Is Two-Tier American-Style Health Care Coming to Alberta?
Chris Gallaway, Executive Director Friends of Medicare
Thursday, March 5, 2026 12:00 PM
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization
Danielle Smith’s government is undertaking a massive restructuring of health care delivery. From dismantling Alberta Health Services, to major legislative change, including the passing of Bill 11 in December, change is coming at a rapid pace. Yet, reports from the Auditor General and others are making it increasingly clear that these changes aren’t actually improving patient care, saving money, or increasing capacity. Instead, Albertans are seeing a systematic overhaul designed to slowly put an end to single-payer public Medicare and benefit the profits of private health corporations and insurance companies.
Canada in the Age of Thugs?
Dr. Trevor Harrison
Thursday, March 12, 2026 12:00 PM
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization
In January Prime Minister Carney spoke at Davos of a rupture in the world order, a transition from rules-based relations to one in which great powers act without constraint against weaker countries. He might have said that the world was now ruled by Mafioso thugs. Canada, particularly, has faced the brunt of Donald Trump’s thuggery. But is the current order that much different than what came before? And if it has changed, why has it changed?
Russian Olive - How Should We Manage This Beautiful Invader?
Kelly Cooley, CoolPro Solutions
Thursday, May 7, 2026 12:00 PM
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization
Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to Eurasia introduced to North America in the late 19th century to serve colonizing families as windbreaks to help stem soil erosion. In the 20th and 21st century, Russian Olive became more valued as an ornamental species, and for game bird sport hunters on otherwise vast treeless prairie areas. While Russian Olive has some traditional medicinal and culinary uses in its native Eurasian range, it is now widely considered an aggressive invasive species, particularly in the Western U.
How Can Everyday Observation Become Conservation Action?
Brook Skagen, P.Biol., RTAg., AWB®, Owner and Principal Ecologist of Larkfir Conservation Services
Thursday, May 28, 2026 12:00 PM
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization
Southern Alberta’s grasslands are among the most biodiverse and most endangered ecosystems in the world. Yet they are often perceived as familiar, quiet, or even unremarkable. In landscapes like these, ecological change can unfold gradually and largely unnoticed, allowing species and habitats to decline without broad public awareness. This presentation explores how everyday observation plays a critical role in conservation. Using a local example from southern Alberta, the talk introduces the foundations of ecology, the study of living things and their interactions, and demonstrates how small, consistent acts of noticing can reveal meaningful ecological patterns.