Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is one of the most important Crown corporations operating in the province. It was, until recent controversies, perhaps the least known and understood of Alberta's provincial agencies. In "Can AIMCo be Fixed?" a research paper published by The Parkland Institute, Bob Ascah examines the investment track record of AIMCo, the critical role played b...

The CPP came into effect on January 1, 1966 and applied to all provinces and territories except Quebec, where the separate but similar QPP was established in the same year. The contribution rates for QPP are higher than those for CPP. Although the year’s maximum pensionable earnings ($61,600 for 2021) and annual basic exemption ($3,500) for both plans are the same, an employee paying into the QPP...

The development of large irrigation projects in Southern Alberta over 100 years ago brought secure water supplies to a previously arid landscape, establishing irrigation as an integral part of our society and environment.  On October 9, 2020 the Government of Alberta and the Canada Infrastructure Bank announced an $815 million investment in partnership with eight irrigation districts to “modernize...

Race is a central concept in the subordination of Black people in Canada and the United States (U.S.). Yet, race has not always been considered to be a vital research variable in studies in North America. The speaker will explore how and why storytelling and counter-narrative has emerged as a methodology to unpack race, racism, belonging, and power in a settler-colonial nation-state like Canada. I...

Australia is obsessed with coal. The current Prime Minister held up a lump of coal in Parliament and told Australians not to be afraid. Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal, digging up millions of tonnes per year and shipping it across the world, fueling the climate crisis. The speaker will cover the state of play with coal in Australia - from the projects still on the cards and their...

Citizens of Southern Alberta have been suffering through crises of different sorts over the past several years. Congruent with the Covid-19 pandemic has been a gradual but persisting loss of Family Physicians in the city of Lethbridge, and with them the loss of access to Primary Care. By the end of 2021, approximately 45% of Lethbridge citizens found themselves without a Family Physician. Dr. deWa...

People who oppose mandatory masking, Covid vaccinations and mandates as a violation of basic human rights and freedoms need to be reminded that the flip side of freedom is responsibility.  The so-called “Freedom Convoy” and their illegal road blockades arguable ignores that principle. This may be their perception of freedom fighting, but reality is, they’re more like hostage takers causing movemen...

Having recently returned from COP26 Tzeporah will reflect on whether the climate negotiations were a breakthrough or a disappointment and discuss how the emergence of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance of countries and the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty Initiative relate to the future of oil and gas in Alberta and Canada. Speaker:   Tzeporah Berman                Tzeporah has been desi...

Since 2006, the Calgary Counselling Centre has overseen a unique program, the Male Domestic Abuse Outreach Program (MDAOP), delivering services to men who have been impacted by family violence. The MDAOP is one of only a handful of programs in the country to offer support to male victims of family violence. The program delivers outreach support, connecting clients with community resources (e.g., p...

According to Stats Canada - Family Violence in Canada - a statistical profile in 2019, there were 107,810 victims of police-reported intimate partner violence in 2019, up from 99,000 in 2018.  Alberta has the 4th highest rate of police-reported intimate partner violence amongst the provinces. The overall rate of police-reported family violence increased for the third consecutive year, rising 13% o...

Many regions in the Canadian Prairies and American Midwest are managing declining water resources, lower snowfall volumes and less predictable precipitation events. With the impacts of changing climate beginning to become more evident and impactful on our behaviours, livelihoods, and economic development and sustainability, what are some of the innovations and research activities at the University...

Farming Humans   The speaker will account for his experiences during and after a two-decade financial career, and what he learned during the research and writing of his second book “Farming Humans”. In hindsight the book could have been titled, “Humans, Farming Humans”, as it includes tricks and tactics used by those who profit from harming others. It can be argued that some of the unique features...

This past year, Canada, along with other allies, left Afghanistan after the Taliban overran Kabul and other major centers of that country. With Canada’s painful exit from Afghanistan, our years in that country are now open to reflection and assessment. The speaker served in Afghanistan with Canada’s military from October 2009 to June 2010. He will offer observations about the Afghanistan nature an...

The season that suggests we should have joy, peace and love can often instead be filled with busyness, financial demands and feelings of being overwhelmed. Getting just the right gift and saying just the right thing is difficult enough without having to navigate all the fears and restrictions introduced by a pandemic. The speaker has worked with more than 8000 clients who asked her to help them pr...

There are many opinions on what is best practice when it comes to dealing with the serious addiction crises that is prevalent in today’s society and certainly Lethbridge is no exception. However, most people agree that the “Four Pillars” approach, harm reduction, prevention, treatment and enforcement, generally gives best outcomes. Many reasons can be attributed to addiction, but homelessness and...

Municipal services are critical for our quality of life. However, the decisions facing local governments are heavily shaped by provincial policy. The province doesn’t just distribute grants to municipalities to help fund vital infrastructure, but they also set the rules and terms by which municipalities themselves can generate revenue. Over the past few years, many traditional sources of municipal...

For many elderly folks, a call from a friend or an acquaintance once or twice a week can make a big difference in how they feel. Knowing that someone cares and is there to share stories and laugh with is comforting and meaningful in so many ways. The Volunteer Lethbridge Keep in Touch program connects people in our community with each other through a weekly telephone support system linking seniors...

Today, a community's prosperity is linked to its ability to attract, retain, develop and mobilize talent. The future prosperity of Alberta is undoubtedly centered on people. The risk of young people leaving our province is real and extraordinarily complex. What drives young adults to “purchase” a city?  What are young Canadians’ perceptions of Alberta? What does Alberta need to do to once again ma...

Five retired provincial Fish and Wildlife biologists provided a submission to the Coal Policy Committee earlier this year (Insights on Coal Development from Five Retired Fish and Wildlife Biologists). The submission was grounded in our experience as provincial biologists and in ecological arguments. It was based on our collective experience, observations, monitoring and research on open-pit coal m...

Alberta has 170,000 plus inactive and abandoned oil wells and over 3000 orphan wells that have been abandoned by failed companies. It all adds up to a liability in excess of $30 billion against a total security deposit of less than $250 million. There is also a growing tax liability. In a survey, the Rural Municipalities Association of Alberta (RMA) found $245 million in unpaid property taxes owed...

In addition to the municipal and Senate candidate elections, two referendum questions were added by the Alberta Government to the 2021 Municipal Elections: (1) Should section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 – Parliament and the government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments – be removed from the constitution? (2) Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Dayli...

Food security and sustainable agriculture are top of mind given the challenges of climate change.  The speaker will talk about a new aquaponics project happening in southern Alberta to tackle food security and climate change. He will discuss the challenges with food security in southern Alberta and why sustainable agriculture is important, and provide an overview of aquaponics and how it is a sust...

The past two years have been exceptionally challenging for all Alberta Post-Secondary students, and the Student body at the University of Lethbridge has been no exception.  Budget cuts by the Alberta government, with more anticipated, increasing tuition and education costs, housing issues, racism, Covid-19, online learning and transitioning back to on campus learning and employment uncertainty are...

Sustaining medical services in smaller communities is challenging at the best of times. Doctors have been working without an agreement for almost two years, and the unstable relationship with our government has made it nearly impossible to recruit and retain physicians to rural areas. The gaps in services are widening provincially, and instead of addressing the worsening underlying issues, governm...

The Liberal Party retained power in a close-run 2019 federal election where the Liberals won 157 seats and 33% of the popular vote, enough to form a minority government. The opposition Conservative Party won more votes, but far fewer seats. This was the first time since 1979 that the winner of the most seats wasn’t also the winner of the most votes. The NDP and separatist Bloc Quebecois parties bo...