Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

"Getting tough on crime" is a perennially attractive political stance, which usually translates into calls for more policing dollars and tougher sentencing. But these alone don''t stop people from committing crimes in the first place, and they don''t address what happens after arrests, convictions and sentences are served.

Those who serve time in our jails come from communities in which they leave families, circumstances and associates behind, and they must eventually return to a community. When they do, things that the rest of us might take for granted can become impossible barriers.

The realities of life after jail are unknown to most citizens who have not experienced them first-hand. But the cost of these realities is not just paid by those who go to and return from jail. Failure to consider effective crime prevention strategies or effective reintegration hurts families, friends, co-workers and the larger community. It costs us all.

What are the "barriers" to public recognition of these costs, and of practical ways to do something pro-active about them? What are the public policy and community consequences of placing these matters "out of sight, out of mind?"

Speaker: Gordon Leigh

Gordon Leigh is Executive Director of the Lethbridge John Howard Society. He has many years of experience working first hand with those returning from prison to the community, as well as with changing policy and political priorities that have affected both prisoners and the communities they come from and return to. He has headed a number of local initiatives, including a Problem Gambling Prevention and Awareness Program for inmates and the Life Without Gambling program for the larger community. He is also the author of the best-selling The Law of the Land: A Criminal Code for Kids.

The economic wealth for Albertans associated with energy development is apparent, but what are the environmental costs for us now and into the future? Huge economic opportunity lies in the tar sands and in export of energy from the province but there are major land, water and air quality issues. How do we integrate provincial policies regarding energy development and environmental protection? Are we looking beyond the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in two years, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Speaker: Marlo Raynolds is the executive director of the Pembina Institute, a national non-profit organization specializing in corporate and community eco-solutions to major environmental challenges that face Canadians. He also is an adjunct professor for the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. Before joining the Pembina Institute in 1995, Marlo obtained a MSc in management for non-profit organizations and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Marlo lives in Canmore.

The economic wealth for Albertans associated with energy development is apparent, but what are the environmental costs for us now and into the future? Huge economic opportunity lies in the tar sands and in export of energy from the province but there are major land, water and air quality issues. How do we integrate provincial policies regarding energy development and environmental protection? Are we looking beyond the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in two years, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Speaker: Marlo Raynolds is the executive director of the Pembina Institute, a national non-profit organization specializing in corporate and community eco-solutions to major environmental challenges that face Canadians. He also is an adjunct professor for the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. Before joining the Pembina Institute in 1995, Marlo obtained a MSc in management for non-profit organizations and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Marlo lives in Canmore.

There are several labour force issues in southern Alberta including the impact of retiring baby-boomers, the shortage of workers in specific industry sectors and the challenges of attracting, retaining and developing qualified employees to a lesser-known region of Alberta and Canada.

Cheryl Dick will be providing an overview of these and other issues and some of the solutions being developed to support employers in addressing their needs. Highlights will include some background on the situation as well as an overview of provincial and local initiatives.

Speaker: Cheryl Dick

Cheryl Dick is executive director of Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL). Prior to joining EDL in June 2005 she worked with executive teams in privately-traded corporations and public institutions, including Canadian Airlines, Norcen Energy and Lethbridge Community College. Cheryl obtained an MBA from Royal Roads University in 2003. Prior to working in public relations, she was a news anchor/reporter for CFCN Television in Lethbridge. Cheryl’s roots are in southern Alberta. She states “I am proud to be working with a great team of people in ensuring broad-based awareness of the reasons why Lethbridge and area is the place to live, learn, invest, visit, do business and prosper”.

There are several labour force issues in southern Alberta including the impact of retiring baby-boomers, the shortage of workers in specific industry sectors and the challenges of attracting, retaining and developing qualified employees to a lesser-known region of Alberta and Canada.

Cheryl Dick will be providing an overview of these and other issues and some of the solutions being developed to support employers in addressing their needs. Highlights will include some background on the situation as well as an overview of provincial and local initiatives.

Speaker: Cheryl Dick

Cheryl Dick is executive director of Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL). Prior to joining EDL in June 2005 she worked with executive teams in privately-traded corporations and public institutions, including Canadian Airlines, Norcen Energy and Lethbridge Community College. Cheryl obtained an MBA from Royal Roads University in 2003. Prior to working in public relations, she was a news anchor/reporter for CFCN Television in Lethbridge. Cheryl’s roots are in southern Alberta. She states “I am proud to be working with a great team of people in ensuring broad-based awareness of the reasons why Lethbridge and area is the place to live, learn, invest, visit, do business and prosper”.

How will our provincial government''s Third Way proposals for health care affect Albertans? What will happen to our system when patients can "buy their way" to the front of the line for certain services?

Most criticism of the government''s plan has focused on obvious issues of equity, access and fairness. But there''s another big danger lurking in the shadows -- one that hasn''t received enough public attention. That''s the issue of substantially increased benefit costs for employers in the province.

Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour contends that the "third way" health-care reform package will force Alberta companies to spend more on employee benefits, thus creating a financial burden for business. Says McGowan: “Government and business should realize that, as the Medicare umbrella shrinks, employers are going to have to fill the holes that the Third Way will tear open in our health coverage. It will become a ''must do'' for businesses hoping to attract and retain quality employees.”

Presenter: Gil McGowan is President of the Alberta Federation of Labour and a member of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union. He is author of three booklets on unions and the Alberta economy: Now More than Ever (1999); Missing Out on the Boom? (1998) and Crumbs from the Table (1997). Of particular note is his work between 1996 and 2003 with Friends of Medicare, where he was Communications Coordinator and a lead organizer and strategist for campaigns against Bill 37 and Bill 11 (bills aimed at legalizing for-profit hospitals in Alberta). McGowan organized some of the largest rallies in Alberta history, including major rallies against Bill 11 in Edmonton and Calgary. He is married with three children.

Special note: Immediately after lunch, Rebecca Thompson, soprano, will treat those present to Dvorak''s "Song to the Moon".

How will our provincial government''s Third Way proposals for health care affect Albertans? What will happen to our system when patients can "buy their way" to the front of the line for certain services?

Most criticism of the government''s plan has focused on obvious issues of equity, access and fairness. But there''s another big danger lurking in the shadows -- one that hasn''t received enough public attention. That''s the issue of substantially increased benefit costs for employers in the province.

Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour contends that the "third way" health-care reform package will force Alberta companies to spend more on employee benefits, thus creating a financial burden for business. Says McGowan: “Government and business should realize that, as the Medicare umbrella shrinks, employers are going to have to fill the holes that the Third Way will tear open in our health coverage. It will become a ''must do'' for businesses hoping to attract and retain quality employees.”

Presenter: Gil McGowan is President of the Alberta Federation of Labour and a member of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union. He is author of three booklets on unions and the Alberta economy: Now More than Ever (1999); Missing Out on the Boom? (1998) and Crumbs from the Table (1997). Of particular note is his work between 1996 and 2003 with Friends of Medicare, where he was Communications Coordinator and a lead organizer and strategist for campaigns against Bill 37 and Bill 11 (bills aimed at legalizing for-profit hospitals in Alberta). McGowan organized some of the largest rallies in Alberta history, including major rallies against Bill 11 in Edmonton and Calgary. He is married with three children.

Special note: Immediately after lunch, Rebecca Thompson, soprano, will treat those present to Dvorak''s "Song to the Moon".

The Premier has asked Albertans to provide him and his caucus with feedback on the approach to health care known as the Third Way. Premier Klein wants to know what we have to say and he has given us until the end of March to speak up. SACPA is providing an opportunity for you to come and have your say.

The meeting will not follow the usual format. There will be no speaker with all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. All we know is the Third Way is coming to the Legislature and that Albertans have been asked to provide their views on it.

So the speakers will be you – the people gathered. The gathering will be moderated and covered by Shaw TV as usual. SACPA will thus be facilitating the Premier’s request for feedback.

The end of March is soon upon us. This is an opportunity for persons of all persuasions to be heard.

The Premier has asked Albertans to provide him and his caucus with feedback on the approach to health care known as the Third Way. Premier Klein wants to know what we have to say and he has given us until the end of March to speak up. SACPA is providing an opportunity for you to come and have your say.

The meeting will not follow the usual format. There will be no speaker with all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. All we know is the Third Way is coming to the Legislature and that Albertans have been asked to provide their views on it.

So the speakers will be you – the people gathered. The gathering will be moderated and covered by Shaw TV as usual. SACPA will thus be facilitating the Premier’s request for feedback.

The end of March is soon upon us. This is an opportunity for persons of all persuasions to be heard.

Back when colonization was in vogue, European explorers, looking for the sea route to China, stumbled upon the “New World,” which was new to them but whose citizens (why not call them Americans?) had lived there for centuries. In the name of and with the approval and support of the governments that had sent them out, these explorers systematically imposed their will and their rule on these first Americans.

The societies and cultures they encountered were swept aside in favour of the culture and agenda of the colonizers. Through a very deliberate campaign of domination and exploitation, in which the lives of the Americans did not matter, the newcomers killed them by the millions. Some scholars estimate that over one hundred million Americans died in the colonization of the “New World.”

The Americans who inhabited our part of the world, prior to the arrival of the Europeans, were the plains Indians, more specifically, the Blackfoot, or by their own name, the Niitsitapi. Their population was subsequently decimated during less than one hundred years of European influence and today they struggle for survival in the sub-standard living conditions historically allotted to them by the colonizers.

Who dares to admit that these Americans were the victims of genocide? What does their future hold?

Speaker: Roy Davidson

Roy Davidson is a lawyer, born and raised in Lethbridge, who now lives in Pincher Creek. He has recently completed a novel on Blackfoot history, the first in a series. His interest in human rights has taken him to the Guatemala City dump, to the streets of Bolivia and to Brocket. He has been a director of the Napi Friendship Society and the Horse Spirit Youth Society.