What is meant by civil liberties? According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil liberties are protecting those freedoms that are considered fundamental in a democratic society. These fundamental freedoms include freedom of opinion, thought, belief and expression, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience and religion, and freedom of association and peaceful assembly. It is almost impossible to imagine how a democracy would work without protection for these most basic rights and freedoms, and yet they continue to be under attack in many ways.

The speakers qualified as finalists in the recently held University of Lethbridge Student Speaker Challenge, beating out six other talented competitors. Sponsored by SACPA, LPIRG and ULSU, each year’s competition addresses a different topic and this year, civil liberties or the lack thereof was the topic. The presenters will address civil liberties from different perspectives and give a glimpse of how post-secondary students view the importance of free speech and the issue of privacy.

Speakers: Raul Vergara and Sandon Law

Raul Vergara is 21 years old and is originally from Mexico City. He majors in Economics and is studying in the University of Lethbridge as part of the international exchange program. He is interested in politics and economic development.

Sandon Law is a first year combined degree student of Marketing and Education. He has been involved with speech and debate since junior high and he was a founding member of the speech club at his previous high school in Calgary. Sandon was privileged to compete in Public Speaking on a National Level at Canada Skills in 2013 and his role as a school ambassador lead him to winning the Premier’s Citizenship Award and Gold Duke of Edinburgh.

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2015 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea at the presentation only)

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In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.