’s democratic system is in distress, with low voter turnouts and distorted results. The speaker will give examples of these and other problems and will suggest that much of the difficulty stems from our “first-past-the-post” electoral system.

It will be argued that both federal and provincial legislatures should join the overwhelming number of countries who have chosen to use some form of Proportional Representation. While PR may have some disadvantages, the benefits of such a system overwhelm them.

Speaker:Phil Elder

After a B. A. at Queen’s University, Phil Elder obtained his LL.B. at the University of British Columbia and then an LL. M. at the University of London (London School of Economics) in 1967. From 1967-70 he was an Assistant to various Liberal Cabinet Ministers in Ottawa, including Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. From 1970-73, Elder taught criminal law at the University of Western Ontario, then joined the graduate Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, where he taught environmental and planning law until taking early retirement in 1997. He was Associate Dean for eight years.

For several years, he was active in city and provincial politics, founding an urban political party in 1977 and running, unsuccessfully, for both municipal and provincial office. Elder has written widely, on renewable energy policy, environmental and planning law and environmental philosophy. He is Co-chair, Democratic Renewal Project (Calgary).

Canada’s democratic system is in distress, with low voter turnouts and distorted results. The speaker will give examples of these and other problems and will suggest that much of the difficulty stems from our “first-past-the-post” electoral system.

It will be argued that both federal and provincial legislatures should join the overwhelming number of countries who have chosen to use some form of Proportional Representation. While PR may have some disadvantages, the benefits of such a system overwhelm them.

Speaker:Phil Elder

After a B. A. at Queen’s University, Phil Elder obtained his LL.B. at the University of British Columbia and then an LL. M. at the University of London (London School of Economics) in 1967. From 1967-70 he was an Assistant to various Liberal Cabinet Ministers in Ottawa, including Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. From 1970-73, Elder taught criminal law at the University of Western Ontario, then joined the graduate Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, where he taught environmental and planning law until taking early retirement in 1997. He was Associate Dean for eight years.

For several years, he was active in city and provincial politics, founding an urban political party in 1977 and running, unsuccessfully, for both municipal and provincial office. Elder has written widely, on renewable energy policy, environmental and planning law and environmental philosophy. He is Co-chair, Democratic Renewal Project (Calgary).

A few weeks ago, with Halloween just around the corner, the government introduced the new Alberta Health Act in the legislature. How appropriate that timing was, as the Act, like Halloween, appears to require Albertans to suspend their disbelief.

The principles being proposed for the Health Act sounds rosy and includes, quality and safety, timely and appropriate care, and access not based on ability to pay. However, many of these principles are already being violated across the province; rural Albertans cannot access timely care and seniors across Alberta are often accessing care based on ability to pay, not need. Just before the act hit the legislature, emergency room doctors went to the media with their fears of a likely collapse of timely emergency care in the province.

Suggesting that the Tory government created the current crisis in health care, the speaker believe that it is part of a long-term campaign to privatize health services and cut spending on hospitals and long-term care in this province. Hospital spending in Alberta has plummeted from 44.7 per cent of health spending in 1975 to 27.8 per cent in 2009.

Despite our vast wealth, Alberta has fewer hospital beds than Canada's average and is in the bottom third of developed countries. The same applies for long-term care. Alberta has half the beds per capita that Manitoba has and Alberta also sits close to the bottom for home-care spending, again half that of Manitoba. The speaker will argue that this province have plenty of resources, but is sadly lacking the political will to allocate sufficient and thoughtful health care funding, thanks in part to lobbying for the contrary by private interest.

Speaker:Diana Gibson

Diana Gibson is the Research Director for the Parkland Institute, a public policy research center based at the University of Alberta. She has an extensive background in social policy research and has engaged nationally and internationally on topics ranging from health care and energy, to the environment and international trade agreements. Diana is also the lead author of the “Bottom Line: The truth about private health insurance in Canada”, a book that was on the Edmonton Journal’s best seller list for four weeks running.

Moderator: Beverly Muendel-Atherstone

Extremes including drought and heavy precipitation are fundamental aspects of the climate system and its water cycle. Many of the greatest climatic impacts are also linked with such phenomena. Based to a considerable degree on research conducted over the Prairies within the Drought Research Initiative (DRI), some of the means of producing a sustained lack of precipitation are shown. It is then illustrated that heavy precipitation sometimes occurs on the edge of such a region or, occasionally, within it, and that the nature of the associated storms can be affected significantly by their proximity to a drought region. Finally, future projections of drought and heavy precipitation occurrence across the Prairies in particular are summarized along with scientific issues that limit our predictive capability.

Speaker: Professor Ron Stewart

Ronald Stewart is a Professor in and Head of the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of Manitoba as of July 1, 2008. Dr. Stewart obtained his BSc (honours) in physics from the University of Manitoba and his PhD in physics from the University of Toronto. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (Colorado) and was an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming before moving back to Canada. He was a senior scientist with Environment Canada and an adjunct professor at York University in Toronto before moving to McGill and becoming a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Professor Stewart's research focuses on extreme winter and summer weather, precipitation and regional climate. He has led numerous Canadian and international research activities addressing these issues. He conceived and is currently co-leading the Drought Research Initiative (DRI). Dr. Stewart has also been President of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and he led Canada's involvement in global initiatives on regional climate within the World Climate Research Programme and is currently one of the leaders within a new effort examining hydro meteorological extremes around the world.

This presentation is co-sponsored by the U of L Department of Geography, the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanography Society (CMOS), LPIRG, ULSU, SAGE, SAYEE/SACEE, Greensence and SACPA.

Moderator: Stephanie Watson

Free presentation, refreshments and snacks provided, everyone welcome

Canada has one of the highest levels of corporate fraud in the industrialized world. Large commercial investors, investment managers, financial analysts and individual shareholders are being increasingly subjected to major accounting manipulations, kick-back schemes, invoice and loan frauds, and rogue actions of ‘trusted’ directors and employees. How can you protect your company, your clients, and your own portfolio?

The speaker will argue that understanding fraud and swindling tactics is a critical factor to consider before making investments and business decisions. Whether you are directly involved in the financial investment or banking industry, or managing your own portfolio, the issues are similar in nature.

Speaker: Al Rosen

Lawrence S. (“Al”) Rosen. Dr. Rosen graduated from the University of British Columbia with an undergraduate degree, and later obtained a Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Washington. He founded Rosen & Associates Limited, a forensic and investigative accounting and auditing firm in 1990. He has given independent opinions on hundreds of litigation-related engagements across Canada, and in the U.S., including the Courts of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Ontario and New York, and has provided an affidavit for the Supreme Court of Canada.

He is a member of several accounting associations in the U.S., China and Canada. Dr. Rosen is the author or co-author of several books and hundreds of articles in various publications. He is a frequent writer for Canadian Business magazine. He has been an instructor or professor of accounting at the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, the University of Alberta, and York University. For fifteen years he served as a technical advisor to three Auditors’ General of Canada.

Canada has one of the highest levels of corporate fraud in the industrialized world. Large commercial investors, investment managers, financial analysts and individual shareholders are being increasingly subjected to major accounting manipulations, kick-back schemes, invoice and loan frauds, and rogue actions of ‘trusted’ directors and employees. How can you protect your company, your clients, and your own portfolio?

The speaker will argue that understanding fraud and swindling tactics is a critical factor to consider before making investments and business decisions. Whether you are directly involved in the financial investment or banking industry, or managing your own portfolio, the issues are similar in nature.

Speaker: Al Rosen

Lawrence S. (“Al”) Rosen. Dr. Rosen graduated from the University of British Columbia with an undergraduate degree, and later obtained a Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Washington. He founded Rosen & Associates Limited, a forensic and investigative accounting and auditing firm in 1990. He has given independent opinions on hundreds of litigation-related engagements across Canada, and in the U.S., including the Courts of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Ontario and New York, and has provided an affidavit for the Supreme Court of Canada.

He is a member of several accounting associations in the U.S., China and Canada. Dr. Rosen is the author or co-author of several books and hundreds of articles in various publications. He is a frequent writer for Canadian Business magazine. He has been an instructor or professor of accounting at the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, the University of Alberta, and York University. For fifteen years he served as a technical advisor to three Auditors’ General of Canada.

The billion dollar Long Gun Registry may be safe for now after a contentious vote in the House of Commons, but debate over its usefulness rages on. A Private Member's bill to abolish it was narrowly defeated in its Third Reading in the House of Commons on Sept. 22. The legislation to abolish the long gun registry would not have affected the current Possession/Acquisition License process, which all gun owners are required to complete.

Created in 1995, the registry was part of Bill C-68, which required all guns in Canada to be registered. The bill was partly influenced by a campaign for stricter gun control legislation fronted by families of the victims of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, where 28 people were shot by a gunman wielding a legally obtained rifle.

The Canadian Association of Police Boards and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police came out in favor of keeping the registry, as it can be useful in instances such as domestic assaults, where police can check to see if there are weapons registered to the home, or to find out if any registered firearms need to be dealt with in order for individuals to meet bail conditions. That said the speaker will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the Long Gun Registry and consider a best “bang for your buck” scenario in terms of how funds earmarked for public safety programs are being spent.

Speaker: Chief Tom McKenzie

Upon completing the Criminal Justice Program at Lethbridge College, Tom McKenzie joined the Lethbridge Regional Police Service (LRPS) in 1976. Working his way through the ranks and experiencing nearly all aspects of law enforcement in Lethbridge and as well serving on several provincial action committees, Tom was sworn in as Chief of LRPS January 1, 2007, after successfully competing for that position.

Throughout his career, Chief McKenzie has also been involved with sports, neighborhood associations, Criminal Justice lecturer at the College and as a course designer (white collar crime) at Athabasca University, to name just a few.