Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Housing options remain limited for Aboriginal people in Lethbridge. Ongoing research shows that NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) may be regularly practiced by landlords, and plays a central role in denying Aboriginal renters access to accommodations.

In this presentation, the speaker examines the systemic nature of what can be described as the NIMBY Gauntlet. Lethbridge landlords, under the guise of the NIMBY Gauntlet, arguable use this mechanism to bring about discrimination against potential Native tenants.

The NIMBY Gauntlet, as described, perpetuates what one scholar proclaims to be municipal colonialism, which in this case is characterized by landlords systematically filtering out potential Aboriginal tenants. The speaker will outline some possible remedies aimed at ending such discrimination.

Speaker: Yale Belanger

Dr. Yale D. Belanger (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Native American Studies (NAS) at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta). Trained as a political historian, his doctoral work at Trent University focused on the emergence and evolution of Aboriginal political organizations in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canada.

His current research with Drs. David Gregory and Jo-Anne Fiske focuses on how NIMBY operates to deny Aboriginal people access to rental accommodations, with an emphasis on developing appropriate strategies to eradicate this process.

7-9pm

The Lethbridge Action on Racism Circle (LARC) has undertaken several initiatives to address racism and discrimination in Lethbridge. Their work has been informed by dialogue with over 100 community members at potluck meetings. Through this process, varied and creative recommendations for action at several levels were gathered and published in two reports which have been widely disseminated.

A screening of a special series on racism by CTV''s Dory Rossiter will precede the panel presentation. The panel will then highlight key recommendations from its reports, and share stories of personal experiences of racism and discrimination. An opportunity will be provided for questions and answers, and further dialogue following the presentation.

Panel Speakers:

Dr. Joanne Fiske, Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Lethbridge

Dr. Trudy Govier, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Lethbridge

Kayress Dela Cruz, Lethbridge Immigrant Services

Sarah Sweet Grass, Communications Dept., Blood Tribe Administration & Director,

Amnesty International Lethbridge

Mike Frank, Graduate Student, University of Lethbridge

Mary Kosta, Linguist & Director, Amnesty International Lethbridge

Pastor Ruth Preston Schilk, Lethbridge Mennonite Church

Pastor Jason Anderson, Christ Trinity Lutheran Church

12-1:30pm

Population aging is much in the news, with talk about health care and pensions as the Canadian population ages.

We ask in this talk, based on the speaker''s current research in Canada and the US, the extent to which population aging is indeed a challenge. We further ask whether population aging is an equal challenge in Canada and the US. How does the current economic situation affect the picture? What about diversity, inequalities and changing family/household living arrangements?

The specific focus in this talk is on the circumstances of those aged 45-64 in Canada and the U.S. in the late 1990s and 2000''s, how their lives look as they grow older and what policy challenges are posed. Data come from a wide range of sources, and include analysis of two waves in each country of nationally representative surveys, as well as qualitative interviews conducted in late 2009 and 2010.

We find that demographic aging per se matters far less to the prospects of those presently in mid-life in the two countries than the rapidly shifting socio-economic contexts in which they live. Canadians are far less at risk as we age than are Americans.

Speaker: Susan McDaniel

Dr. Susan McDaniel is the Prentice Research Chair in Global Population and Economy, Director of the Prentice Institute and Professor of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge. She relocated to Lethbridge in the summer of 2009 from the University of Utah where she was Professor and Senior Investigator in the Institute for Public & International Affairs.

Dr. McDaniel is an internationally known sociologist/social demographer, the author of many books and research articles. She is a frequent advisor on social and science policies both in Canada and elsewhere. She was on faculty at the University of Alberta for 15 years.

12-1:30pm

Population aging is much in the news, with talk about health care and pensions as the Canadian population ages.

We ask in this talk, based on the speaker''s current research in Canada and the US, the extent to which population aging is indeed a challenge. We further ask whether population aging is an equal challenge in Canada and the US. How does the current economic situation affect the picture? What about diversity, inequalities and changing family/household living arrangements?

The specific focus in this talk is on the circumstances of those aged 45-64 in Canada and the U.S. in the late 1990s and 2000''s, how their lives look as they grow older and what policy challenges are posed. Data come from a wide range of sources, and include analysis of two waves in each country of nationally representative surveys, as well as qualitative interviews conducted in late 2009 and 2010.

We find that demographic aging per se matters far less to the prospects of those presently in mid-life in the two countries than the rapidly shifting socio-economic contexts in which they live. Canadians are far less at risk as we age than are Americans.

Speaker: Susan McDaniel

Dr. Susan McDaniel is the Prentice Research Chair in Global Population and Economy, Director of the Prentice Institute and Professor of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge. She relocated to Lethbridge in the summer of 2009 from the University of Utah where she was Professor and Senior Investigator in the Institute for Public & International Affairs.

Dr. McDaniel is an internationally known sociologist/social demographer, the author of many books and research articles. She is a frequent advisor on social and science policies both in Canada and elsewhere. She was on faculty at the University of Alberta for 15 years.

12- 1:30pm

There is a deafening silence around women''s issues in Alberta, the only province in Canada with no ministry for the status of women, no policy secretariat, or no advisory council on the status of women. All other jurisdictions have some kind of formal voice, within government, for women.

The speaker will present evidence from various sources, including Statistics Canada and other national data sources, that women in Alberta still experience disproportionate levels of poverty, low wages and high levels of economic inequality in comparison with men. Such data are contained in a report produced by partnership between Parkland Institute based in Edmonton and Womanspace Resource Centre, Lethbridge. The speaker is a key figure in the creation of the report.

Issues addressed in the presentation will include concerns that, for women, Alberta is the most unequal place in Canada. An Alberta woman working a full-year and full-time earns, on average, 60% of a man''s salary. By contrast, Quebec women earn, on average, 81% of men''s earnings. The speaker will also argue that Alberta parents with children age six and under, are met with the most under-funded, inaccessible child care system in Canada.

Speaker: Shannon Phillips

Shannon Phillips is a journalist, researcher, and communications consultant based in Lethbridge, AB. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Alberta.

Shannon is a frequent contributor to Albertaviews Magazine, has worked as a producer at CBC Newsworld and as a public affairs advisor to the Canadian Red Cross. She is currently on maternity leave from the Red Cross and doing consulting work with the Parkland Institute and Womanspace Resource Centre in Lethbridge.

12- 1:30pm

There is a deafening silence around women''s issues in Alberta, the only province in Canada with no ministry for the status of women, no policy secretariat, or no advisory council on the status of women. All other jurisdictions have some kind of formal voice, within government, for women.

The speaker will present evidence from various sources, including Statistics Canada and other national data sources, that women in Alberta still experience disproportionate levels of poverty, low wages and high levels of economic inequality in comparison with men. Such data are contained in a report produced by partnership between Parkland Institute based in Edmonton and Womanspace Resource Centre, Lethbridge. The speaker is a key figure in the creation of the report.

Issues addressed in the presentation will include concerns that, for women, Alberta is the most unequal place in Canada. An Alberta woman working a full-year and full-time earns, on average, 60% of a man''s salary. By contrast, Quebec women earn, on average, 81% of men''s earnings. The speaker will also argue that Alberta parents with children age six and under, are met with the most under-funded, inaccessible child care system in Canada.

Speaker: Shannon Phillips

Shannon Phillips is a journalist, researcher, and communications consultant based in Lethbridge, AB. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Alberta.

Shannon is a frequent contributor to Albertaviews Magazine, has worked as a producer at CBC Newsworld and as a public affairs advisor to the Canadian Red Cross. She is currently on maternity leave from the Red Cross and doing consulting work with the Parkland Institute and Womanspace Resource Centre in Lethbridge.

12- 1:30pm

Transgendered persons in Alberta face significant discrimination as a result of their gender identity. The Alberta government decided last year to stop funding gender reassignment surgeries, a move that the Ontario government has had to retract after losing at a number of human rights tribunals. In St. Albert, substitute teacher Jan Buterman was fired when he revealed he was transitioning from a woman to a man. The Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board will soon be facing the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal on Buterman’s complaint. These two cases are high profile but much of the discrimination against trans people is less blatant and can be traced to the lack of public understanding of gender, generally, and trans(gender) specifically.

Mickey Wilson works to educate the public and advance equality for queer and trans people. His presentation will explore some of the misconceptions about gender and what it is like to be trans or queer in Alberta.

Speaker: Mickey Wilson

For over 25 years, Mickey Wilson has focused much of his time and energy on activism and education surrounding trans and queer issues in Alberta. He founded Edmonton’s first trans support group, provides peer education, does workshops and presentations and develops educational materials. Active in a variety of organizations, Mickey is the Vice President of Egale Canada and chair of their national trans committee as well as President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge & Area.

Mickey is passionate about justice and committed to advancing equality and human rights for queer and trans people. He is a retired minister, having served a church in Edmonton''s LGBT community for 14 years. Mickey is married to a bisexual man and they live in a village south of Lethbridge where he now operates a small business.

12- 1:30pm

Transgendered persons in Alberta face significant discrimination as a result of their gender identity. The Alberta government decided last year to stop funding gender reassignment surgeries, a move that the Ontario government has had to retract after losing at a number of human rights tribunals. In St. Albert, substitute teacher Jan Buterman was fired when he revealed he was transitioning from a woman to a man. The Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board will soon be facing the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal on Buterman’s complaint. These two cases are high profile but much of the discrimination against trans people is less blatant and can be traced to the lack of public understanding of gender, generally, and trans(gender) specifically.

Mickey Wilson works to educate the public and advance equality for queer and trans people. His presentation will explore some of the misconceptions about gender and what it is like to be trans or queer in Alberta.

Speaker: Mickey Wilson

For over 25 years, Mickey Wilson has focused much of his time and energy on activism and education surrounding trans and queer issues in Alberta. He founded Edmonton’s first trans support group, provides peer education, does workshops and presentations and develops educational materials. Active in a variety of organizations, Mickey is the Vice President of Egale Canada and chair of their national trans committee as well as President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge & Area.

Mickey is passionate about justice and committed to advancing equality and human rights for queer and trans people. He is a retired minister, having served a church in Edmonton''s LGBT community for 14 years. Mickey is married to a bisexual man and they live in a village south of Lethbridge where he now operates a small business.

12-1:30pm

This presentation will provide first-hand insight into the challenges of command during a demanding and complex mission, as well as the advances being made by Canadian soldiers and civilians in spite of the difficult conditions in the heart of Kandahar Province.

The Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) in Kandahar Province are comprised of about 200 Canadian soldiers. They are largely responsible for the training, development and mentoring of the Afghan National Army (ANA) 1st Brigade.

Through experiences by the speaker, you will learn how Canadian Forces are assisting the Afghans in sustaining a more secure environment to facilitate development, reconstruction and law and order while preparing the ANA to assume responsibility for their own security as the NATO nations prepare to leave the scene.

Speaker: Colonel Gregory Burt G.D., OMM, CD

Col. Burt recently returned from Afghanistan where he served from Feb. to Nov. 2009 as Commander of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) in Kandahar Province.

A proud native of Newfoundland, Col. Burt is a member of the Royal 22e Régiment du Canada. He has a Bachelor''s degree from the Royal Military College in Business Admin. and a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King''s College, London. He also holds a Master''s degree from the École nationale d''administration publique (ENAP) de Québec in public administration.

Col. Burt has served Canada in Lahr (Germany), Somalia, former Yugoslavia and Bosnia. Within Canada, his postings have included: Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff of the Land Force, Quebec Area, Director of Land Strategic Concepts in Kingston and Defence Strategy Management, Department of National Defence.

12-1:30pm

This presentation will provide first-hand insight into the challenges of command during a demanding and complex mission, as well as the advances being made by Canadian soldiers and civilians in spite of the difficult conditions in the heart of Kandahar Province.

The Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) in Kandahar Province are comprised of about 200 Canadian soldiers. They are largely responsible for the training, development and mentoring of the Afghan National Army (ANA) 1st Brigade.

Through experiences by the speaker, you will learn how Canadian Forces are assisting the Afghans in sustaining a more secure environment to facilitate development, reconstruction and law and order while preparing the ANA to assume responsibility for their own security as the NATO nations prepare to leave the scene.

Speaker: Colonel Gregory Burt G.D., OMM, CD

Col. Burt recently returned from Afghanistan where he served from Feb. to Nov. 2009 as Commander of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) in Kandahar Province.

A proud native of Newfoundland, Col. Burt is a member of the Royal 22e Régiment du Canada. He has a Bachelor''s degree from the Royal Military College in Business Admin. and a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King''s College, London. He also holds a Master''s degree from the École nationale d''administration publique (ENAP) de Québec in public administration.

Col. Burt has served Canada in Lahr (Germany), Somalia, former Yugoslavia and Bosnia. Within Canada, his postings have included: Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff of the Land Force, Quebec Area, Director of Land Strategic Concepts in Kingston and Defence Strategy Management, Department of National Defence.