Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The answers to these questions are clear but not widely known. Juries are completely free to return any verdict they wish to return. Juries are not constrained in this by the law. There is no penalty for coming to whatever verdict the jury wishes to come to. Coming to a verdict which is at odds with the letter of the law is called jury nullification. Juries can, in effect, nullify the law. Juries,...

The Lethbridge Hurricanes Western Hockey League (WHL) franchise began in Winnipeg 45 years ago as the Winnipeg Jets. The franchise stayed in Winnipeg until the conclusion of the 1976-1977 season, along the way changing its name to the Winnipeg Clubs and later, the Winnipeg Monarchs. The franchise moved to Calgary for the 1977-78 season playing there as the Wranglers for 10 seasons before relocatin...

The Lethbridge Hurricanes Western Hockey League (WHL) franchise began in Winnipeg 45 years ago as the Winnipeg Jets. The franchise stayed in Winnipeg until the conclusion of the 1976-1977 season, along the way changing its name to the Winnipeg Clubs and later, the Winnipeg Monarchs. The franchise moved to Calgary for the 1977-78 season playing there as the Wranglers for 10 seasons before relocatin...

Resource development inside municipal boundaries might sound strange, but given Alberta’s geological landscape it is rare to find municipalities that don’t have some type of energy project affecting lands within their corporate boundaries. The City of Lethbridge is one of these municipalities so affected. Arguable, the challenge is to ensure impacts are minimized, public safety is maintained and c...

Resource development inside municipal boundaries might sound strange, but given Alberta’s geological landscape it is rare to find municipalities that don’t have some type of energy project affecting lands within their corporate boundaries. The City of Lethbridge is one of these municipalities so affected. Arguable, the challenge is to ensure impacts are minimized, public safety is maintained and c...

Private ownership is one of the cornerstones of our system. Each person is responsible for the care, maintenance and development of their own land, house or business. But what happens when a privately owned historic building is historically valuable? Lethbridge has a number of historically significant buildings that need repair and some of them are held privately. In some cases, like the Bow on To...

Private ownership is one of the cornerstones of our system. Each person is responsible for the care, maintenance and development of their own land, house or business. But what happens when a privately owned historic building is historically valuable? Lethbridge has a number of historically significant buildings that need repair and some of them are held privately. In some cases, like the Bow on To...

Recently, lively debates have emerged in the social sciences about how to think about the unexpected return of religion to the public sphere. This phenomenon has occurred not only in modernizing societies around the globe, but also in modern Western democracies. Scientific rationality and technical expertise have always been regarded as the most powerful forces for modernization. Yet it turns out...

Recently, lively debates have emerged in the social sciences about how to think about the unexpected return of religion to the public sphere. This phenomenon has occurred not only in modernizing societies around the globe, but also in modern Western democracies. Scientific rationality and technical expertise have always been regarded as the most powerful forces for modernization. Yet it turns out...

During the disastrous June 2013 Southern Alberta floods, thousands of people were displaced and entire communities were affected by flooding that brought dramatic change to how people live, work and interact with each other. Furthermore, the financial losses are in the billions, which when everything is said and done will affect everyone in the province. The speaker will argue that the critical el...

During the disastrous June 2013 Southern Alberta floods, thousands of people were displaced and entire communities were affected by flooding that brought dramatic change to how people live, work and interact with each other. Furthermore, the financial losses are in the billions, which when everything is said and done will affect everyone in the province. The speaker will argue that the critical el...

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited un...

Despite the growing gender balance in provincial premiers, elected politics remains the domain of men. According to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Canadian women's position in politics is 20% of men's. How is this possible, given that Canada not only has no formal, legal restrictions on women's political representation and participation, but that discrimination based on gender is prohibited un...

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media ab...

Increasingly, the federal Government has been tightening its leash on its scientists and science in general. For instance, most publicly funded research must now have an industrial component. In several departments, researchers are now only allowed to speak about their studies if ministerial permission has been granted. In many documented cases, scientists have been muzzled in speaking to media ab...

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Ha...

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Ha...

When the topic of evolution comes up it is often to discuss the debate, to choose sides, and to balance the arguments, but is it time to quit debating evolution? By affording anti-evolutionists equal time we risk spending all our time debating evolution and missing the real debates within evolution. These debates, full of exciting controversy and disagreement, are obfuscated when the focus is on t...

When the topic of evolution comes up it is often to discuss the debate, to choose sides, and to balance the arguments, but is it time to quit debating evolution? By affording anti-evolutionists equal time we risk spending all our time debating evolution and missing the real debates within evolution. These debates, full of exciting controversy and disagreement, are obfuscated when the focus is on t...

In 2008, Prime Minister Harper apologized for the shared government and church-run Indian Residential School System. As part of that apology, an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck, using a model practiced by only a handful of countries worldwide. Its mandate runs through 2014, and in June and July it will hold local public hearings in Alberta- hearings where former students...

In 2008, Prime Minister Harper apologized for the shared government and church-run Indian Residential School System. As part of that apology, an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck, using a model practiced by only a handful of countries worldwide. Its mandate runs through 2014, and in June and July it will hold local public hearings in Alberta- hearings where former students...

The practice of enhancing physical performance with ingested substances has been around since ancient times. The Greeks were known to use a form of opium; other cultures have used mushrooms and even strychnine. But in modern times, the use of synthetic drugs to enhance athletic performance, commonly referred to as doping, has exploded, as evidenced by the recent massive doping scandals involving l...

The practice of enhancing physical performance with ingested substances has been around since ancient times. The Greeks were known to use a form of opium; other cultures have used mushrooms and even strychnine. But in modern times, the use of synthetic drugs to enhance athletic performance, commonly referred to as doping, has exploded, as evidenced by the recent massive doping scandals involving l...

The Progressive Conservative Party has been the governing party for more than four decades in Alberta for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that there has rarely been a viable alternative party with enough support to move from the Opposition to the Government benches. In almost every political system that employs a single member plurality electoral system the opposition parties merge...

The Progressive Conservative Party has been the governing party for more than four decades in Alberta for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that there has rarely been a viable alternative party with enough support to move from the Opposition to the Government benches. In almost every political system that employs a single member plurality electoral system the opposition parties merge...