Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

oin us for an insightful presentation by Minister Nathan Neudorf, MLA for Lethbridge-East and Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities. Minister Neudorf will delve into the details of Alberta’s electricity market providing valuable insights into its current state and discussing key factors impacting electricity affordability. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Alberta’s electricity sector, and discover how government initiatives are working towards ensuring a reliable and affordable electricity grid for all Albertans. Don’t miss the opportunity to stay informed and engaged on critical issues shaping our province’s electricity landscape. Speaker: Nathan Neudorf MLA for Lethbridge East Nathan Neudorf was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge East on April 16, 2019, and was re-elected on May 29, 2023. Prior to his election, Mr. Neudorf worked in commercial construction. He has his civil and structural engineering diploma and is

Tourism is vital for the success of many economies around the world. It boosts revenues, creates thousands of jobs, helps to develop infrastructure and plants a sense of cultural exchange between visitors and residents. With four UNESCO World Heritage sites and the largest facilities for Sports and Business Events south of Calgary, opportunities are available to invest, grow and capture additional economic impact. How do we accomplish this and do it in a sustainable way? The Speaker will explore some of the exciting projects happening in 2024 and look at the potential of tourism in our region over the next 10 years. Speaker: Erin Crane Erin Crane is the CEO for Tourism Lethbridge. She tells people that this was the position she was born to do! Erin grew up at the Grand Canyon and has spent a majority of her career working in the tourism industry. From managing performing art centres, to coordinating world championship boxing events, to working in hotels, to working aboard the Vulcan Trek Station to encourage

The Alberta Government recently announced their intention to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth under the age of 18, despite contemporary research and internationally recognized best practices, as set out by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), agreeing that this could end up hurting many of those vulnerable youth. Additionally proposed measures for transgender minors also includes a ban on puberty blockers and parental consent for pronoun changes. Teachers and health professionals were largely not consulted, but more importantly, trans youth have had their voices completely ignored. If legislated into law, these measures could have serious consequences and make Alberta similar to most U.S. states controlled by Republican politicians. The speaker will contend this is blatant government overreach and legislated bias. Speaker: Katie DeLucia-Burk Katie DeLucia-Burk (she/her), is a registered social worker with a BSW from the University of Calgary. She is the sole consultant a

The ability to ride your bike off highway and jog or walk safely along a 15 km paved pathway between Lethbridge and Coaldale is something the LINK Regional Pathway Society is working towards. And they have the support of the City and Lethbridge County, St. Mary Irrigation District (SMRID) and the Town of Coaldale. The society has been working on a vision to connect the Henderson Lake area with the Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale using the SMRID canal easement running through irrigated farm land. The total cost of the project, including picnic shelters along the pathway, will be more than $5 million, of which $2 million has been raised so far. It is hoped that within a few years, enough money will be found to complete this pathway, which recently received Trans Canada Trail designation. Construction of the pathway from Coaldale to Hwy 512 started in the fall of 2023 and should be ready for use this year. Funding is also in place to complete crossing under Hwy 512 and further along past Vista Meadows. The spea

ALERT’s (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams) ICE (Internet Child Exploitation) teams investigate a range of criminal offences involving child pornography, any computer-related child sexual abuse, child luring over the internet, voyeurism involving underage victims, and child sex trade/tourism. ICE teams also investigate sextortion involving minors. Intakes and case referrals have nearly tripled over a 6 year period. Since last year, ICE experienced over an 8% increase, in a continued upward trend since the pandemic and continued increase in youth digital dependency. New provincial funding has allowed ALERT to address the increased pressure with additional resources. Speaker: Heather Bangle Cst. Heather Bangle has been a member of the RCMP for over 22 years. She served 6 ½ years in general duties before transferring to the ALERT Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in 2008. In 2011 Heather transferred within ALERT to the Southern Alberta ICE unit and has years of experience investigating all child expl

Through Kainai Peacemaking we continue to strive for quality of life and provide an orderly and acceptable way of conducting our lives within the Kainai community by providing opportunities for individuals to resolve conflicts with the law. Speakers: Debbie Melting Tallow, Sherry Tailfeathers and Leon Day Chief Debbie Melting Tallow is administrative support/Intake worker for the Kainai Peacemaking Program. She was employed as the administrative assistant when the program started 15 years ago and as time went on and referrals increased, she attended Cardston court for such referrals, assisted as a facilitator for peacemaker/elder counseling, wrote completion reports, and updated the Crown, Defence lawyers and Native Counseling regarding the referrals. Sherry Tailfeathers has been employed by the Kainai Peacemaking Program since 2009 and serves as Community Liaison/Facilitator. Leon Day Chief, MHD, IBSW, is the program supervisor. He facilitates peacemaking and elder counseling and manages the inner workings o

In January 2024, Rachel Notley announced that she’s stepping down as leader of the Alberta NDP. Notley, the daughter of former NDP leader Grant Notley, was elected to the Alberta Legislature in 2008, representing Edmonton – Strathcona. She won the provincial party leadership in October 2014 and subsequently served as premier of Alberta from 2015 - 2019 after the NDP won the 2015 provincial election. No matter who follows Notley, her resignation will leave a gaping hole in Alberta politics. The speaker will reflect on Notley’s legacy in Alberta and speculate on where a new leader may take Alberta’s NDP. Speaker: Trevor W. Harrison Trevor Harrison is a Professor Emeritus of sociology at the University of Lethbridge. He is also a former Director of the Parkland :Institute (2011 - 2021), an Alberta wide research organization, of which he is a founding member. He is best known for his studies in political sociology, political economy and public policy. Harrison is the author, co-author or co-editor of ten books, n

Combining firm ideological commitments with shrewd political tactics, Jason Kenney was a key figure in bringing right-wing populism to the mainstream of Canadian politics, but in doing so he unleashed forces he couldn’t control, which eventually produced his downfall. The speaker will argue that from Jason Kenney’s days as an anti-abortion activist at the University of San Francisco, and through his years as a Canadian Taxpayers Federation lobbyist, Reform MP, top cabinet minister in the Harper government, and Alberta premier, Kenney has been single-mindedly driven to bring his harsh moralistic worldview into the mainstream. Kenney took on the old guard of Canada’s liberal consensus and won, playing a key role in shifting the country’s political discussion to the right. But the very right-wing populist forces Kenney cultivated would come back to haunt him. Speaker: Jeremy Appel Jeremy Appel has observed Alberta politics and reported on various aspects of Kenney’s agenda since 2017, when Kenney made his way ac

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if what we’re seeing online is true. With so much information coming from countless different sources the internet can be an overwhelming landscape. There are a lot of tactics misinformers can use to catch us off guard and no one is excluded from getting caught up in it from time to time. ScienceUpFirst is an initiative from the Canadian Association of Science Centres. Our mission is to share good science, giving people the tools that they need to spot misinformation for themselves. I will be discussing this topic and answering any questions that you might have about us, misinformation and being a good digital citizen. Speaker: Amanda Bigford - English Content Creator, Canadian Association of Science Centres | Association canadienne des centres de sciences

There’s no question our communities face major struggles within the K-12 education system in Alberta - unfunded students, overwhelmed staff, crowded classrooms, and insufficient inclusive learning supports. So is anything actually working in education? Here’s the answer key: “Yes”. Creating a vision for a successful learning for every student is a critical part of developing our communities. Kristina Larkin advocates for change and also celebrations, and will explore school and education system successes, promising practices, and the excellent learning that takes place in Alberta schools - and ways to encourage more. Speaker: Kristina Larkin Kristina Larkin is a Trustee with Lethbridge School Division, Director of Community Programs at the YMCA of Lethbridge, Board Co-Chair at Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society, and Auntie to wonderful kiddos. She has worked with and cared for thousands of students through her work in schools, community tutoring and education support programs, supporting refugee students t

Dams don’t make water. They store it. Water actually comes from the headwaters landscape and we are squandering our future because of a collective failure to see that the most important water management decisions are actually land use decisions. There is more water to be found, but only if we demand changes to how our Eastern Slopes are managed. And time is running out. Speaker: Kevin Van Tighem Kevin has worked in landscape ecology and conservation for four decades, mostly in western Canada’s national parks. His family roots in what is now Alberta go back to 1875. Since retiring as superintendent of Banff in 2011, he has served on the boards of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Livingstone Landowners Group and has been active in support of numerous conservation causes. Kevin is the award-winning author of fifteen books on wildlife and nature including Our Place/Changing the Nature of Alberta, Heart Waters/Sources of the Bow River. and Wild Roses Are Worth It. He was granted an honorary Doctor of Scien

In a 2015 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously voted that the prohibition on assisted death in the Criminal Code was unconstitutional. This led to Parliament passing Bill C-14 in 2016, amending the Criminal Code to allow legal exemptions for MAiD. Since its passage, MAiD usage has increased every year, with a total of 10,064 MAID provisions in 2021 alone, accounting for 3.3% of all deaths in Canada. Public polling suggests that the majority of Canadians support MAiD, but their opinions about the service are nuanced and complex. There continues to be stigma, taboo, logistical and procedural challenges, as well as ethical and equity concerns about the practice. In debates about MAiD, very little attention has been paid to the rural parts of the country. There is of course no singular, agreed-upon definition of rural, but the concept often includes a combination of geography, culture, population size or density, and qualitative experience. Given that rurality is a significant and often overlooked dete

The Lethbridge Historical Society (originally the Whoop-Up Chapter of the Historical Society of Alberta) has been publishing occasional papers/books since the 1960s. The Society’s current publication – Upon Further Reflection: Lethbridge Then and Now – is the Society’s 62nd publication. The book is an update of the LHS’ 1980 publication: Reflections: Lethbridge Then and Now, written by Warren Hall and Barb Goodman. The captions in the new book were researched and written by Belinda Crowson, and the new photographs taken by Mike Jensen and Belinda Crowson. Upon Further Reflection shares the story of the grand and the mundane buildings in all parts of the city, showing how sites have changed and providing readers a glimpse into the development of some areas of the community. Belinda Crowson will outline the LHS’ book publishing program and its role in supporting local history and historians. She will also explore the research and work that went into this publication and how the stories of local history are capt

The Indigenous Recovery Program is dedicated to proactively addressing the opioid crisis by implementing a comprehensive and collaborative approach rooted in cultural sensitivity, compassion, and harm reduction. Our mission is to reduce opioid-related deaths, raise awareness about opioid misuse, enhance access to culturally relevant, compassionate, and non-judgmental services, and forge a holistic path forward for First Nations living in urban areas. Goals are to: Foster open dialogue on opioid-related issues to reduce stigma and encourage early intervention. Expand and enhance culturally sensitive treatment and support services for individuals struggling with opioid addiction. Educate healthcare professionals and service providers in culturally competent care to ensure a supportive and understanding environment. Facilitate collaborative efforts involving community leaders, elders, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to address the opioid crisis comprehensively. Develop a holisti

While Opioid addictions and overdoses is a crisis across the country and provincially, the statistics are staggering for Southern Alberta. The speaker will provide context and put a face to these statistics. The presentation will address Policies developed to stem the tide of addiction and drug poisonings. Policies purported to assist individuals to treatment and support will be reviewed. The advocacy of “Moms Stop the Harm” and the policies and solutions the group would like to see implemented will be discussed. Speaker: Amber Jensen Amber Jensen is a member of Moms Stop the Harm and a social justice advocate in Southern Alberta. She has 13 years experience working in the human services field and holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Lethbridge. Amber is the co-author of “I Am the Opioid Crisis: Stories from Southern Alberta”. She also started a non-profit organization called Sweetgrass Youth Alliance that strives to support youth transitioning from youth to adulthood that are involved in the c

Pro-Choice YQL’s goal is to empower individuals in Southern Alberta with the knowledge and resources necessary to make informed choices about their reproductive health and sexual wellness. We are dedicated to advocating for access to safe and legal abortion services, contraception, and comprehensive sexual education. Our vision is a future where reproductive justice is a reality for all. We firmly believe that every person in Southern Alberta deserves the reproductive care they require, free from judgment, discrimination, and stigma. We are committed to building a more equitable and inclusive future by championing the rights of individuals to make decisions about their own bodies and lives. We aim to foster a community where reproductive healthcare is readily accessible and celebrated as a fundamental component of overall health and well-being. Speaker: Jenn Prosser, Pro-Choice YQL Jenn Prosser is the Community Access Coordinator and WAGE Project Coordinator for Pro-Choice YQL. Jenn has two decades of experie

Despite its seemingly objective stance towards history, rooted in the analysis of material remains of past societies, archaeological interpretation is often contested and invoked to make arguments about the present. Archaeology acts, in some ways, as a metaphorical fault line in contemporary societies, upon which power and identity is negotiated through reference to past peoples and things. Because of this, how people treat cultural heritage can be used as a barometer for different kinds of political sentiments, from the rights of women and minorities to public mistrust of vaccines. In this talk, the speaker will explore how archaeology and the treatment of cultural heritage has related to the political and social movements from the 18th century to the present. He will discuss how Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt prefigured the extractive colonial regimes of the Victorian era. The treatment of First Nations bodies by museums in the same period reflected genocidal policies of settler colonialism. More recently, th

Energy transition — moving away from fossil fuels toward more renewable sources of energy — is well underway, even in Alberta. For example, Alberta will move completely away from coal-fired electricity by the end of 2023. Despite this, energy transition is sometimes presented as, and for some genuinely perceived as an “existential” threat to economic prosperity, particularly for provinces like Alberta. This presentation outlines public opinion about energy transition; knowing this helps explain and understand how and why energy transition is politicized by elite and partisan political actors. Speaker: Melanee Thomas, PhD Professor - Department of Political Science - University of Calgary Melanee Thomas is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary. Her research addresses the causes and consequences of gender-based political inequality, focusing on Canadian political parties, elections, and political institutions; gender and politics; and the politics of energy transition.

Lethbridge’s existing Land Use Bylaw has served our community since 1986. During this time, several amendments have been undertaken to this Bylaw to address market demands and resident aspirations. However, since its creation almost 40 years ago it has not undergone a comprehensive renewal. The Land Use Bylaw sets out the rules for what kind of building or activity can take place on private property and outlines the process for issuing Development Permits that give approval for new buildings and activities. In July 2023, the City of Lethbridge initiated a project to comprehensively renew its Land Use Bylaw to address current issues faced by the community. This is a three-year project with an anticipated completion in 2026. Phase 1 of this project focuses on addressing Land Use Bylaw regulations related to various social uses such as housing with social support and social services. This presentation will provide a full overview of this project and questions will be encouraged following the presentation. Projec

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Take Back Alberta supporters in the United Conservative Party arguably want to take Albertans out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and substitute an “Alberta Pension Plan” (APP). Given its possible long-term effect on the lives of Albertans, this should have been one of the more important issues in the recent election campaign. Instead, the Premier refused to discuss it at all, and now the provincial government is spending more than 7.5 million dollars promoting the plan. This means that Albertans don’t have meaningful information about the proposed new plan. The benefit structure is likely to be similar to the CPP (although probably not identical), but the risks are many … Join us to hear Brad Lafortune discuss the specifics about how the CPP works. He will also discuss what civil society, businesses, seniors, and many Albertans are doing to come together to make sure CPP is there for all Albertans – and all Canadians – for generations to come. Speaker: Brad Lafortune, Publ