Written by Faculty of Arts/Centre for Continuing Education
Wednesday, 06 July 2011
The Faculty of Arts and the Centre for Continuing Education present Profs in the City, a summer-long public lecture series, to be held at Neutral Ground (1856 Scarth Street, 2nd floor).
Our July line-up offers interesting topics for everyone:
July 5 - Dr Brenda Anderson (Women's & Gender Studies/Religious Studies) presents "Muslim Canadian Citizenship: Champions and Challengers"
July 12 - Dr Rick Ruddell (Justice Studies) presents "Current Trends in Policing"
July 26 - Dr Katherine Arbuthnott and her Psychology students present " Conservation Psychology, Environment, Well-being, and Food"
Instalments of the Profs in the City will take place Tuesdays 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm, until August 30 (with the exception of July 19) at Neutral Ground. For a complete schedule of events, visit: http://www.arts.uregina.ca/general-public/public-lectures/profs-park.
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Burma cyclists battle Saskatchewan rain and floods
Written by Trish Elliott
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Burma activists Soe Naing and Rod Germain reached Regina yesterday, June 22, on Day 21 of their cross-country tour to raise awareness about the situation in Burma and funds for the Mae Tao clinic on the Thai-Burma border. They dined with local Amnesty International and Friends of Burma activists, bringing them up to date on initiatives like the clinic's Back Pack Health Worker Team.
Soe Naing said he had only ridden a bicycle around his neighbourhood before taking on the daunting 7,125 km challenge. The first few days brought trouble to his knees, which he attributes to not enough advance training.
The biggest challenge in Saskatchewan has been long stretches between towns on Highway 1, which makes planning stops difficult. They've also been challenged by the rain, and were drenched on the road to Moose Jaw. Today they plan to go as far as Indian Head, hoping they will be able to make it through the flood waters the following day. A detour of one hour by car amounts to a full day for cyclists, Rod Germain noted.
Germaine, a mediation/arbitration lawyer by profession, said he expects to reach Halifax in August in time for his Dalhousie graduating class reunion. Soe Naing, a university information technology specialist, will likely need to return to his job a few weeks before that. They anticipate they will be able to travel a distance of 120 kilometers per day provided that weather and route conditions cooperate.
Please join me on Tuesday, June 28th between 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm for "ONE Prof in the Park"! I’ll be in Victoria Park sharing: “Thoughts on Homelessness, Permanent Temporary Shelters, the Charity Model, and What Needs to be Done…”.
In the spirit of fairness and presenting a balanced view, if any of you know of someone who would like to present the "PRO" side of the homelessness issue, please invite.
WHAT: "One Prof in the ParK" WHERE: Victoria Park, Downtown Regina WHEN: Tuesday, June 28th between 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm TOPIC: “Thoughts on Homelessness, Permanent Temporary Shelters, the Charity Model, and What Needs to be Done…”.
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The establishment of a community hub school will be discussed at a public meeting this Tuesday in Regina. Residents of the River Heights neighbourhood have teamed up with University of Regina researcher Dianna Graves to explore a proposal to establish a community hub school. Residents decided to take action after the public school board ordered the closure of Athabasca School effective June 24. The school-aged population in the surrounding neighbourhood is projected to increase dramatically over the next three years. A community hub school is directed by the community and typically includes a variety of integrated services, including daycare, adult education and community programming. The meeting will be Tuesday, June 14 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30, with pizza provided. For background information, visit www.realrenewal.org Write Comment (0 Comments)
Saskatchewan’s resources royalty rates are ridiculously low. As economist Erin Weir writes: “Every time I check the numbers, I am again shocked by how low they have fallen.”
The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS), now American-owned, generated about $1.6 billion on its Saskatchewan potash mines in 2010. But it only paid $77 million to Saskatchewan in royalties.
It only “paid a nickel in provincial royalties for every dollar of gross margin it made on potash,” says Weir. In contrast, Saskatchewan used to charge potash royalty rates of 25 – 31 per cent less than a decade ago. To find out what Saskatchewan people could accomplish with fair royalty rates, visit Imagine What We Could Do. Write Comment (0 Comments)
Regina events coordinator resigns in protest over censorship
Written by IMC Sask
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Regina citizens got a glimpse of the 'new downtown' this week after a public lecture was cancelled under pressure from city hall. The Leader-Post is reporting that city councillor Michael Fougere, who sits on the board of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, was influential in the cancellation of Dr. Emily Eaton's scheduled talk on Palestine and economic sanctions. Now RBID's event coordinator Neil McDonald has resigned, telling the prairie dog that censorship of the Profs in the Park lecture series is something his personal beliefs cannot accept. It is a brave stand, and McDonald has far more to lose than the professors, who promptly and unanimously withdrew from the series. The Faculty of Arts, RBID's partner for Profs in the Park, announced it will move the series away from downtown and indoors. This is a great loss to citizens, who otherwise would have had easy lunchtime access to discussion on issues of public interest. The logical extension is that City Hall's vision of the new downtown and Victoria Park - historically the city's gathering point for protest and debate - is to become controversy-free space that no longer belongs to the public domain. Read Neil McDonald's full statement to the 'dog Leader-Post report Write Comment (0 Comments)
CUPE has launched an on-line campaign to stop the Canada- EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement known as CETA. Canadians are being called on to email Prime Minister Stephen Harper and ask him to immediately halt negotiations on this deal.
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In 2010, RPIRG and SCIC teamed up to offer the first annual Generating Momentum: Activist Leadership Training Camp. Held at Lumsden Beach Camp, organizers and participants traveled from across Saskatchewan to discuss a variety of issues and share skills to equip themselves to make change in their communities.
It was amazing, so we are doing it again. The 2nd annual Generating Momentum will be held from Friday, August 26 - Monday, August 29 at the Calling Lakes Convention Centre, near Fort Qu'Appelle. There is room for 50 participants and a new slate of programming. You should be there!
Last year's camp. Click on 'read more' below for more info about this year.
"Real Democracy, Now!" Can Canadians learn anything from the European experience?
Contributed by John W. Warnock
Sunday, 05 June 2011
The general consensus of the progressive political forces in Canada today is that we must support Jack Layton’s NDP and hope that they can be elected in 2015. In the meantime, Stephen Harper and his gang now have a majority in Parliament and will pursue their right-wing agenda. Is there nothing more to do?
Perhaps working to support the NDP is all that we can expect from activists as long as the Canadian economy is not in recession and the Harperites are successful in propping up the bubble in the housing market. But that may not hold. When we are shocked by the budget cuts that are coming from the Harper government, we should remember that the federal NDP pledged in its platform to do the same thing – balance the budget over four years without raising taxes.
In
this present period of quiet and reflection, it seems prudent for
Canadians to take a look at Europe, where proportional representation
has allowed social democratic parties to lead governing coalitions for
many years. How have these political allies of the NDP dealt with the
Great Recession? What are political activists on the left doing across
the Atlantic?
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Burma activists Soe Naing and Rod Germain reached Regina yesterday, June 22, on Day 21 of their cross-country tour to raise awareness about the situation in Burma and funds for the Mae Tao clinic on the Thai-Burma border. They dined with local Amnesty International and Friends of Burma activists, bringing them up to date on initiatives like the clinic's Back Pack Health Worker Team. 