Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

12- 1:30pm

Post Secondary Education: How Will It Benefit Today’s World?

The second annual Student Speaker Challenge kicked off on Wednesday, Jan. 13 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event. Students addressed the question: What is the value of post-secondary education in today’s world? Much of the debate has focused on the need for such education to be utilized promoting much more critical thinking regarding sustainable (world) development, i.e. be the change you want others to adopt.

The Student Speaker Challenge is a collaboration of SACPA, LPIRG and the U of L Students Union, with financial and promotional support from the University of Lethbridge. Four initial sessions with two speakers each have successfully been held and the first semifinal session on Tuesday Feb 23 matched James Falconer and Keith McLaughlin, with the latter coming out ahead. The following week, Keith Gardner and Kate Nesbitt squared off, with Kate moving on. Selin Bilgin, Cashe Erskine, Vanessa Lodermeier and Saikat Basu were the other contestants.

Speakers: Kate Nesbitt and Keith McLaughlin

Kate Nesbitt is a fifth year student in the Environmental Science program. She has been a member of the Pronghorns Women’s Hockey team for the past four years and also involved in several student organizations, including Campus Roots and LPIRG. Kate is the founder of GreenHorns, a campus environmental awareness and mentoring group. She loves the University of Lethbridge and greatly values the opportunities it has provided for her.

Keith McLaughlin is a fifth-year political science student at the University of Lethbridge. For the last three years at the U of L, Keith has worked part time at The Meliorist. As a two-time News Editor for the campus publication (2006-07, 2009-10), he have covered campus, local and provincial news for the student and community readership. Keith has also dabbled in topical journalism as The Meliorist’s Features Editor in 2008-2009.

Moderators: Jenn Prosser and Alex Masse

12- 1:30pm

Post Secondary Education: How Will It Benefit Today’s World?

The second annual Student Speaker Challenge kicked off on Wednesday, Jan. 13 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event. Students addressed the question: What is the value of post-secondary education in today’s world? Much of the debate has focused on the need for such education to be utilized promoting much more critical thinking regarding sustainable (world) development, i.e. be the change you want others to adopt.

The Student Speaker Challenge is a collaboration of SACPA, LPIRG and the U of L Students Union, with financial and promotional support from the University of Lethbridge. Four initial sessions with two speakers each have successfully been held and the first semifinal session on Tuesday Feb 23 matched James Falconer and Keith McLaughlin, with the latter coming out ahead. The following week, Keith Gardner and Kate Nesbitt squared off, with Kate moving on. Selin Bilgin, Cashe Erskine, Vanessa Lodermeier and Saikat Basu were the other contestants.

Speakers: Kate Nesbitt and Keith McLaughlin

Kate Nesbitt is a fifth year student in the Environmental Science program. She has been a member of the Pronghorns Women’s Hockey team for the past four years and also involved in several student organizations, including Campus Roots and LPIRG. Kate is the founder of GreenHorns, a campus environmental awareness and mentoring group. She loves the University of Lethbridge and greatly values the opportunities it has provided for her.

Keith McLaughlin is a fifth-year political science student at the University of Lethbridge. For the last three years at the U of L, Keith has worked part time at The Meliorist. As a two-time News Editor for the campus publication (2006-07, 2009-10), he have covered campus, local and provincial news for the student and community readership. Keith has also dabbled in topical journalism as The Meliorist’s Features Editor in 2008-2009.

Moderators: Jenn Prosser and Alex Masse

12-1:30pm

The Lethbridge Association for Community Living (LACL) is founded on the belief that all people are entitled to all the rights and benefits of citizenship. This includes the right to participate and be involved in the community. The citizenship that many of us take for granted can be a daily struggle for some people as they try to overcome a legacy of discrimination and isolation. Awareness is fundamental to creating a welcoming inclusive community that values the contributions and potential of all of its citizens.

The speaker will provide insight into the history of segregation and the exclusion of citizens with developmental disabilities and the affect that this discrimination has on our community. He will share his thoughts on the accomplishments of our community through the community living movement, inclusive education, expanded employment opportunities and the self-advocacy movement.

Having worked with families and self-advocates as they build awareness of issues that can prevent people from being meaningfully engaged in community, the speaker will help us understand some of the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in the pursuit of living rich, meaningful lives and the role that each of us can play in building welcoming communities for all.

Speaker: Dave Lawson

Dave has been involved in supporting people with developmental disabilities for 30 years. For the past 4 years he has been the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Association for Community Living (LACL), a local organization providing support and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and their families in Lethbridge and area for more than 50 years.

12-1:30pm

The Lethbridge Association for Community Living (LACL) is founded on the belief that all people are entitled to all the rights and benefits of citizenship. This includes the right to participate and be involved in the community. The citizenship that many of us take for granted can be a daily struggle for some people as they try to overcome a legacy of discrimination and isolation. Awareness is fundamental to creating a welcoming inclusive community that values the contributions and potential of all of its citizens.

The speaker will provide insight into the history of segregation and the exclusion of citizens with developmental disabilities and the affect that this discrimination has on our community. He will share his thoughts on the accomplishments of our community through the community living movement, inclusive education, expanded employment opportunities and the self-advocacy movement.

Having worked with families and self-advocates as they build awareness of issues that can prevent people from being meaningfully engaged in community, the speaker will help us understand some of the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in the pursuit of living rich, meaningful lives and the role that each of us can play in building welcoming communities for all.

Speaker: Dave Lawson

Dave has been involved in supporting people with developmental disabilities for 30 years. For the past 4 years he has been the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Association for Community Living (LACL), a local organization providing support and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and their families in Lethbridge and area for more than 50 years.

12-1:30pm

Not everyone agrees that we should teach gambling and probabilities to students. Some worry that we might initiate or encourage gambling addictions among a percentage of students. This is a genuine concern, but overall, the speaker believes the benefit to the majority of students outweighs the possible negatives, because everyone gambles.

You do not have to go to a casino, bingo hall or a lounge to gamble. Everybody gambles daily, be it for large, significant amounts, small change at a golf game or in relationships and job choices. The more we know about probabilities the better our chances of making favourable bets that affect our lives.

Speaker: Dennis Connolly

Dennis Connolly arrived in Canada from Sydney, Australia, September 1966. On his travels across Canada, Dennis was delayed in Lethbridge, during a snowstorm in May 1967, when five feet of wet snow fell on Southern Alberta. While waiting out the storm, he was offered a job at the newly formed University of Lethbridge and initially signed on for 2 years. 43 years later, Dennis is one of the very few original professors still teaching full time at U of L.

Along the way, Dennis received his Masters degree in Mathematics at the University of Western Ontario and his PhD from the University of York, York England.

On all his research visits to Las Vegas, the “Probability’s Theory of Loss” has been confirmed every time. Dennis has also written or co-written several publications related to probabilities and gambling.

12-1:30pm

Not everyone agrees that we should teach gambling and probabilities to students. Some worry that we might initiate or encourage gambling addictions among a percentage of students. This is a genuine concern, but overall, the speaker believes the benefit to the majority of students outweighs the possible negatives, because everyone gambles.

You do not have to go to a casino, bingo hall or a lounge to gamble. Everybody gambles daily, be it for large, significant amounts, small change at a golf game or in relationships and job choices. The more we know about probabilities the better our chances of making favourable bets that affect our lives.

Speaker: Dennis Connolly

Dennis Connolly arrived in Canada from Sydney, Australia, September 1966. On his travels across Canada, Dennis was delayed in Lethbridge, during a snowstorm in May 1967, when five feet of wet snow fell on Southern Alberta. While waiting out the storm, he was offered a job at the newly formed University of Lethbridge and initially signed on for 2 years. 43 years later, Dennis is one of the very few original professors still teaching full time at U of L.

Along the way, Dennis received his Masters degree in Mathematics at the University of Western Ontario and his PhD from the University of York, York England.

On all his research visits to Las Vegas, the “Probability’s Theory of Loss” has been confirmed every time. Dennis has also written or co-written several publications related to probabilities and gambling.

12- 1:30pm

The latest polls show that the Alberta Conservative Party, which for the last 39 years has formed our provincial government, is trailing the upstart Wildrose Alliance Party. While the governing Tories presently have a massive majority in the Legislature, lack of support from core groups may open the door for big changes in the next election.

In Sep 2009, former Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman led the party to a stunning by-election victory in the long held Conservative riding of Calgary-Glenmore. Apparent discontent within the Tory caucus, became reality with the recent “floor crossing” by 2 Tory MLA’s, to join the Wildrose Alliance and new leader Danielle Smith, further suggesting that Alberta’s political landscape could be different in the future.

The speaker will explain the Wildrose Alliance Party policies and argue that they are mostly grass roots in nature, therefore responsive to the needs and wishes of the voting public.

Speaker: Danielle Smith

October 17, 2009 Danielle Smith was elected as the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party. A fiscal conservative, she believes in the power of a free enterprise economy and efficient, cost effective delivery of essential social services by government.

Until recently, Danielle was the Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Prior to joining CFIB, Danielle worked as an editorial writer and columnist at the Calgary Herald for six years and has been the host of Global Sunday, a national current affairs television talk show.

Danielle received her B.A. in English and Economics from the University of Calgary. Later she worked on policy research during a year-long internship at the Fraser Institute. Danielle has also served as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education and worked in advocacy as director of the Alberta Property Rights Initiative.

12- 1:30pm

The latest polls show that the Alberta Conservative Party, which for the last 39 years has formed our provincial government, is trailing the upstart Wildrose Alliance Party. While the governing Tories presently have a massive majority in the Legislature, lack of support from core groups may open the door for big changes in the next election.

In Sep 2009, former Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman led the party to a stunning by-election victory in the long held Conservative riding of Calgary-Glenmore. Apparent discontent within the Tory caucus, became reality with the recent “floor crossing” by 2 Tory MLA’s, to join the Wildrose Alliance and new leader Danielle Smith, further suggesting that Alberta’s political landscape could be different in the future.

The speaker will explain the Wildrose Alliance Party policies and argue that they are mostly grass roots in nature, therefore responsive to the needs and wishes of the voting public.

Speaker: Danielle Smith

October 17, 2009 Danielle Smith was elected as the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party. A fiscal conservative, she believes in the power of a free enterprise economy and efficient, cost effective delivery of essential social services by government.

Until recently, Danielle was the Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Prior to joining CFIB, Danielle worked as an editorial writer and columnist at the Calgary Herald for six years and has been the host of Global Sunday, a national current affairs television talk show.

Danielle received her B.A. in English and Economics from the University of Calgary. Later she worked on policy research during a year-long internship at the Fraser Institute. Danielle has also served as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education and worked in advocacy as director of the Alberta Property Rights Initiative.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean has prorogued Parliament again this year, postponing the opening date from January 25 to March 3, in response to a request from Prime Minister Harper.

Professor Duane Bratt will discuss the constitutional implications and role of prorogation in the context of last year’s prorogation and the place it might have in managing ongoing minority governments.

Speaker: Professor Duane Bratt, Mount Royal University

Duane Bratt teaches political science and public policy in the Department of Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. He is also an Associate with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Duane was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA 1992) and Alberta (PhD 1996). His primary teaching area is international relations, with specialties in the sub-fields of international organizations and Canadian foreign policy.

Duane is a regular guest on CITY-TV’s Breakfast Television and CBC-radio’s Wildrose Forum, as well as a general media commentator on political matters. Recent publications include: Canada and the Global Nuclear Revival (McGill-Queen’s University Press, forthcoming), The Politics of CANDU Exports (University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 2006), and co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas (Oxford University Press: Toronto, 2006).

Governor General Michaëlle Jean has prorogued Parliament again this year, postponing the opening date from January 25 to March 3, in response to a request from Prime Minister Harper.

Professor Duane Bratt will discuss the constitutional implications and role of prorogation in the context of last year’s prorogation and the place it might have in managing ongoing minority governments.

Speaker: Professor Duane Bratt, Mount Royal University

Duane Bratt teaches political science and public policy in the Department of Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. He is also an Associate with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Duane was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA 1992) and Alberta (PhD 1996). His primary teaching area is international relations, with specialties in the sub-fields of international organizations and Canadian foreign policy.

Duane is a regular guest on CITY-TV’s Breakfast Television and CBC-radio’s Wildrose Forum, as well as a general media commentator on political matters. Recent publications include: Canada and the Global Nuclear Revival (McGill-Queen’s University Press, forthcoming), The Politics of CANDU Exports (University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 2006), and co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas (Oxford University Press: Toronto, 2006).