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Updated:
29 May 2023SPECIAL NOTE: Webmaster's
Message - 29 May 2023:
Happy June! I hope
that you enjoyed the 11 May luncheon meeting with
Guest Speaker Stephen Saideman,
Director, Canadian Defence and Security Network! The next luncheon,
to start our 2023-24 Program, will take place Thursday, 14 September at 1:00 PM.
As noted below, our next speaker is
Merilyn Simonds, with her topic "Astonishing
lives of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence”.
Doors open at 11:30 AM. Lunch will be served at 12 Noon. Please reserve NO LATER
THAN Thursday, 07 September by email:
rsvp@canadianclubkingston.org or by
telephone: 613-699-3102. For
Guests, please provide full name, email address, and telephone number. Luncheon
fees are $35 (Members) and $43 (Non-Members), payable by cash or cheque at the
door, or by Interac e-Transfer in advance:
treasurer.cckingston@gmail.com. Thank
you, Bruce Morris, for Gay Keithly, CCK President.
Topic: "Astonishing
Lives of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence"
NOTE 3: Members, Past Members,
and 2022-23 Guests will be notified
via email of the details of the
planned luncheon meeting for Thursday 14
September 2023 at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club at 11:30 for 12:00
PM.
Membership Reminder
- Former and potential-new members, please consider
joining (see Membership Matters)
for the
2022-23 Program, now that the
details of the policy for the 2022-23
program has been confirmed.
Membership Fee: $50
for an individual, and $90
for a couple.
Speaker: Stephen Saideman, Director, Canadian Defence
and Security Network
Topic: "Canada's
Armed Forces in a Time of Crisis"
Stephen Saideman holds the Paterson Chair in International
Affairs at Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs
and is the Director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network. He
taught previously at the University of Vermont, Texas Tech University, and at
McGill University.
He has written four books: The Ties That Divide: Ethnic
Politics, Foreign Policy and International Conflict; For Kin or Country:
Xenophobia, Nationalism and War (with R. William Ayres); NATO in
Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (with David Auerswald);
and Adapting in the Dust: Lessons Learned from Canada's War in Afghanistan,
as well as articles and chapters onnationalism, ethnic conflict, civil
war, alliance dynamics, and civil-military relations.
Prof. Saideman has received fellowships from the Council on
Foreign Relations and the Social Sciences Research Council. He is a co-host of
Battle Rhythm, the CDSN's podcast. He has won awards for
teaching, for mentoring other faculty, for public engagement, and
for his blogging on international studies. He is currently working on the role
of legislatures in civil-military relations. He tweets at @smsaideman.
Julie Salter-Keane
pursued post secondary education at Queen's. After operating her own planning
consulting firm for many years, she moved on to become
director of planning and development at the Township of Leeds and the Thousand
Islands. In 2010, she joined the Kingston government as the manager of the
Climate Leadership Division. There she works with staff to implement and realize
Kingston's vision to demonstrate leadership on climate action. She also
represents the city on the Board of Directors for Sustainable Kingston.
Julie's ability to
foster relationships and identify opportunities for
collaboration has led to the realization of many community projects, like the
recently approved City of Kingston Climate Leadership Plan, the City's Better
Homes Kingston program, the Green Standard Community Improvement Plan and more.
Julie
is a highly motivated individual, passionate about the future of our community.
Come and listen to her as she describes the various climate related projects she
is helping move forward for the residents of our city.
Thursday 09 March 2023
Speaker: Paul Van Nest,
Kingston Historical Society
Topic: "Yukon
Gold Rush"
Paul Van Nest was
raised in Brantford and attended McMaster University. He moved to Kingston in
1965. He first taught physics at RMC and then moved to the technology department
of St. Lawrence College, becoming chair of that department, and served as Chair
of the Heads of Technology for Ontario's colleges in 1975-76. Beginning in 1978,
he created and developed a unique Open Learning Centre,
before retiring in
1996.
Paul is an active
Rotary member, serving as president in 1982 - 1983, and then secretary from 1998
- 2003. He also was chair and the lead author of one of Rotary's Centennial
Projects: "The Reflections", which appeared weekly in the Whig-Standard and
Kingston This Week in 2021, and was then published as a book.
Paul is known as an
expert in the history of the American Civil War, having led 62 tours of American
Civil War battlefields, and has been to Gettysburg almost 200 times. He is also
a founding member of the Civil War Round Table here in Kingston, begun in 1993.
He has served as Membership Chair since 2010 for the Kingston Historical
Society.
Paul has written a
book about his oldest cousin, a rear gunner in World War II, who perished in
that conflict on Paul's fifth birthday. To publish or not to publish?
Furthermore, in pursuing genealogical history, he has traced his family's roots
to the 1647 arrival of Pieter Van Nest in New Amsterdam (now New York).
Paul manages four
web pages, has been active in three local churches, has led ten church
fundraising tours, as well as tours for Road Scholar(formerly Elderhostel). He
and his wife Sharon have a family of 4 children and 8 grandchildren. As spring
looms, Paul can't wait to get on the golf course. But first he'll entertain and
educate us about The Yukon Gold Rush!
Thursday 09 February 2023
Speaker: John Palmer,
Conductor - Orchestra Kingston, BrassWerks, occasional
conductor of the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra
Topic: "Conducting
and Musical Score"
John is the conductor of Orchestra Kingston, BrassWerks,
occasional conductor of the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra and played
bass trombone in the Kingston Symphony. He teaches theory/harmony at his home in
Kingston, Ontario.
He is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre which
publishes his compositions. He has been commissioned to compose for strings and
has worked with young musicians to compose for Band. His arrangements and
compositions for brass instruments are published by Solid Brass Music Inc., and
flute choir works by Alry/United Music and Media Publishers.
John's original compositions and arrangements have won various
awards and have been performed by large and small ensembles across North
America. Many of his orchestral works were composed specifically for "Community
Orchestras" and premiered by Orchestra Kingston.
Since retiring from teaching music in Secondary School, Queen's
and St. Lawrence College, John has been spending most of his time composing,
arranging, adjudicating and conducting. His talk and visual presentation will
focus on performing organizations of which he has been a part, brass instruments
and their differences and similarities, composing techniques and examples, and
basic conducting techniques. Afterwards he will be happy to take questions about
his techniques and approaches, as well as conducting small or large ensembles.
Come and enjoy a lively talk about John's lifetime of musical experience!
Thursday 12 January 2023
Speaker: Ted Barris,
CM, Author, Broadcaster, Journalist
Topic: "Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory (about
the longest continuous battle of the Second World War and Canadians'
role defending the convoys and defeating the U-boats on the North
Atlantic)"
Ted Barris
is a Canadian award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster whose writing has
regularly appeared in the national pres,, as well as in many magazines as
diverse as Air Force, esprit de corps and Zoomer. He has also worked as
host/contributor for many CBC Radio network programs, PBS in the U.S. and on TV
Ontario. After 18 years teaching, he recently retired as a full-time professor
of journalism at Toronto's Centennial College.
Professor
Barris is the author of 19 bestselling , non-fiction books,
including "Breaking the Veterans' Silence: Untold Stories
from the Great War to Afghanistan". He gave an outstanding
talk to our Club previously on this subject. He has written
several other books about Canada on subjects as varied as hockey, rodeo and music.
Barris has received wide recognition for his work, awards including the Minister
of Veterans' Affairs commendation, Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee
Medal and the 2014 Libris Non-Fiction Book of the year Award.
In his talk,
Barris will focus on the 20th century's greatest war, and the one
field of battle that held the to victory or defeat. key.
However, this
battlefield was not on land - but on the North Atlantic. The Battle of the
Atlantic, lasting 2,074 days and nights, proved the turning point of the Second
World War.
He traces the
progress of Canada's wartime Navy as it grew from 13 warships and 3,500 sailors
to a formidable 400 fighting ships and over 100.000 men and women in uniform,
the 4th largest navy in the world at that time. Barris calls this
historic naval battle, "the gauntlet to victory". Attend the luncheon to see
why.
Ted Barris is an award-winning journalist,
author, and broadcaster. His writing has regularly appeared in the national
press, as well as magazines as diverse as Air Force, esprit
de corps and Zoomer. He has also worked as
host/contributor for most CBC Radio network programs, PBS in the
U.S. and on TV Ontario. And after 18 years teaching, he recently retired
as a full-time professor of journalism at Toronto's Centennial College.
Barris is the author of 19 bestselling,
non-fiction books, including a series on wartime Canada: Juno:
Canadians at D-Day, June 6, 1944 … Days of Victory:
Canadians Remember 1939-1945; Behind the Glory:
Canada's Role in the Allied Air War: Deadlock in
Korea: Canadians at War, 1950-1953; Victory at Vimy:
Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917;Breaking the
Silence: Veterans' Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.
His writing has also been published in such
anthologies as The Canadian Encyclopedia; Total Hockey: The
Official NHL Encyclopedia; A History of Maple Leaf Gardens; and a volume of learned papers presented to the Canada-Korea Conference at
the U of T.
Barris's remaining books are: Rodeo
Cowboys; Spirit of the West; Positive
Power (Story of the Edmonton Oilers); Playing Overtime (A
Celebration of Oldtimers' Hockey); Carved in Granite (125
Years of Granite Club History); Making Music (Profiles from
a Century of Canadian Music)co-authored with his father Alex
Barris; andFire Canoe,
a Mark Twain-like retelling of Canada's 19th century steamboat history.
In 2011, he was one of 19 civilians presented
with the Minister of Veteran's Affairs Commendation. The citation reads:
"Ted Barris has made such exemplary contributions, benefiting veterans and
making manifest the principle that Canada's obligation to all who have served in
the cause of Peace and Freedom, must not be forgotten."
In 2012, the Air Force Association of Canada
selected Ted Barris to receive Queen Elizabeth IIs Diamond Jubilee Medal,
recognizing "outstanding Canadians ... who continue
to build this caring society and country through their service and
achievements."
His 17th book,The Great Escape: A
Canadian Story, won the 2014 Libris Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Award (shared with astronaut Chris Hadfield).
In 2018, HarperCollins has
published Barris' 18th book - Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the
Secret Raid against Nazi Germany - about the famous 1943 attack on
the Ruhr River dams that powered Nazi Germany's industrial war production. The
RCAF Association awarded Ted Barris and Dam Busters its
2018 NORAD Trophy for
"unequalled contribution to the preservation of Air Force values, traditions,
history and heritage."
Rush to Danger: Medics in the
Line of Fire,
also published by HarperCollins, is Ted's 19th non-fiction book. It was
long-listed for the 2020 Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction in Canada.
In 2022, HarperCollins
publishes Ted's 20th non-fiction book, his largest work to date, on the longest
battle of WWII, the Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory
(in Sept. 2022).
Antje
McNeely joined the Kingston Police in April 1985. As a constable, sergeant
(1992), staff sergeant (2001), and inspector (2007), she fulfilled assignments
in the Uniformed Patrol, Special Services, Criminal Investigations, and
Professional Standards units and headed the Patrol and Executive Services
divisions. In July 2011, she was appointed as Deputy Chief, and assumed
operational oversight for the Kingston Police
and responsibility for developing
strong strategic relationships within the Kingston community.
Antje graduated from
Queen's, receiving a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in 1983. She also
graduated from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management Executive
Program in 2007. Back at Queen's she then completed a Professional Master of
Public Administration in Policy Studies program in 2013. In 2015 she was a
Visiting Fellow for the Australian Institute of Police Management, after which
she completed the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Global
Studies Program on the Impacts of Globalization on Canadian Policing in 2016.
In recognition of
her volunteer work, Antje received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
in 2012, and has also been awarded the Police Exemplary Service Medal and first
bar. In 2015 she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Merit of the Police
Forces for her achievements and contributions to the establishment of community
partnerships in support of local law enforcement. She has served as Vice Chair
of the John Howard Society (Kingston) Board of Directors since 2006, was
appointed as the 2020 United Way KFL&A Campaign Chair and in 2020/21 was
President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
Antje was sworn in
as Kingston's 17th Chief of Police on November 30, 2018. She and her husband,
Michael, have two daughters, Erin and Anne. The Canadian Club welcomes her to
our December meeting and we invite you to join us to hear her perspectives on
"Contemporary Policing".
Kingston
Police Chief Antje McNeely has announced that she will be retiring at the end of
December 2023 after more than 38 years as an officer.
"It has been
an honour to work with each and every member of our service, and I'm incredibly
proud of the work that we do each and every day, 365 days a year, in keeping our
community safe," McNeely told the Kingston Police Services Board Thursday
afternoon.
McNeely, the
first female Kingston Police chief, thanked the board, past and present, the
Kingston Police Association, and the community for their support during her time
as chief. She has served as chief since 2018 and as deputy chief for seven years
before that.
McNeely said
that throughout her time, she worked to promote equity, diversity and inclusion
as well as wellness within the organization. Her goal was to emphasize a
holistic approach to community safety and well-being.
"We cannot do
it alone, and it requires police working together with our community and
partners to understand and address the root causes of societal issues," McNeely
told the board.
Board chair
Jarrod Stearns thanked McNeely, telling her that the board was appreciative of
all her 38 years of service as a police officer.
"The board
wishes Chief McNeely all the very best with future endeavours," Stearns said. "I
thank you for your service."
When McNeely
started with the Kingston Police in 1985, she was one of four women on the
force. She joined the force after completing a bachelor of science degree at
Queen"s University. She served in multiple units over the years, and when she
was named chief in 2018, she'd said her time as a detective in the sexual
assault unit was a highlight in her career.
Newly
re-elected Mayor Bryan Paterson, who served on the police board for several
years and who will be returning to it after being sworn in on Wednesday, said
the announcement came as a surprise and that McNeely is leaving an "incredibly
legacy."
"I think she's
done an incredible job reaching out to marginalized communities, helping to
build trust and respect for police. She's the most community-minded police chief
that I've ever worked with," Paterson said. "She's led through some really
challenging times."
Paterson said
those times included the COVID-19 pandemic and defund the police movements.
"There's some
real headwinds that she's had to deal with, and I think she's led with grace,
with strength, and she's been an absolute pleasure to work with," Paterson
said." It certainly will be a big loss, and I think that she set a really high
bar for her successor."
"I have great
respect for her, and certainly want to thank her, and wish her all the best in
her retirement."
Hugh Segal
is a Canadian political strategist, author, commentator, academic, and former
senator. From 1999 until 2014 he was a faculty member at
Queen's
University's
School of Policy Studies.
In 2003 Hugh Segal was made a
Member of the Order of
Canada.
He was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2005, serving until he
resigned in 2014, to become
master
and later
principal
of
Massey College
in
Toronto,
retiring from there in 2019.
He
has also written two books, " Two Freedoms: Canada's Global Future"
(2016), and "Bootstraps
Need Boots: One Tory's Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada" (2019). Hugh
holds honorary doctorate degrees from the Royal
Military College of Canada,
University of Ottawa
and Queen's University. He and his family live in Kingston, Ontario.
Hugh Segal espouses a moderate brand of conservatism that stresses the common
good and promotes social harmony between classes.
As an author, strategist, columnist, educator and senator, he has
devoted his energy and wit to furthering the common good for more than 30 years.
In the process, he has provided insightful advice and informed commentary on
public affairs, immeasurably enhancing the quality of Canada's policy debates
and defining excellence in public service.
A copy of Hugh Segal's presentation is
provided below:
My gratitude for the invitation to speak here
today is balanced by the need to deal frankly and directly with some of the
harsh truths that will affect our futures as residents of this community, this
province, country and the free world. Of course, I also could not say no to Ron
Paquin, a former officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, an organization I
had the privilege of knowing as an Honorary Naval Captain for fifteen years.
Generally speaking, requests from former Naval officers are rarely set aside.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, when we all
pause to remember those who made the supreme sacrifice for the freedoms,
democracy and civility we too often take for granted in our day-to-day lives.
Reflecting on the circumstance of our present veterans is also important. That
is why projects like the "Homes for Heroes" project here in Kingston,where a
built high quality small support village gives homless veterans a future off the
streets is so important.
For most people, most of the time,
geopolitical developments far away from our home are not that important.
Another skirmish or war in the Middle East,
more strife between different groups in Sri Lanka, violence or unrest in
Venezuela – they all make the news but generally don’t make much of a difference
in our lives.
Sadly, that comfortable disconnect between
our lives and strife and violence elsewhere is no longer dependable because of
two factors: Mr. Putin's illegal and violent military invasion of a peaceful and
democratic neighbour, Ukraine; and the People's Republic of China's embrace of a
much more aggressive tone in its global relations. These do have explicit
impacts, not only on our day-to-day lives and prospects as Canadians, but also
on the future we share with free peoples everywhere.
Evidence objectively noted of Russian
interference in democratic elections in Europe and North America is compelling
and undeniable. As is the relentless interference of the Beijing government in
our internal affairs.
This is no time for naive complacency.
Combine those serious threats with the
fluidity and apparent dominance of the extremes in the politics of our southern
neighbour and we Canadians have more legitimate concerns than usual relative to
our own prospects in the larger world.
Worrying about those impacts is not enough.
Doing something meaningful to strengthen
Canada's capacity to defend itself and our people against those threats while
also supporting our allies in that effort is what matters.
Our first step in "doing something" is
looking beyond our lesser internal disputes and small political controversies in
Canada and focusing on the larger challenges of this unsettled world, while
ensuring and demanding that our national Government of whatever party spares no
effort or expense to strengthen Canada's capacity to defend itself against the
Russian threat on our Arctic frontier, and work hand in hand with our NATO
allies to contain Russian aggression in Europe. We need also to seriously
increase enforcement, intelligence and lawful security measures here at home,
consistent with our values of rule of law, democracy, human rights and national
sovereignty. Under the new National Security law passed by our present
government our security agencies are lawfully permitted to deploy counter
measures against those countries seeking to harm our cyber or democratic
infrastructure. Timidity in the face of foreign subversion is no virtue in
these challenging times.
The ongoing statutory inquiry into the use by
the federal government of the Emergency Measures Act to address the many
excesses of the freedom Convoy earlier this year in Ottawa and elsewhere, an
inquiry mandated by the Act itself, is highly informative for us all.
Clearly, there were sinister far right forces
at work and the initial police capacity to absorb and act with dispatch on
valuable and lawful apprehensive intelligence gathered was way below standard.
And without the proclamation of the Act, Ottawa might well still be creatively
occupied by horn blowing and diesel fume spewing large trucks no doubt with some
support from some elected politicians.
It is a good thing the Emergency Act was put
to use by the present government and parliament of Canada.
We must also be frank about what the agents
of People's Republic of China are up to in Canada.
Evidence of activities of the People's
Republic of China’s "United Front" network right here in Canada, intimidating
Canadians of Chinese origin, spreading disinformation through Beijing-friendly
media, operating illegal PRC police enforcement units to impose Chinese law on
Canadian soil,deploying agents and money illegally to sway outcomes for or
against their targetted or preferred candidates in elections is broadly and
credibly available. And it is all profoundly illegal. We should all welcome
Prime Minister Trudeau's public naming and shaming of the Xi government's
illegal and hostile activities in our country however long in coming. I hope the
Chinese ambassador in Ottawa is called in for a formal rebuke. Clearly the
People's Republic of China sees Canada as easy to penetrate and intimidate. We
must prove them wrong.
While Canada was one of the first western
democracies to recognize Communist China and assist in China's entry into the
World Trade Organization decades ago under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, it is
clear that the new Xi dynasty in Beijing cares little about past diplomatic
measures of civility and friendship on Canada's part.
And ominously, for China's population,
President-for-life Xi has begun a massive retreat to classic Marxist Leninist
doctrinal rigidity which has already begun to weaken China's economic
performance in clear and measurable ways which will only hurt the economic
prospects and quality of life of average Chinese citizens.
Ideology narrowly conceived and rigidly
pursued at home or abroad is the common enemy here. As was the utterly
unreasonable "Zero Covid" policy imposed by the Xi regime on the people and
economy of China.
China's Belt and Road international
investment and loan scheme has run into trouble in South America, Asia, the
Caribbean and Africa as local populations have begun to resist what they see as
foreign domination with Chinese characteristics.
Sadly, when authoritarian powers run into
difficulty, their leaders' instinct as kleptocratic dictators is to strike out
at dissidents at home and competitive democracies nearby.
Note how the response of Russian and Iranian
security and police forces to public demonstrations against their government
policies is the same. Russian and Iranian police use live ammunition to control
the unarmed protesters of their own population, arresting thousands as quickly
as they can. These kinds of regimes like Iran are incapable of showing any
remorse for events like the death at their religious police hands of an innocent
young woman because of an alleged headwear modesty breech. Sadly humanity and
decency is not in their play book.
It is what authoritarians and kleptocracies
do and who they are. It is what the Xi regime did in some ways to the
freedom-aspiring residents of Hong Kong with its oppressive national security
law.
So, as citizens or residents of a democratic
middle power, with a very courageous and well-trained but way too small armed
forces, how should we engage with and protect ourselves from the global forces
now in play that threaten freedom and the wellbeing of democracies worldwide?
First, we must urge our federal government to
seriously increase our national investment in defence and yes raising taxes to
do so should be in our next federal budget.
Spending less than two percent of our gross
domestic product on defence, a two percent level of spending Canada agreed to
with other NATO members years ago at a NATO Summit in Wales, is a simple
dereliction of Canada's duty to the freedom of the western world and our own
national defence. Assuming our big American brother will always spend its blood
and treasure to protect us is, when we look at this week's US mid-term election
results as they continue to roll out,may well be a touch optimistic.
While some on the far left may disagree,
there is a broad consensus that we need a larger and better equipped Canadian
Armed Forces and a procurement process that efficiently provides modern and
capable platforms – land, sea and air for our Armed Forces to deploy.
Having an approved compliment of only sixty
seven thousand for our combined Forces, now diminished by a deficit of ten
thousand either through departures or recruiting challenges, is simply
unacceptable. Aspiring to anything less than a one hundred thousand person
Canadian Armed Forces, plus a fifty thousand person Reserve Force is simply
inadequate with the second largest land mass in the world and when counting all
three oceans – the longest coastline of any country on the planet.
If the UK's two most recently commissioned
aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales could have had
their hulls constructed in South Korea, more efficiently than they could have
happened in the UK, we too, need to determine how best to provide new platforms
for our Armed Forces in the most efficient way possible. Generating regional
jobs is important but it is more important to get our Armed Forces the modern
ships and drones and defensive and offensive missiles it needs on a timely and
efficient basis.
The old Churchillian "action this day"
instruction is what needs to be put in place..
The difference between authoritarian powers
and democracies is that authoritarian countries whose regimes worry neither
about public opinion or the law, are focused only on their own kleptocratic
continuation of power.
Whether it is the ayatollahs in Iran,
President Xi in China, President Putin in Russia or Kim Jong Un in North Korea,
or the war criminal led goverment of Syria- their attitudes toward the public
interest and the tiniest bit of freedom for their people is precisely the same.
And while NATO countries ship armaments to Ukraine to help Ukrainian Forces
defend their country against Russian aggression, it is now clear that North
Korea and Iran are shipping weapons and drones and thousands of artillery shells
to the Russians to use in killing innocent Ukrainian civilians.
Underestimating the immoral cruelty of the
new Authoritarian Axis powers would be a mistake with profound consequences for
us all.
We can not assume at this late date in
Putin's career that sanity and balance have anywhere to prevail.
That we have not dispatched the Russian
ambassador from Ottawa and brought our own Ambassador in Moscow home makes
little sense. Putin is counting on our civility and decency as weaknesses
allowing him to plunder and ravage as he sees fit.
The hard truth is that Ukrainian Defence
forces are the only line of opposition to an imperialist Russian aggression that
will spread to other eastern democracies on Russia's borders. The notion that
Poland or the Czech Republic or Estonia or Latvia or Lithuania would be left
alone by Russia after they defeated and subjugated Ukraine is pure fiction. The
notion that our own Arctic would be safe from Russian penetration especially
when minerals and valuable resources are at stake is naive. All the Russians
understand is power and force. A weak or dissolute defence is simply an
invitation.
And, while Putin's nuclear threat has limited
the full breadth of what the West's response has been to date, it is high time
that we see through his intimidation and prepare for a full engagement that
takes the defensive battle to non-civilian strategic military installations on
Russian soil, just as the Russians have taken their imperialist pretensions to
Ukraine, killing men, women and children in the civilian population without any
remorse.
The thing about a kleptocracy is that their
only option is violence against democratic neighbours like Ukraine who were
beginning to do better economically as a democracy, and the brutal suppression
of dissidents among their own citizens who do not approve of their government's
criminal aggression or domestic corruption. This is the same in Iran and North
Korea as it is in the People's Republic of China.
In our foreign and defence policy we must be
clear-eyed, pragmatic and resolute in broadening our support for Ukraine.
At home we must be equally clear eyed about
threats to the rule of law-a principle essential to the health of our democracy.
At home we must see the ideological extremes
of the far right for what they are – simplistic formulae disconnected from
reality and potentially a challenge to the balance and moderation so central to
Canadian Society.
There is a constructive and rational way
ahead for Canada and Canadians in these uncertain times.
If we think of the high moments of our post
war history, Louis St. Laurent and the coming together of NATO, Lester Pearson
and the creation of the United Nations Emergency peacekeeping force at Suez,
John Diefen baker and the first Canadian Bill of Rights,or Brian Mulroney and
the dismantling of apartheid and the negotiation of Free Trade, the formula for
Canadian success is always the same. Setting aside the extremes, we reach out
with solid and humane policy, ignoring the siren call of narrow ideology and
embracing the pragmatic decency of the Canadian way.
Candor and strategic engagement
abroad,stronger armed forces and security capacity at home,continued insistence
on rule of law,presumption of innocence, and moderation at home are the best and
most likely paths to addressing and managing the global uncertainties we face.
Thank you .
Now more than ever, we must invest smartly to
get the job done.
Most regrettably, the luncheon meeting below had to be cancelled, due to a COVID-19
issue with the speaker!
Thursday 20 October 2022
Speaker: Marilyn Simonds, Author
Topic: "Louise de Kiriline Lawrence: The Making of
a Canadian Naturalist and Nature Writer"
In 1935, Louise
de Kiriline Lawrence,
born into Swedish aristocracy and survivor of the Russian Civil War, escaped the
hustle of Quintmania after a year as nurse-in-charge of the world-famous Dionne
babies and retreated to her wilderness cabin on the
Mattawa River. There, she discovered birds, the life history of many of them a
mystery at the time. Training herself in the art of observation and ornithology,
she published ground-breaking studies and wrote six books and almost a hundred
scientific and popular articles, her "loghouse nest" in the boreal forest
becoming a mecca for international bird scientists and avian aficionados alike.
Merilyn Simonds is
the award-winning author of 20 books, including the novel The
Holding, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and the Canadian
classic nonfiction novel, The
Convict Lover, a finalist for the Governor General's Award and
inspiration for the Judith Thompson play Hot
House. With her husband, Wayne Grady, she wrote the travel memoir Breakfast
at the Exit Café,
and for nine years, a books column for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her most
recent nonfiction is Gutenberg's
Fingerprint (2017), a meditation on reading, writing, and the future of
the printed book. Merilyn divides her time between Kingston and Mexico, the
setting for her most recent novel Refuge,
a story of sanctuary.
Woman, Watching:
Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay, a hybrid
memoir/biography of a reclusive Canadian amateur ornithologist, was published in
May, 2022 to great acclaim. Margaret Atwood called it a "lyrical, passionate,
and deeply researched portrait." Helen Humphreys wrote, "This is no ordinary
biography. Beautiful and powerful."And Kyo Maclear, author of Birds, Art, Life,
exclaimed, "Woman, Watching is unlike anything I've ever read. It's radical,
it's ravishing."
NOTE 1:A copy of Merilyn Simonds'
book was to have been available for purchase at the luncheon.
The
session was to have been held via a Luncheon at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club.
Topic: "The
Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation"
Elaine
Dewar is the author of seven non-fiction books, numerous magazine articles, and
scripts for television. She has been honoured by nine Canadian national magazine
awards, including the prestigious President's Medal, the US based White Award
for investigative journalism, awards from the Canadian Archeological Association
and The Canadian Nurses' Association, and the Hilary Weston Prize for narrative
non-fiction. Most recently she was a finalist for the Governor General's
non-fiction award.
She
describes her new book as the most difficult she's ever written. Locked down in
Toronto by the very pandemic whose cause she was investigating, she was forced
to resort to I.F. Stone's methods, combing through published sources instead of
the kind of face-to-face interviews that usually lead to good stories. She
ploughed through mounds of newspapers, government reports, peer-reviewed science
journals, preprints, and the blacked-out responses to access-to-information
requests to answer a very basic question: Had SARS-CoV-2 come from nature i.e.
an infected animal in a wet market in Wuhan, China, OR had it come from a lab in
the same city? Early on, a second question arose: Was there a connection between
the origin of the pandemic and the mysterious and still unexplained firings of
two scientists from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg?
From the
beginning she questioned "official responses", and, to put it mildly, met
roadblocks through her entire investigation. We heard , on April 14 Ms.
Dewar's conclusions.
Thursday 10 March 2022
Speaker: John Smol,
Topic: "Climate Change: Longer Summers! (But
why is our lake turning green?)"
John Smol is
a Distinguished University Professor in the Biology
Department, Queen's
University. He is a Member of the Order of
Canada, Canada Research
Chair in Environmental Change and the
President of the Academy
of Science, Royal Society of Canada. He holds
adjunct appointments in
Canada, the U.S. and China.
He received his B.Sc in
Marine Biology from McGill, an MSc in
Immunology from Brock
University and his Ph. D. from Queen's.
John founded the
Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL) at
Queen's, a group of
about 40 researchers studying long-term changes in aquatic ecosystems using lake
and river sediments.
John and his team "read" an area's history by studying sediment drill cores from
its
lakes and rivers. Recent
projects include studying the long-term effects of lake eutrophication ,
acidification,
contaminant transport, calcium decline, fisheries management and a large body of
work on
climate change with a
special focus on the Arctic.
John is a prolific
writer (edited/authored 21 books; 620 journals and book chapters to his credit),
he has
lectured on all seven
continents, and is a frequent commentator on environmental issues for radio, TV
and the print media. This will be
John's third talk to the Canadian Club of Kingston.
Thursday 10 February 2022
Speaker: Steven
Heighton, Author, poet, musician, book reviewer, editor, translator, teacher,
mentor
Topic: "Reaching
Mithymna: Among the Volunteers and Refugees on Lesvos"
Steven
Heighton was born in Toronto and spent his youth there and in northern Ontario.
Following some travel and work experience in western Canada and Australia, he
earned a BA and MA from
Queen's University
in
Kingston, Ontario.
After graduation, he travelled and worked for two years in Asia before settling
back in Kingston and starting to write, at first part-time and eventually
full-time.
Steven's most recent
of 19 books are Reaching Mithymna:
Among the Volunteers & Refugees on Lesvos(a Writers'
Trust Hilary Weston Prize finalist) and Selected Poems
1983-2020.
A
widely-acclaimed debut album of original songs, The Devil's Share,
was released this year by Wolfe Island records/CRS Europe. He also translates
poetry and writes reviews for the New York Times.
As you can see from this profile, Steven is a very talented wordsmith, who has
won and been nominated for numerous literary awards. His fiction and poetry
has been translated into ten languages. As well as writing numerous novels,
poetry collections and various short story works, he has also taught and
mentored writers at various institutes of learning world wide. We are privileged
to have him speak to the Canadian Club of Kingston.
Thursday 13 January 2022
Speaker: Krishna Burra, Director of Administration,
Limestone Board of Education
Topic: "Kingston
Secondary School and The Effects of the Pandemic on Education"
Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Krishna Burra was a Queen’s Concurrent
Education graduate in the mid-1990s with teachables in History and Mathematics.
Upon graduation, he was hired by the Frontenac County Board of Education, a
precursor board for the Limestone District School Board. In ten years of
teaching he taught students from Grades 7-12. For several years, Krishna served
as a department head of “Global Studies.” He is a previous Queen’s Associate
Teacher of the Year and Queen’s Baillie Award winner for excellence in secondary
teaching.
Krishna went into school administration in 2005. Since July 2010, he has been a
member of the Senior Staff of the Limestone District School Board serving as the
Assistant to the Director of Education, and Supervisor of Safe and Caring
Schools from 2010-2014. From fall of 2014 to summer of 2020 he served as
Superintendent of Schools, Program, and Information Technology Services. His
portfolio included a wide range of initiatives focused on secondary curriculum
and professional learning, outdoor education, Indigenous education,
international education, ITS, and supervision of the KCVI/KSS Family of schools.
At the provincial level, Krishna served on the Board of Directors for the
Ontario Public
Supervisory Officers Association (OPSOA) from 2017-2020. During the summer of
2020, he was appointed as Director of Education for the Limestone District
School Board.
Krishna
lives in Kingston with his wife, who is a secondary teacher with Limestone, and
their three children, ages 9, 12, and 15. His hobbies include running, coaching
basketball, and following current events.
Given
the ongoing effects of the pandemic on so many aspects of our lives, including
the lives of our children and grandchildren, Krishna’s topic is timely and was
very interesting for us all.
Wednesday 15 December 2021
Speaker: Christian Leuprecht, Professor, Royal Military College of Canada
Topic: "Intelligence
As Democratic Statecraft"
Christian Leuprecht (Ph.D, Queen's) is Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership in
the department of Political Science and Economics at RMC. At Queen's University
he is Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at the School of
Policy Studies. He is a Munk Senior Fellow in Security and Defence at the
Macdonald Laurier Institute and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Military Journal
and Canadian Defence Academy Press. Christian is a former Fulbright Research
Chair in Canada-US Relations at the School for Advanced International Studies at
Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC (2020) and a former Eisenhower Fellow
at the NATO Defence College in Rome (2019). He is also an elected member of the
College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada and a recipient of RMC's
Cowan Prize for Excellence in Research.
He
is an expert in security and defence, political demography, and comparative
federalism and multilevel governance. He has held visiting positions in North
America, Europe, and Australia. He regularly teaches senior staff officer
courses at allied military academies and as part of NATO's Defence Education
Enhancement Program (DEEP). He is regularly called as an expert witness to
testify before committees of Parliament and commissions of inquiry. He holds
appointments to the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board, the board of the
German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies, the Police Services Board of
the City of Kingston, the Centre sur la gouvernance sécuritaire et de crise
(CRITIC), the Polar Research & Policy Initiative in the UK as well as the
scientific advisory committee of the One Society Network.
He has published 16 books, including his most recent, Intelligence as
Democratic Statecraft (Oxford University Press 2021). His editorials appear
regularly across Canada's national newspapers and he is a frequent commentator
in domestic and international media. To top all that off,as a professor who is a long-time
proponent of experiential learning, Professor Leuprecht has received recognition
for his teaching excellence at both RMC and Queen's.
Friday 12 November 2021
Speaker: Kathy Brock,
"Professor, School of Policy
Studies, Queen's University"
Topic:
"COVID-19,
Government Performance and the 2021 Election"
Kathy L. Brock is a
Professor at Queen's University in the School of Policy Studies. She also has a
cross-appointment to the Department of Political Studies. She is Chair of the
National Accreditation Board for Programs in Public Administration and former
President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration, as
well as former National Research Chair for the Institute of Programs in Public
Administration.
She has published
books, academic articles and reports on the non-profit sector, Canadian and
comparative politics and government, federalism and constitutional matters,
Aboriginal governance and issues and the judiciary and the executive. She has
been active in public affairs as a nonpartisan advisor to federal, provincial
and territorial governments, political parties, an Aboriginal organization and
leaders, and non-profit organizations.
A dedicated
professor, she received the 2008 Pierre De Celles IPAC Award for Teaching
Excellence in Public Administration (national award) and the 2009 Frank Knox
Award (Queen's University) for Teaching Excellence and was a finalist for the
2020 Queen's Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.Recently Professor Brock has
pursued an active research program and public engagement relating to the
COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on governance in Canada.
Recently Professor Brock has pursued an
active research program and public engagement relating to the COVID-19 pandemic
and its impacts on governance in Canada.
View the
publication list here.
Research/Teaching:
public policy and the
voluntary sector
Canadian government and
politics
the constitution and the
judiciary
federalism
aboriginal self-government
public law
women and politics
governing institutions
Thursday 14 October 2021
Speaker: Amaranth Amarasingam, Assistant
Professor, School of Religion, Queen’s University
Topic:
"Extremism and Technology"
(via
Zoom Webinar session)
The speaker for our Webinar
on Thursday Oct 14 was Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam,Assistant
Professor in the School of Religion. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the
Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and an Associate Fellow at the International
Centre for the Study of Radicalization. His research interests are in
radicalization, terrorism, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the
sociology of religion.
Dr.
Amarasingam is an experienced field researcher, having conducted hundreds of
interviews for his PhD dissertation on social movement activism. He has
conducted numerous social media and in-person interviews with current and former
foreign fighters in countries throughout the world, including Sri Lanka, Syria,
Iraq, Somalia and Israel/Palestine. He has been interviewed on CNN, PBS Newshour,
CBC, BBC, and a variety of other media outlets.
Professor
Amarasingam's research focus is terrorism and political violence; social
movements; religion and politics in the Middle East; diaspora politics and
activism; hate movements and the far-right. He is considered a "go-to" source
of expertise in the area of extremist ideological beliefs.
This will be
an excellent opportunity to get a look at extremist movements on both far-right
and far-left sides of the spectrum.
2020-2021
Thursday 13 May 2021
Speaker:
Gar Pardy,
Distinguished Canadian Diplomat (Retired)
Topic:
"The Global Ascendancy of China"
(via
Zoom Webinar session)
Gar Pardy, a
distinguished Canadian diplomat, now retired, joined the Canadian Foreign
Service in 1967.
He served in India, Kenya, the United States and Central America where he was
Ambassador to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. In
the late 1980s he was Director of the Asia Pacific Division in Foreign Affairs,
and he retired as
director general of the consular affairs bureau in 2003. However, he has
maintained a strong presence in the department.
Since his retirement
in 2003, he has been a commentator and writer on issues of Canadian foreign and
public policy. He appears regularly in the Ottawa Citizen and Embassy
newspapers and on CBC, CTV and Global television. He has spoken out on numerous
issues related to the consular support or lack thereof for Canadian citizens
abroad. He has in various ways advocated for Omar Khadr, and was instrumental in
getting consular support for Maher Arar. He has spoken out about the ongoing
imprisonment in China of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. In March, 2016,
the Rideau Institute published a report Pardy wrote, on the erosion in Canada's
provision of consular services to its citizens living in foreign countries.
He hails from
Newfoundland and his early education was in Norris Arm and Gander. He first
worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada - in Gander, Goose Bay and
Frobisher Bay. He has an honours degree from Acadia University and a Master's
from McMaster. He and his wife Laurel live in Ottawa.
Thursday 08 April 2021
Speaker: Mike Hill, Past President, Preserve Our
Wrecks, Kingston
Topic:
"The Marine Wrecks Capital of the
World" (via
Zoom Webinar session)
Kingston's waterfront bears little evidence of the city's
role as a centre for maritime trade and ship-building in earlier centuries. One
enduring lagacy is the number of shipwrecks that lie off her shores.
Mike began diving in the early 1970s, but an injury on active
duty prevented him from certifying at that time. It wasn't intil about twenty
years ago that he managed to return to the sport. Scuba diving quickly became a
principal source of recreation and he gained skills and experience rapidly to
become an instructor by 2003. After retiring from a full career in the British
Army, in 2006 he moved to Kingston, where he knew diving opportunities to be
rich and varied in Lake Ontario and the adjacent St. Lawrence River.
He has long been associated with the first wreck preservation
group to form in Ontario, in 1981, "Preserve Our wrecks, Kingston". He led the
organization for eight years, handing over the reins last year to a younger
person, but remaining actively involved. He has nearly 2,500 dives under his
belt, most of them in the cold waters of Lake Ontario. Other diving destinations
include Cyprus, several Caribbean Islands, the Florida Keys, Hawaii, Fiji and
Truk Lagoon in the Pacific Far East. Other interests include flying as a private
pilot, photography and five grasndchildren.
Thursday 11 March 2021
Speaker: Dr. Paul Robinson, Professor, Faculty of
Social Sciences, Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa Topic:
"The World in Moscow's Eyes: How do
Russians See the World and the West" (via
Zoom Webinar session)
Dr. Robinson is currently a full
professor at Ottawa University, at the faculty of Social Sciences, working in
the fields of Public and International Affairs. He teaches courses in both
official languages, on a variety of topics covering Military history, Russian
international relations, and various aspects of Canadian and International
security.
Paul Robinson holds
an MA in Russian and Eastern European Studies from the University of Toronto and
a D. Phil. in Modern History from the University of Oxford. Prior to his
graduate studies, he served as a regular officer in the British Army
Intelligence Corps from 1989 to 1994, and as a reserve officer in the Canadian
Forces from 1994 to 1996. He also worked as a media research executive in Moscow
in 1995. Having published six books, he has also written widely for the
international press on political issues. His research focuses generally on
military affairs. In recent years, he has worked on Russian history, military
history, defence policy, and military ethics.
Thursday 11 February 2021
Speaker: Dr. Erika Behresch, Associate Professor of
English, Associate Dean (Programme), Social Sciences and Humanities, Royal
Military College of Canada
Topic:
"Lady Franklin of Russell Square -
Lost Franklin Expedition" (via
Zoom Webinar session)
Erika Behrisch grew up in
Fairbanks, Alaska and spent her adolescent years and early adulthood in British
Columbia, before moving to Kingston.
She is professor of English,
Culture and Communication at the Royal Military College of Canada. Her research
is nineteenth-century naval exploration narratives, especially the parts of the
story that get left out of the big history books. Her current project is on
Royal Naval surgeons, and it includes an academic project and a novel.
She has recently written a book
about the lost Franklin Expedition, titled, "Lady Franklin of Russell Square",
describing Lady Franklin's chronicled reports of the doomed Arctic odyssey of
her husband, Sir John Franklin. The book was shortlisted for the Book
Publishers' Association of Alberta's Fiction of the Year prize in 2019 and named
one of Canadian Geographic's favourite books of 2018.
Erika lives in Kingston, Ontario.
Thursday 14 January 2021
Speaker: John Gerrettsen, Retired Federal / Ontario
Provincial Legislator
Topic:
"Personal Experiences with
COVID-19" (via
Zoom Webinar session)
In March, 2020, John and his wife,
Assunta had just boarded the Sun Princess in California for a cruise featuring
lots of relaxation, and even more Bridge. Almost immediately plans began to
change as the COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head in North America. One of
the activities that was impacted very quickly was cruising, and horror stories
developed quickly.
John will speak on their experience with
COVID, their departure from California, the stopover at Trenton Air Base, and
finally their arrival back in Kingston. A memorable holiday, to be sure.
John received his BA and LLB from
Queen's University. After briefly working as a solicitor in industry in Toronto
he moved back to Kingston and began his career in politics. He initially served
as an Alderman on Kingston City Council from 1972 to 1980, when he was elected
Mayor. He was re-elected twice, stepping down in 1988.
John then served as Chair of the
Ontario Housing Corporation, and was a Deputy Judge in Ontario's Small Claims
Court. At the same time, he began a distinguished career in federal and
provincial politics, and was elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1995. John
held several Cabinet posts, including Attorney-General, as well as Minister of
Consumer Services, Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Environment.
He retired in 2014, and
continues to live in Kingston.
Thursday 12 November 2020
Speaker: Professor Catherine Conaghan, Professor
Emerita, Political Studies, Queen's University
Topic:
"Review of the American Election of
03 November 2020"
After earning her PhD from Yale University, Catherine was a
faculty member at Simmons College and the Ohio State Universitybefore joining
Queen's in 1988. She has been a visiting scholar at Princeton University, the
University of Notre Dame, the University of Miami, the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, and the American
University. She held the Sir Edward Peacock chair in political studies from 2013
to 2018. In addition to her research on Latin American politics throughout her
career at Queen's, Professor Conaghan taught courses in American politics
throughout her career at Queen's. She is a dual US-Canadian citizen wotes in her
home state of Pennsylvania.
2019-2020
Thursday 12 March 2020
Speaker: Heather Roberts, Director, Solid Waste
Services, Kingston Area Recycling Centre
Topic:
"City of Kingston Solid Waste
Services - Challenges & Opportunities in a Global Waste Industry
"
Heather Roberts is the Director of the Solid Waste Services Department with the
City of Kingston, since 2014, with 10 years' experience in the municipal solid waste
industry. Heather is a graduate from Sir Sandford Fleming College with a
Diploma in Environmental Studies, and also has a Certified Engineering
Technologist (C.E.T.) designation from the Ontario Association of Certified
Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) in 2008.
She started her career in 2005 in the environmental engineering consulting
industry but pursued her passion to be a part of municipal government in 2008,
accepting an Environmental Technologist position with the Town of Arnprior.
In 2010, to advance her career, she joined the City of Kingston in 2010 as the
Gaining successes and leading the department in the right direction, including
achieving 60% waste diversion in 2015, three years earlier than the goal set by
City Council; Heather was appointed to the Director of Solid Waste Services in
early 2018. She is responsible for the overall management of the City's
Integrated Waste Management System, including the delivery of Kingston's beloved
blue/grey box recycling and green bin organic programs; program planning,
promotion & education; and the design, construction, operation and maintenance
of waste management facilities. In alignment with Council's Strategic Priorities
(2019-2022) to demonstrate leadership on Climate Action, the Solid Waste
Services Department priorities include expanding the recycling cart and green
bin programs at multi-residential buildings and consulting with the community on
the implementation of new waste strategies to achieve Council's goal of 65%
waste diversion by 2025.
Thursday 13 February 2020
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Spence, Waterloo University
Topic:
"Into the Vortex - Arctic Governance
in Times of Uncertainty and Change"
After a BA (Hon.) in political
science from the University of British Columbia, and then an MA in conflict
management and analysis from Royal Roads University, Jennifer Spence earned a
Ph.D. in public policy from Carleton University in 2017. Previously she held
a number of senior positions with a variety of
Government of Canada Departments, as well as being a Fellow with the Centre for
International Governance Innovation.
She is currently
an Adjunct Research
Professor with the Northern Studies Program at Carleton. She is also the
Executive Secretary of the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working
Group.
Jennifer's
research interests are the relationship between policy decision-making and
formal and informal governance structures - with a particular focus on
environmental governance in the circumpolar region, and the role of the Arctic
Council in circumpolar policy and decision-making. She is an expert in
international governance and public policy, and she has a special interest in
the opportunities and challenges facing the Arctic region.
Thursday 12 December 2019
Speaker: Bruce Campbell, Research Fellow, Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives
Topic:
"Lac-Mégantic -
Lessons Learned (Or Not)"
Bruce Campbell is
the former Executive Director (1994-2015) of the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives (CCPA), one of Canada’s leading policy research institutes. Bruce
has authored or edited five books and numerous reports on public policy issues.
His commentaries have appeared in major newspapers and online news sites across
Canada. He has appeared before parliamentary committees, and interviewed on
radio and TV in Canada and abroad.
He authored three
major reports on the Lac-Mégantic oil train disaster. For this work he was
awarded the 2015 Law Foundation of Ontario, Community Leadership in Justice
Fellowship. Hence hespent 2016 at the University of Ottawa Law
Faculty, hosted by the Common Law & Droits sections of the Faculty of Law, as
well as its Human Rights to Research and Education Centre.
Bruce
is currently Adjunct Professor at York University, Faculty of Environmental
Studies and Senior Fellow, Ryerson University Centre for Free Expression. Bruce
has written a book, “The Lac Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice
Denied” (James Lorimer, 2018. There is a French edition as well. As a Research
Fellow, he continues his contributions to the work of the Canadian Center for
Policy Alternatives.
Thursday 14 November 2019
Speaker: Professor Jonathan Rose,Queen's University
Topic:
"Lessons from the
Canadian Federal Election - What Just Happened?"
Thursday 10 October 2019
Speaker: Dr. Heather Stuart, Queen's University
Topic:
"Overcoming
the Stigma of Mental Illness"
Dr. Heather Stuart is a Professor
working at the Departments of Public Health Sciences, Psychiatry and the School
of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University. She is also the Bell Canada
Chair in Mental Health and Anti-stigma Research, the first ever in Canada.
She is also a Senior Consultant to the
Mental Health Commission Canada's Opening Minds, Anti-stigma initiative and the
Chair of the World Psychiatric Association's Stigma and Mental Health Scientific
Section. She has worked in both hospital and community based mental health
treatment systems, as well as with the World Health Organization, the Pan
American Health Organization, and the World Psychiatric Association. She is
Co-founder and Co-chair of the Scientific Section on Stigma and Mental Disorders
for the World Psychiatric Association and Founding Editor of the International
Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology Bulletin.
Dr. Stuart's main research interests are
in the areas of psychiatric epidemiology and community mental health research,
with special focus on mental health services research with respect to the
stigmatization of mental illnesses. She contributes to peer reviewed scientific
literature in the areas of mental health needs assessments; suicide and suicide
prevention; stigma and stigma reduction; and workplace mental health. She is
co-author of several books. Her most recent books deal with anti-stigma
programming and human rights legislation. In 2018, Dr. Stuart was named to the
Order of Canada, and inducted as a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.
SUPPORTED BY THE ROYAL KINGSTON UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE (RKUSI)
General Roméo
Dallaire is founder of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, a
global partnership with the mission to end the recruitment and use of child
soldiers. A celebrated advocate for human rights, General Dallaire is also a
respected author, government and UN advisor, and former Canadian Senator.
Throughout his
distinguished military career, General Dallaire served most notably as Force
Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda prior to and
during the 1994 genocide. General Dallaire provided the United Nations with
information about the planned massacre, which ultimately took more than 800,000
lives in less than 100 days; yet, permission to intervene was denied and the UN
withdrew its peacekeeping forces. General Dallaire, along with a small
contingent of Ghanaian and Tunisian soldiers and military observers, disobeyed
the command to withdraw and remained in Rwanda to fulfill their ethical
obligation to protect those who sought refuge with the UN forces.
Whether as military
commander, humanitarian, senator or author, Roméo Dallaire has penetrated
our national
consciousness, often in supremely uncomfortable ways. He continues to work
tirelessly
to bring national
and international attention to situations too-often ignored, whether the
atrocities of
the Rwandan
genocide, the struggle that he and many other military veterans face with post-
traumatic stress
disorder, or the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
2018-2019
Thursday 09 May 2019
Speaker:
A. Britton Smith MC, QC, LLD.
Topic:
"2nd
Canadian Division attack on Verrières
Ridge, July 1944, World War II and,
Some Thoughts on Kingston's Housing Shortage"
Arthur Britton
Smith was born in Kingston and grew up on Stuart Street near Queen's
university. He attended Victoria School and KCVI. At age 15 he enlisted in the
Canadian Field Artillery (militia), leading him to RMC (College
Number 2652). Graduating in 1940, he
was commissioned a lieutenant and proceeded to the UK. In 1942, he was promoted
to captain in the Second Division Artillery. Wounded in Normandy, he returned
to Canada in November 1944. Back in Kingston he married Sally Carruthers.
After
the war, he graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and
practised law until 1998, when he was awarded an honorary
life membership in the Law Society of Upper Canada. He and
Sally have three children, two of whom are Queen's grads.
He had seven brothers-in-law who also graduated from
Queen's, as did two sisters and several grandchildren.
Mr. Smith served
three terms on City Council, commanded a company in the Princess of Wales Own
Regiment, was warden of St. John's Anglican Church, chaired the United Way
campaign, the Frontenac Law Society and RKY boys' camp committee. He was active
in the Legion's Branch 560, National President of the RMC Club of Canada, Master
of the Frontenac Hunt and chaired several philanthropic fund raisings. In 1990
he was named the Kingston Chamber of Commerce's Business Person of the Year and
in 2006 was inducted into the Kingston Business Hall of Fame
As a hobby, he
started building apartment houses while still a law student. Now this sideline
is his full time occupation. His company, Homestead Land Holdings, has grown to
over 26,000 suites in 16 cities and he is still the executive chairman. Hobbies
other than real estate developing have included boating, raising Aberdeen Angus
cattle, breeding Arabian horses, hunting, fishing, tennis and collecting old
books.
Mr. Smith's
honours include the Military Cross (1944), the Canadian Forces Decoration, the
Canada 125 medal, Queen's Counsel (1959), honorary Doctorates from RMC and
Queen's and a row of military campaign medals. He is compiler of "Kingston! Oh
Kingston!" and author of "Legend of the Lake", reflecting his interest in local
history. He lives on the riverfront a few miles east of Kingston.
Copy of presentation:
"BATTLE AT TROTEVAL FARM
July 1944
In the 1944 invasion
of Normandy I was commander of “C” Troop, 14th Battery, 4th
Field Reg’t RCA, a unit of the Second Canadian Division.
On the morning of July 20th
LCol Bud Drury, CO of the Regiment, ordered me to proceed immediately to an “O”
Group at the Mayor’s office in FAUBOURG DE VAUCELLES (east of CAEN) and to act
as his representative and FOO with the Fusiliers de Mont Royal in a brigade
attack. This I did with some puzzlement as I normally worked with 4th Brigade
battalions and had trained with them for several years in England. I did not
know anyone in the FMR, but assumed my selection was because I had some slight
battle experience with the RHLI and the RR of C, whereas 6 Brigade and it’s
FOO’s were still unblooded; also two of my OP crew were bilingual.
I remember eating
apples picked off the mayor’s tree in the yard of the “maiorie” while the senior
officers tried to hammer out some difficulties, which I believe involved adding
the Essex Scottish of 4 Brigade to 6 Brigade. This was a surprise, as we had
never trained with a four-battalion formation, and it did not fit our usual
tactical patterns. [Each brigade in 2nd Div was composed of 3
battalions.] The Bde “I” officer told us that British “Recce” units reported
seeing no enemy between IFS and VERRIERES, the proposed route of the 6 Bde
assault. The camouflaged Germans had held their fire, it turned out.
I proceeded to the
start line, just south of the village of IFS, and joined up with Captain Fernand
Mousseau of “C” Company, the FMR. He and his men had been marching since dawn,
with no breakfast and no lunch, and they had been awakened very early in the
morning; hardly good preparation for their first battle! Nonetheless they were
cheerful and spirited.
I explained to him the
nature of our barrage and the importance of staying behind the start line and
not getting too close to the falling shells as we advanced. He and his men were
eager to go, although very hungry, and at 14:45 the barrage, fired by many
artillery regiments, opened. [There had just been time to lay on a creeping
barrage. As well, the depth of the assault required many lifts and therefore a
great quantity of ammunition.] The infantry followed the bursting shells at a
respectful distance after two men were wounded.
I was with one of the lead
platoons and had two signallers on foot accompanying me. My carrier followed
behind the infantry company. One signaller carried a short-range radio set
(No.38?) to communicate with my carrier and the other a No.18 set on the FMR net
(both back-packs). We all toted rifles to look as much like infanteers as
possible, and I had my camouflage scarf wound over my epaulettes to hide my
captain’s pips. My binoculars (oversize 12 power) were tucked inside my
battledress blouse and my folded map was in the large thigh pocket of my
trousers.
We started taking
prisoners almost immediately and also came under fire from snipers and MG 42’s
hiding in stooks of cut grain, which dotted some of the fields. The FMR 2 inch
mortar men dropped a few phosphorous bombs on the stooks, setting them on fire
and this pretty soon cut down on the sniping. The enemy infantry were, I think,
from the 272nd Division (mostly non-Germans) and formed a screen in front of the
12th SS Panzer, an elite, tough crew of Nazi Party members. They had
dug slit trenches under the grain stooks, which protected them from our barrage
to some extent. Also the German armour and S/P anti-tank guns were sited in
pits gouged out by a bulldozer, so that only their weapons were at all visible.
This meant that our tanks behind us had great difficulty spotting targets and
suffered severe casualties. My bren gun carrier was not fired upon, although
several nearby T-16 carriers which were towing 17 pounder and 6 pounder
anti-tank guns were knocked out early on.
It was a hot July day
with little wind, so the smell of burning rubber and paint from the tanks and
carriers on fire, the smoke from blazing wheat sheaves and the smell of burning
flesh was a dramatic accompaniment to the continuous crash of the 25 pound
shells bursting steadily in front of us; also there was much screaming. Very
shortly we had quite a large number of prisoners; I counted a batch of 45 at one
time. We used them to carry wounded of both sides to the rear on gates. Eight
prisoners as porters and two wounded to a gate.
We followed the
prescribed drill of jamming the bayonet of a wounded man’s rifle upright in the
ground, so that his location was marked. The rifle of course stood up above the
grain in the uncut fields. [Our
toad-stabber bayonets were best used to puncture tins of milk for tea and not
good for this. We missed our original issue of WWI type sword-bayonets.]
Each officer carried
two syrettes of morphine and these were eventually used up on badly wounded.
The kit included an indelible purple pencil, which we licked and used to make a
big “M” on the man’s forehead, to avoid accidental overdose.
And so we fought our
way forward about 2 kms to TROTEVAL FARM while at the same time B Company on our
right was advancing on BEAUVOIR FARM. Maj. Gauthier, commanded “B” Coy and
Captain Gordon Hunter from my regiment was the FOO with him. Gordon was badly
wounded later that day and Captain Reg Parker, another of our 4th Fd
FOO’s, was killed that afternoon near IFS with the Essex Scottish. When we
reached the farms we encountered troops of the 12th SS Division and
there was some fierce fighting until they withdrew. A couple of Mark IV German
tanks were knocked out by our armour in support close to VERRIERES village,
which was only a few hundred yards from TROTEVAL FARM. However, the tiger tanks
and infantry appeared to have pulled back to their reserve position under cover
of the smoke which obscured the view of our own tanks. This was standard German
tactics. The artillery fire plan ended at the farms, I believe, and “D” Coy FMR
then passed between us and “B” Coy to attack VERRIERES. The 12TH SS
hit them very hard, and forced them to withdraw with no ground gained and many
casualties.
Major Mousseau and I
started to consolidate around TROTEVAL FARM, all of us digging slit trenches
well away from the farm buildings to avoid being obvious targets. He and I were
talking beside a stone wall when some one threw an egg grenade over and it burst
between us. The skin of these bombs is very thin metal, and so we suffered only
minor cuts. Happily it was not a stick grenade! I asked the captain in one of
the tanks who had by then come up, if he could knock a hole in the wall. This
he did quite easily and I quickly jumped through after the tank, looking for the
perpetrator of the grenade attack. Suddenly the Sherbrooke officer ducked down
yelling a warning and slammed his turret lid. I turned around to face a German
NCO with a Schmeisser aimed at me! He gave me one burst, turned and fled into
some nearby berry bushes as the tank turret was swinging down toward him with
its co-ax machine gun firing. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut, but
there was no blood, for a very good reason. I had been cursing the body armour
which assault infantry and OP crews wore, but now I fervently gave thanks that I
had it on. There were two, one inch deep, pits pushed into the chest plate!
The battery quartermaster some days later replaced it, but it then became a
regimental curio for a while. The 9mm ammunition used by the Germans was
shorter, lighter and had less punch than our own, although it would fit in our
9mm pistols and stens.
While we were digging in, a heavy
burst of rain struck us, soaking everyone to the skin and filling our slit
trenches with mud. However under cover of the rain, the company sergeant-major
of the FMR reached our position in a jeep carrying two dixies of stew and coffee
(or tea? – I forget) kept warm in hay boxes. He also brought cases of .303
ammunition, 2 inch mortar bombs and “36” grenades, but no PIAT ammo. The FMR
grabbed first for the ammunition boxes, ripping them open and stuffing the loose
rounds into their bren magazines, most of which were empty. The riflemen took
the cloth bandoliers, each of which contained several five-round clips, and
after filling their pouches slung the remaining khaki bandoliers around their
necks. Then they went at the food, having had nothing for 24 hours!
Good discipline!
The arrival of the ammo was well
timed, as the first of many counterattacks developed shortly after, coming from
the village of VERRIERS a few hundred yards ahead of us. Major Mousseau asked
for artillery fire and I brought the battery down on a defensive task out in
front of our position, which I had already registered. Suddenly there was a
snicking sound above us and twigs and leaves showered down from the tall
Lombardy poplars which lined the lane where we stood. I realized that my guns
were firing charge 3, or a very flat trajectory at that range, and that we were
in considerable danger. I quickly switched to charge 2 which lowered the muzzle
velocity and raised the guns. After that the shells came in at a safe height.
Thank God none hit a solid branch and ‘air burst’ overhead.
The two surviving tanks were
ordered back to “Laager” for the night. We protested loudly but their
commanders said they had to replenish fuel and ammunition. They swung their
guns around over their sterns and draped a huge yellow cloth triangle over each
turret to identify them as friendly. (Smaller yellow cloth triangles were
carried by all of us, with a loop around our neck and smaller loops on the other
two corners for our thumbs. To identify us when we came under friendly fire
(usually from our aircraft), we stuck our thumbs into the two loops and snapped
the triangle out of our breast pocket as identification.) When the tanks were
just clear of our position, a dug-in German S/P gun very close on our left fired
with a horrendous crash and a round screeched over our heads striking the upper
part of one tank’s turret with an enormous shower of sparks. The turret rocked
up and crashed over the side, although the tank continued on. The driver must
have been shielded from the metal flying around above and behind him. Our
eardrums were punched in and the grain around us was knocked down flat by the
blast of the high velocity shot. I tried to call a Typhoon in, to hit the gun,
but the rain and low clouds had stopped all aircraft flying. The last plane we
had seen was a German fighter which strafed us shortly after we crossed the
start line.
The classic counterattack was
beaten back with heavy fire from the FMR and a great number of artillery shells
from the 4th Field Regiment. On our left a quarter of a mile away at
HUBERT FOLIE the SDG Highlanders were dug in, but we had no liaison with them,
unfortunately. We could have used some mutual support but we did not know their
radio frequencies and evidently they did not know ours, they being 3rd
Div and we 2nd Div.
That night it rained off and on
but despite that, several times German patrols approached the farm in fairly
large numbers. The FMR lost a few men as prisoners. I had registered an SOS
task across the front of the company position, which we fired effectively
several times for a few minutes. The SOS signal for that day was red, red,
green but I discovered that my Verey pistol ammunition was too swollen after
being soaked for several hours in my wet pockets; – it simply wouldn’t fit into
the chamber.
Our Verey flares came as a
brass-based cardboard cartridge like a big shotgun shell, whereas the Germans
used an all-metal case. Luckily we had captured a German FOO and I had taken
his flare pistol with its ammo. Their red flares could be distinguished by a
band of milling, and the green flares by a half band. White was plain. I kept
my red flares in my left pocket (port side!) and green in my right (starboard!)
otherwise I could not tell ours apart in the darkness. The Germans were ‘way
ahead of us on this one. (For some reason red and green were the two favoured
flare colours in both armies). Most distress signals to the guns consisted of
3 “shots”.
I had told my signal sergeant to
forget about attempting to bring a field telephone line up to the position as
the heavy shell-fire and tank traffic would make it impossible to maintain.
This left us entirely dependant on radio and batteries were a problem. Our
chore-horse battery charger was much too noisy to run so close to the enemy, but
somehow during the night Sgt Tom O’Rourke made it up to the OP on his motorcycle
with some fully charged batteries strapped on behind him. [He was later wounded
and returned to Canada with me on the hospital ship ABBA].
Very early the next morning
another German attack came in, but without tank support. We repulsed it with
relative ease, although they brought down a heavy preparatory concentration of
artillery and mortar fire upon us. This cost us several more casualties.
Meanwhile another early attack on BEAUVOIR FARM to our right, had been
successful and the Germans took quite a few prisoners of B Coy FMR. We watched
them being marched off to VERRIERES. Captain Gord Hunter, my fellow FOO had
been wounded, as I said, and his replacement had not yet come up from the gun
position. This was undoubtedly a factor in the FMR losing BEAUVOIR. Naturally
we felt very exposed after this German success. I was pre-occupied at TROTEVAL
and could do nothing to help B Coy.
During one of the brief lulls in
activity a deserter who claimed to be a Polish conscript, approached the OP with
his hands in the air; one of them waving a rag. He had a pillowcase knotted to
his waist-belt, which looked slightly suspicious. We were thinking of grenades,
so made him dump the contents, which turned out to be about 20 small cans of
bully beef! These were the “iron rations” carried by German soldiers and,
obviously, he had been collecting them from his dead comrades. He said he had
been hiding out “waiting for the Tommys”.
In the late afternoon still
another German attack came in, the fifth, I think. This time supported by
several tiger tanks and some determined panzer grenadiers who persevered through
our defensive fire. C Coy were down to seventeen, all ranks, twelve of whom
were wounded. Most ammunition was gone, including all the PIAT anti-tank ammo,
so Major Mousseau, himself wounded, had no choice but to surrender. Shortly
before this, when the Germans overran the position, we agreed that as a last
resort we would bring down artillery fire right on ourselves, as our people were
in slit trenches and the attackers were exposed [a calculated but not uncommon
risk]. This we did for several minutes, using up a lot of ammunition, but
inflicting many casualties on the infantry attackers. We had no anti-tank guns
nor any of our own tanks to support us, so nothing could be done against the
German tigers. I decided to make a run for it in the carrier, but after all the
pouring rain it refused to start. We had to unload a wounded FMR officer from
the rear compartment to get at the engine and meanwhile considered crawling away
through the grain to avoid capture. In preparation, I rolled my 12 X binoculars
in my Burberry raincoat and pushed it down in the mud of my slit trench,
expecting that I could recover both when we retook the position.
Most of the time we were
communicating with FMR battalion headquarters on our 18 set. The “C” Coy sets
had been knocked out. We were quite forceful in our requests for
reinforcements, but nothing appeared. I was also sending “sit-reps” through 4th
Field R/T channels on my No.19 set, begging for an additional company of
infantry or even better, the reserve battalion. I believe that because this was
the first action for 6th Brigade and its battalion commanders no one
at HQ appreciated the importance of reinforcing “C” Coy’s success. At that time
the company at TROTEVAL FARM was the only sub-unit of 2nd Div still
holding it’s objective. All others had been driven back by counterattacks. We
held on at TROTEVAL FARM largely because of terrific artillery fire, which
amounted to over 600 rounds per gun for 4th Field, during the battle,
mostly fired on ‘Mike’ targets (24 guns). Back-breaking work in the rain and
almost non-stop for the gunners. Needless to say, I and my OP crew had been
fighting all along as infantry, using our rifles to good effect although our
Bren gun had jammed early on (full of mud!) and we never had time to clean it.
My driver, Bombardier Chris May,
finally got the engine started and under cover of our exploding shells we made a
run for it, coming under heavy fire from the co-ax machine guns of the German
tanks. (They would not waste the main armament on a tiny Bren carrier.) We
could see white powder flying around us, which we feared might be phosphorous.
This later turned out to be powdered hardtack of which we had lashed a large tin
on top of the carrier. This was riddled with bullet holes. The same was true
of a large PIAT box welded across the front, which had contained a few cans of
bully beef and stew, now splattered gruesomely over everything, as well; but the
carrier armour withstood the fire although the paint was badly chipped.
I reported to LCol
Gauvreau at the FMR battalion headquarters and told him that C Company had
surrendered. He reassigned me to Maj. White of A Company, the reserve company.
Our task was to recapture BEAUVOIR FARM. We crawled through the grain and along
some ditches getting quite close to BEAUVOIR where we saw two tigers
systematically swiveling on the FMR slit trenches to fill them in. It was
obvious that we could not attack German armour with only infantry, so I
cancelled my quick fire plan and left BEAUVOIR for the future. We succeeded
three days later.
The Germans
established a fairly strong defensive position around TROTEVAL FARM including a
minefield. They also strengthened VERRIERS VILLAGE right behind it, which gave
us a much harder time a few days later (the 25th) when the RHLI
attacked successfully and I was wounded. My friend Captain Jack Thompson, the
other 14th Battery FOO, also with “The Rileys”, was killed.
After the war my
brother-in-law, Warren Hurst, visited TROTEVAL FARM, and saw that the hole in
the wall had been rebuilt. The French farm family had survived the entire
battle, hiding in the cellar. They lost one member killed, unfortunately.
I never went back. I
wrote a citation for the DSO for Maj Fernand Mousseau at the request of LCol
Gavreau. He did not get it, being a POW, although he had escaped from a German
hospital dressed as a nurse, and re-joined the FMR in the fall. I had lunch
with him a few years ago in Ottawa.
My driver Bdr May and
signaller John Clark were both recommended for the Military Medal. Both got an
m.i.d. (Mentioned-in-Despatches) and both were later killed; Many on the
25th when our carrier hit a Tellermine while attacking with the RHLI.
In this first combat experience
for 6 Bde since DIEPPE there were several lessons to be learned:
1)There was no liaison between the FMR of 2nd Div and the
neighbouring SDG of 3rd Div. on our left;
2)Artillery FOOs should work with the infantry whom they normally support
and know;
3)A tactical formation should not be varied on the eve of battle, after
years of training (4 battalions instead of 3);
4)LOB personnel should be sent up to replace assault casualties at the same
time as replacement ammo;
5)A reserve company should not be left uncommitted while the two forward
companies are fighting for their lives;
6)The successful battalion (FMR) should be strengthened or replaced with
the brigade reserve when it is obviously in deep trouble;
7)Anti-tank guns should be deployed in the consolidation stage. If the
anti-tank are wiped out, then the supporting armour should be left overnight in
close support and not withdrawn to Laager;
8)Attacking troops should be well rested and well fed in preparation;
9)Inexperienced commanders should not be combined with inexperienced
troops.
Brit Smith"
Thursday 11 April 2019
Speaker: Janice
Mady, Director, and Rick Boswell, Assistant Director, Innovation Park
Topic:
"Innovation Park, and the
Queen's University Office of Partnership and Innovation"
As
leaders at the Queen's University Innovation Park, Janice Mady and Rick Boswell
are instrumental in supporting an environment where start up clients can thrive
and grow their businesses.
Janice's 35 year career has taken her from years in industry to subsequent work
in the area of climate change with the BIOCAP Canada Foundation, and then to the
university sector at Queen's. As Director of Research and Innovation
Partnerships at Queen's she sets strategic direction for and leads the Research
Partnerships, Research Contracts, and Regional Innovation Units. Her work helps
advance collaboration between the different sectors, and creates opportunities
for Queen's students, faculty, and organizations in our community.
Rick has been working in the research and innovation sector for over 30 years,
all at Queen's. He began in the Department of Chemistry, overseeing the largest
growth in its history. In 2008 he moved to Innovation Park at Queen's as its
first team member. As Assistant Director he helps set up collaborative
environments for start up clients so they can become a part of the regional
innovation ecosystem.
The audience
learned how
Janice and Rick and the Innovation Park team have helped to establish a vibrant
innovation culture and community, to the benefit of Kingston and its residents.
Thursday 14 March 2019
Speaker: Matthew Fisher,
Resident Visiting Scholar in Defence and Security at
the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at
Massey College
and Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs International
Topic:
"Stories from the
Last Foreign Correspondent"
Matthew Fisher is
Resident Visiting Scholar in defence and security at the Bill Graham Centre for
Contemporary International History at Massey College, a fellow of the Canadian
Global Affairs Institute, and Canada's most experienced and well-traveled
foreign correspondent.
He grew up in a remote
town in northwestern Ontario and in Ottawa. He studied Fine Arts (film major) at
York University, and then was a full time journalist for 45 years, working
overseas for 34 years. He was the international affairs columnist for the
National Post and Postmedia for 17 years, after working for Sun Media and the
Toronto Globe and Mail.
Fisher has been to 172
countries, living in Belgium, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Britain, Iraq,
Jerusalem and Afghanistan. He observed 19 wars and conflicts from Central
America and Rwanda to Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Balkans, the Middle East,
Timor, Afghanistan and Abu Sayyaf's Islamic war in Mindanao. Last fall he met
with Canadian NATO pilots flying Air Policing missions out of Romania.
Fisher received
the Ross Munro Award in 2007 for an extraordinary contribution to increasing the
understanding of Canadians of defence and security issues. He was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for making a significant
contribution to Canadian public life. He is writing a book about his life abroad
and Canada’s place in the world, with an emphasis on the High Arctic and on
Russia and China.
Thursday 14 February 2019
Speaker:
Helen Humphreys,
Kingston Author
Topic:
"How a Novel is
Written - A Craft Talk"
Helen Humphreys is the award-winning author of numerous works of fiction,
nonfiction, and poetry, including the novel Coventry, a Globe and Mail
Best Book of the Year, and the memoir Nocturne, nominated for the
Trillium Book Award . Her novel The Evening Chorus was nominated for the
Governor General’s Award in 2015.
Humphrey’s latest book, The Ghost Orchard, explores the history of the
apple in North America. Inspired by the discovery of a rare and delicious apple
in an abandoned orchard near her home, the author delved into the history of the
fruit. An engaging storyteller, Humphreys brings to light diverse aspects of
the apple’s history, from how the fruit first came across the Atlantic Ocean to
the cataloguing of over 17,000 varieties by the U.S. Department of Pomology, to
little-known stories of poets, artists, and thinkers who were inspired by this
humble fruit.
The Ghost Orchard,
however, is more than a history, as Humphreys writes about undertaking the
research while one of her closest friends was suffering from a terminal illness.
With her signature lyrical prose, Humphreys weaves insights about illness and
friendship into this fascinating history, resulting in a book both personal and
universal.
Thursday 10 January 2019
Speaker:
Colonel Kirk Barringer, Base Commander, CFB Kingston
Topic:
"Strong,
Secure, Engaged - Canadian Forces Base Kingston"
Kirk Gallinger joined the Canadian Armed
Forces in 1989, was commissioned in 1993, and commenced Regimental Duty with the
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) in Calgary. As a junior
officer, he served various commands, staff and instructor appointments in 1
PPCLI, the 2e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment and the Infantry School. His
operational experience includes deployments to Croatia and Bosnia, as well as in
2006 commanding A Company, 1 PPCLI Battle Group, in Afghanistan.
Col. Gallinger’s key staff appointments
include the Army G3 Branch as a desk officer for the Afghanistan mission, J5 in
the 1st Canadian Division HQ, and Chief of Staff of 3rd Canadian Division /
Joint Task Force West in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2011, Colonel Gallinger was
appointed Commandant of the Infantry School, after which he joined the Combat
Training Centre Headquarters as its Deputy Commander. In June 2018, he was
appointed Commander, Canadian Forces Base Kingston.
Col. Gallinger holds a Baccalaureate in
Honours History, a Master of Arts in War Studies, a Master of Arts in Public
Administration and a Master of Strategic Studies. He is a graduate of the Army
Transition Command and Staff Course, the Combined Arms Team Commanders Course
and the Canadian Armed Forces Joint Command and Staff Programme. He is a
Distinguished Graduate of the United States Army War College, Class of 2018. A
proud husband and father, in his spare time he enjoys reading and cycling.
Thursday 13 December 2018
Speaker:
Dr. Kayll Lake, Professor, Astronomy, Astrophysics and
Relativity, Queen's University
Topic:
"The Life of a Star"
Dr Kayll Lake received his PhD from the
University of Toronto in the area of General Relativity (Einstein's theory of
gravity). After a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Alberta, he
joined the Queen's Department of Physics and held an NSERC University Research
Fellowship from 1980-1990. He has been Full Professor at Queen's since 1987 and
an Affiliate Member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics since
2011. He became President of QUFA in 2017.
His current academic interests include
general relativity, computer algebra and its applications, as well as relative
astrophysics. Research he has conducted recently in his field includes studies
of the propagation of discontinuities in solutions of Einstein's equations,
which help solve the riddle of the formation of the universe. He has also done
research on the formation of naked singularities in gravitational collapse,
which contributes to a refinement of our notion of cosmic censorship.
In our communication with him concerning
his topic, "The Life of a Star," he wrote "All major aspects of the life
cycle of a star are known. The most important feature of a star is its mass.
This determines its lifetime and end state. These end states include some of the
most bizarre objects known to exist in the Universe and include white dwarfs,
neutron stars and black holes." His talk promises to be a very interesting
one, giving us a glimpse into the far reaches of the universe which ultimately
is our home.
Thursday 08 November 2018
Speaker:
John Foster, International Oil Economist
Topic:
"Canada, Oil and World Politics"
John Foster, an energy economist with
more than 40 years of experience in policy and economic issues relating to
infrastructure and energy, has held positions with the World Bank,
Inter-American Development Bank, Petro-Canada and BP Group. He has witnessed
first-hand the impact of petroleum geopolitics in more than 30 countries around
the world.
In the past decade, John has given
talks on petroleum rivalries and conflicts – at universities, foreign affairs
groups, trade unions and associations across Canada. His research on Afghanistan
and pipeline politics, A Pipeline Through a Troubled Land, was published
by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (over 200,000 downloads), and
became banner headlines in the Globe and Mail (19 June 2008). He has authored
articles in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Hill Times, and Journal of Energy
Security (Washington, DC). He has been interviewed on radio and TV, most recent
on CBC’s Power and Politics. He has a new book, Oil and World Politics
(Lorimer, Sep 2018). Club member Millie Morton is his close collaborator and
wife.
John has a BA and MA in economics and
law, Cambridge University. Born in London, England, he became a Canadian citizen
in 1982. Before coming to Canada, he served in the Royal Navy, including the
1956 Suez landings (Lieutenant RNR). His interests include the Canadian Club of
Kingston, Kingston Choral Society, cryptic crosswords, and walking at Lemoine
Point.
A copy of John's presentation will
be posted here.
Thursday 11 October 2018
Speaker:
Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada
Topic:
"Standing up for Human Rights in a
Turbulent and Polarized World"
Alex Neve is a
lawyer, with an LLB from Dalhousie University and a Master's Degree in
International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. He has served as a
member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, taught at Osgoode Hall Law School
and the University of Ottawa, been affiliated with York University's Centre for
Refugee Studies, and worked as a refugee lawyer in private practice and in a
community legal aid clinic.
Alex
believes in a world in which the human rights of all people are protected. He
has been a member of Amnesty International since 1985 and has served as
Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada's English Branch since 2000.
In that role he has carried out numerous human rights research missions
throughout Africa and Latin America, and closer to home to such locations as
Grassy Narrows First Nation in NW Ontario and to Guantanamo Bay.
Alex speaks to
audiences across the country about human rights issues, appears regularly before
parliamentary committees and UN bodies, and is a frequent commentator in the
media. He is on the Board of Directors of Partnership Africa Canada, the
Canadian Centre for International Justice and the Centre for Law and Democracy.
Alex has been named
an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Trudeau Foundation Mentor. He is a
recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has received
honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees from St. Thomas University, the University of
Waterloo and the University of New Brunswick.
Alex has consented to reproducing his presentation. The
contents are displayed below:
Let me begin with my own heartfelt
and respectful acknowledgement that we gather today in traditional Anishinaabe
and Haudenosaunee territory. I am grateful indeed to be here, particularly at a
time of continuing challenge and obvious openings for advancing stronger
protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples across Canada. It is a true
honour to be in this territory – and a strong reminder about some crucial
fundamentals. How essential it is to deepen our commitment to rights. How
essential that we deepen our commitment to our shared nationwide responsibility
to truly understand and move forward in a relationship of reconciliation with
Indigenous peoples in this country.
And if ever there was a time to
draw strength and determination from those values of rights and reconciliation –
this is that time. For we come together in a time of very real human rights
challenges; a time of roiling and blood-soaked turmoil and conflict; a time of
hateful and demonizing division and bigotry. The precious human rights promises
enshrined at the UN almost 7 decades ago, when world leaders adopted and
committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and launched the era of
international human rights protection, are insidiously undermined and blatantly
and even contemptuously disregarded.
But we do gather also a time also
of action, resistance, solidarity and courage. The global human rights movement
is stronger than ever and does not relent, even in the face of unprecedented
repression in almost every corner of the world. People will not and do not stay
silent when rights are on the line; and they have flooded into streets, parks,
squares and the digital world to claim their rights and defend, passionately,
the rights of others.
Yet. The Rohingya Crisis in
Myanmar. South Sudan. Yemen. Libya. Northern Iraq. Afghanistan. The Central
African Republic. The wrenching human rights and humanitarian catastrophe that
never ends in Syria.
Yet. The world looks away. The
world shrugs its shoulders. The world tires. The world says it cares but then
gets tied up in knots of inaction. Perhaps the most disgraceful failure of our
global community over these past seventy years has been the inability and
unwillingness to end mass atrocities, to prevent another Holocaust. Very sadly,
that global human rights commitment of ‘never again’ has instead, over the
decades, very clearly been ‘again and again’.
Meanwhile, at a time when we need
greater compassion, concern and principled leadership from governments, around
the world – from the United States to Hungary, to the Philippines and far too
many other countries – toxic bigotry and the politics of fear, suspicion and
hate wins elections by unabashedly vilifying and targeting marginalized
communities. The Wall, The Razor Wire Fence, The MuslimBan, The War on Drugs.
All pretend to deliver safety, but through cruelty and violence that only breeds
deeper insecurity and painful injustice.
And in Canada?
In many respects we offer hope.
Our government has taken strong stands at home and abroad for women’s human
rights and gender equality, has become known for welcoming refugees and has made
numerous grand gestures recognizing the urgency of advancing reconciliation with
Indigenous Peoples.
But, not always consistently; not
always with follow through action to back up stirring words; and far too often
with evidently wobbly conviction when powerful economic interests are at stake.
I’ll come back to some of those areas of disappointment.
These are tough times for human
rights. Certainly not what we aspired to as the Universal Declaration readies to
turn 70, in December. With a platinum anniversary, a bleak global context and a
worldwide chorus demanding change, there is no better time for a renewed global
human rights push.
There are many key imperatives to
that push. Let me share seven.
First, justice.
For decades one of the most
notable shortcomings in international human rights protection was the glaring
absurdity that the world’s worst criminals were the ones most likely to escape
justice and accountability for their misdeeds. The masterminds of genocide, war
crimes, and crimes against humanity.
All of that was supposed to change
with the historic breakthrough of agreeing the Rome Statute in 1998, which
subsequently led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Twenty years later, 123 countries – close to 2/3 of the world’s states – are now
parties to the Rome Statute. Notably, 3 of the permanent members who wield
such power within the United Nations Security Council – China, Russia and the
United States – have made it clear they have no intention to join. And in more
recent years there has been growing push back from African governments who
allege that the Court has disproportionately targeted them in the first round of
charges and trials.
We have, however had 2 recent
indications, from 2 opposite directions, that the ICC matters and needs greater,
more forceful support from countries such as Canada.
In the face of an agonizing number
of dead-ends in the effort to ensure justice and accountability for the military
leaders and others in Myanmar who are responsible for the mass atrocities
experienced by the Rohingya, the ICC suddenly offers a promising way ahead.
While Myanmar has not accepted the
Court, neighbouring Bangladesh has. And ICC judges have ruled that it would be
possible to take up cases which have a cross border dimension – began with
violence and persecution in Myanmar, leading to refugees fleeing to Bangladesh,
the impact and effect of which continues after crossing the border. At the same
time a comprehensive new UN report, endorsed unanimously by the Canadian
Parliament last month, now talks of the Rohingya Crisis as genocide. All of
this opens up remarkable possible avenues of justice for a community which has
always been denied same.
At the same time, also last month,
we had a broadside against the ICC from the Trump government, in the sputtering,
flaming rhetoric of his national security advisor, the notorious John Bolton.
Incensed that the court is
investigating Israeli human rights violations because the Palestinian Authority
has recognized the court, and is also potentially investigating American forces
in Afghanistan, because the Afghan government has recognized the court – Bolton
announced that the US stands ready to ban ICC judges and prosecutors from
entering the US, freeze any personal funds they may have in the US, and even
threatened to lay charges (of what he was not clear) against ICC prosecutors.
All of this – determined efforts
by prosecutors, strong UN reports, and yes, also the push-back and criticism –
are strong signs that this matters. That it was never going to be smooth and
easy, but international justice matters, so very much. Universalizing that
dream, that imperative of international justice, must continue to be at the
heart of our agenda.
Second, a word about global
arms control.
One of the most obvious obstacles
to preventing mass atrocities is the world’s unbridled arms trade. That is why
it matters so much that the UN adopted an Arms Trade Treaty in April 2013,
bringing human rights rules to this deadly global commerce. Just over five
years later, a respectable but not overwhelming 97 countries are on board. When
Brazil joined, last month, number 97, we reached the halfway point. Not bad.
Once again, the same three Permanent members of the Security Council – China,
Russia and the United States, all major arms dealers – are staying out. Given
that only ten years ago most observers felt that the idea of a global arms trade
treaty was an unattainable illusion, we do have some momentum on our side.
Unfortunately Canada is not among
those 97 countries already on board. Not yet, but getting close. The federal
has introduced legislation that would pave the way for us join the ATT. But
Bill C47 is far from perfect. Most notably, it would exempt from scrutiny any
arms sales from Canada to the United States, which accounts for over half of the
Canadian arms trade; trade to a nation that itself has no intention to join the
treaty and a nation with a long and notorious record of transferring arms to
countries with abysmal human rights records.
C-47 is not yet law. While it has
passed the House, it still has to be approved by the Senate. So that is where
our attention turns this fall. We want to ensure that when Canada joins the ATT
we can hold our head up high, with pride, and know that we are doing all we can
to be part of the solution to a world awash with weapons used to commit terrible
human rights violations.
Meanwhile we do continue to have
the very inconvenient matter of 742 armoured vehicles that Canada has approved
for sale, by London-based General Dynamics, to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia with
its own abysmal human rights record, now made worse by the fact that they have
been repeatedly implicated as being responsible for extensive war crimes in
neighbouring Yemen, where they lead a coalition that has actively intervened in
the fighting.
Signing international treaties is
one thing. Reforming our laws to join those treaties is one thing. Making
principled decisions to say no to arms deals that stand to cause immense
suffering and abuse is what really matters in the end.
Three, protecting refugees.
The UNHCR estimates that 65
million people have been forced to flee their homes worldwide, with
approximately 22.5 million refugees and 42.5 internally displaced persons. There
is therefore much talk of a global refugee crisis. The numbers do certainly give
a sense of crisis. About 1 out of every 112 people in the world is now forcibly
displaced from her or his home.
But the crisis is not the
refugees. The crisis is not the numbers. The crisis, and it is one, lies
entirely in the despicable measures being taken by governments in response; with
much more focus on restrictions, barriers and punishment than on compassion,
safety and protection.
One clear problem is that the
global refugee system, intended to be grounded in international cooperation, is
at its heart entirely unilateral. Frontline states that are the ones to receive
an influx of refugees are the ones expected to shoulder that responsibility.
Bangladesh, here are the refugees from Myanmar that are your responsibility.
Turkey, 3 million Syrian refugees; Uganda, 1 million South Sudanese refugees
have arrived. Yours to bear.
States further afield may write
the occasional cheque to help you out. And they will certainly expend massive
sums on keeping refugees away from their own frontiers, through border control,
ocean patrols and other measures.
Meanwhile, Canada rests on the
laurels of our remarkable 2016 effort to resettle 45,000 Syrian refugees, but
with little follow through. And as growing numbers of refugees feel fearful
that they will not be safe in Donald Trump’s America, they are turning instead
to Canada to make their claims for protection. But they face a 14 year old
treaty, the STCA, that closes down border posts to refugees seeking to cross
from the US to make refugee claims in Canada and are instead forced to cross
irregularly into the country in order to make their claims.
That means making often perilous
journeys and it means increasingly facing journalists, politicians, and a
skeptical public, who refer to them as illegal migrants making illegal border
crossings. Their journeys may be desperate, risky and uncertain. But there is
nothing illegal, in Canadian or international law, about crossing a border to
make a refugee claim.
That is why Amnesty International
has joined with the CCR, the CCC and a courageous woman from El Salvador and her
2 young children in a court challenge to the STCA. At a time of fear and
uncertainty for refugees in the United States, Canada needs to ensure that a
commitment to human rights will prevail along the 49th parallel.
Number four, upholding the
equality rights of women and girls.
By sheer numbers there is no
denying that the deep inequality faced by women and girls is the most severe
human rights challenge the world faces; and faces everywhere. Despite
commitments to gender equality and safeguards for upholding women’s human rights
being long enshrined in numerous treaties, including one dealing specifically
with discrimination against women, violence, inequality and marginalization
continue to be the human rights reality for women and girls the world-over. And
while the scale and nature of the abuses differs considerably, there is no
denying that this is indeed of concern everywhere, be it the Global North or
Global South, within all religious, cultural and political traditions and in
countries considered to be wealthy and those facing high levels of extreme
poverty.
Global determination to promote
gender equality and women’s human rights continues to grow. In July 2010, the
United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, a significant step within the UN
system. The UN’s important Sustainable Development Goals, or Agenda 2030,
adopted in September, 2015 include a specific goal focused on gender equality
which many states are prioritizing and mainstreaming in how they implement the
SDG’s. The inspiring effort to promote the right of girls to education
championed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala.
Yousafzai are attracting greater
support. And movements are gaining such power, such as the 2017 and 2018 Women’s
Marches and the incredible momentum of the #MeToo movement.
Not to forget, our own government
is unabashedly feminist and brings that outlook to the world stage, including
Canada’s FIAP, and last month, FM Freeland co-hosted the first ever Women
Foreign Ministers Summit, bringing together 16 women FM’s from across the world.
Determination may be on the
upswing, but there is still very far to go when it comes to changes and action
that make a real difference. Witness the colossal scale of rape in armed
conflict, everywhere – Rohingya women, Colombian women, Syrian women, Congolese
women.
Witness the agony of the Kavanaugh
debate and vote in the United States. Witness the extent to which we still
flounder in the effort to understand, address and end the crisis of violence
that Indigenous women and girls have endured for so very long in Canada. A
National Inquiry underway, though facing an uphill battle. And at the same
time, far too little action and change to push forward with the reforms we
already know to be so badly needed. The Gladue appeal before the SCC this week
is a stark reminder that violence against Indigenous women is still a raw and
wrenching reality in Canada.
And of course, witness the perils
faced by brave women’s rights activists, such as in Saudi Arabia where a ban on
women driving has finally been lifted but the women who led the campaign against
that very ban are locked up for their determination.
Hope. Crackdown. Courage. Change.
A renewed global human rights agenda must have efforts to protect the rights of
women and girls at its very heart.
Fifth, defending the defenders.
In so many ways, the greatest
guarantor of human rights protection comes at the frontlines and the grassroots,
right within our communities – when our sisters, brothers, neighbours,
classmates, friends; when we ourselves mobilize, organize and speak out in
defence of human rights. When everyone, everywhere knows their rights and
defends their rights. But sadly, HRD’s around the world are in peril. The
measures vary – legal harassment, public demonization, threats, physical attacks
and killings – but the message is the same; standing up for human rights carries
a price.
Some face greater risk than
others, including those defending the rights of the LGBTI community, upholding
the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls, and speaking up
about human rights in the context of land and environmental struggles.
And it has become deeply personal
for us as members and supporters of Amnesty International. Last year the
Turkish government locked up our two main leaders of Amnesty International in
Turkey, the director, Idil Eser (who essentially does my job in Turkey) and the
chair, Taner Kilic. Locked up on absurd allegations of supporting terrorism,
which are entirely about their human rights work. Idil was released
conditionally after 4 months. Her trial still slowly goes forward. Taner was
only freed, again conditionally on bail, in August, after well over a year
behind bars – for believing in human rights.
Amnesty International has been
taking on some of the world’s cruelest, brutal and vindictive governments for
nearly 6 decades. Never before have we experienced a direct attack like this.
It is a stark illustration of the increasing dangers of defending human rights.
We must, absolutely must, crack
the wretched impunity that continues to shield those who kill, attack and
threaten human rights defenders. And we must make it clear that people
everywhere are watching and concerned. Attacking human rights defenders is
attacking the very essence of what human rights protection is all about. That
jeopardizes all of us.
Next, making the business case
for human rights.
Human rights advocates are
consistently told to wait and be patient when economic interests are on the
line. Doing business should take precedence, we are told, as it will eventually
and inevitably lead to greater prosperity, stronger respect for the rule of law,
more opportunities for education, training and employment and, therefore,
ultimately, human rights will flourish.
But we know that is far too
simple. A country’s economy can expand considerably while human rights
violations do not abate and may even worsen. Consider China and Saudi Arabia as
two glaring examples of economic boom and human rights bust.
Despite an explosion in company
talk about human rights over the years, far too many businesses shirk their
human rights responsibilities, and get away with it. The growing number of
reports and campaigns from Amnesty International and other human rights
organizations, highlighting widespread human rights concerns in industry sectors
such as gold, copper, palm oil, timber, cobalt, oil and gas, in countries around
the world, makes that patently clear.
There is encouraging progress here
in Canada. The government is setting up a new independent Ombudsperson to
investigate complaints about human rights abuses associated with the overseas
operations of Canadian mining, oil, gas and garment companies.
And the government has, for the
first time, committed to taking human rights seriously as it negotiates a new
free trade agreement, with the Mercosur trading bloc in South America – having
announced that assessments will be conducted looking at the deal’s impact on
human rights, gender, Indigenous rights and labour.
That’s abroad. What about within
our own borders? When economic interests collide with the rights of Indigenous
peoples? Consider BC. When pipelines are at stake? Or when the massive,
misguided, bloated Site C hydroelectric dam – which has been supported by
Liberal, Conservative and NDP governments at provincial and federal level -
moves ahead despite adamant objection from the First Nations who will lose the
last of their traditional territory.
We have much talk about turning a
new page, forging a new relationship – embracing the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples; embracing the TRC Calls to Action. But when
massive projects like Trans Mountain and Site C pay little or no regard for
those values and obligations, the beautiful rhetoric is empty.
Finally, a word about the world of
hate, polarization and contempt for human rights that I know is increasingly a
preoccupation for all of us. And this is not only about Donald Trump, though it
is. It is also about Duterte in the Philippines, Erdogan in Turkey, Maduro in
Venezuela, Orban in Hungary and Putin in Russia. It is every time a western
European country goes to the polls.
The hallmarks are similar across
all of these situations. An ugly, fear-based form of populism. Taregting
refugees and migrants. Vilifying LGBTI communities. Setting back women’s
equality. Attacks against human rights activists, institutions and principles.
We must, in response, stand up,
speak out, push back – be that in the streets, in the courts, on social media.
Challenge, resist, confront, overturn.
But there is something deeper at
play as well, we have to change the channel. Change the channel on division, on
fear, on suspicion, on intolerance, on hate. Anywhere and everywhere we see it,
hear it, witness it.
Which is, in essence, the very
heart of our global human rights system. For at the end of the day, treaties,
constitutions, laws, courts and tribunals aside, perhaps the most crucial and
challenging imperative that must be addressed in the effort to revitalize human
rights protection is the need to build empathy and understanding and foster a
culture that celebrates diversity and aspires to tolerance and inclusion. It
is the flipside to these waves of division and hate that have certainly always
existed but have become more global and mainstream than ever.
This need for human rights empathy
takes us back to powerful remarks delivered by Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the
world’s first truly global human rights advocates, having played a key role in
the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the UN in 1948.
So let me end with her words,
delivered at the UN six decades ago, in 1958, which still speak so meaningfully
to us today:
"Where, after all, do universal
rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they
cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood she lives in; the school or college he
attends; the factory, farm or office where she works. Such are the places where
every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal
dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they
have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them
close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
How true.
The failings of the past seventy
years of international human rights protection lie in a yawning gap between
stirring promises captured in the UDHR and a legion of legal instruments on the
one hand and the cold, hard reality on the other hand of states cavalierly
ignoring and blatantly breaching those promises without consequence. They lie
as well in indifference and inaction. I’ve touched on some areas where
indifference must give way to action:
-Shoring up
international justice.
-Reining in the
global arms trade.
-Protecting refugees.
-Fighting for gender
equality.
-Celebrating the
amazing work of front line human rights defenders.
-Holding business
accountable for human rights.
-And turning the
channel on hate and division.
From the small places where we
live our lives, to the large places of decision making and power in national
capitals, corporate boardrooms and the corridors of the United Nations.
In all of those places, the dream
of universal human rights protection can be, must be and, indeed, IS within
reach.
Within YOUR reach. Within OUR
reach.
Together, we must and will reach
out for that world – with greater determination, confidence and urgency – we
will reach out today, this week and we will reach out far beyond.
Topic:
"The Past is Present:
Building on the Promise of Canada"
Charlotte Gray is one of Canada's best-known writers, and author of ten
acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. Born in Sheffield, England, and
educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she began her
writing career in England as a magazine editor and newspaper columnist. After
coming to Canada in 1979, she worked as a political commentator, book reviewer
and magazine columnist before she turned to biography and popular history.
Charlotte's most recent book is The Promise of Canada: 150 Years - People and
Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country. Many of her previous books have been
best sellers and have won single or multiple literary and/or historical awards,
and one was adapted and broadcast as a television miniseries in early 2014. In
2008 she published Nellie McClung, a short biography of Canada's leading
women's rights activist.
Charlotte has appeared regularly on radio and television as a political and
cultural commentator, and has been a panelist on CBC Radio's program, Canada
Reads. She has been a judge for several of Canada's most prestigious
literary prizes, and was short-listed as "Author of the Year" by the Canadian
Booksellers Association in 2014.
Charlotte has been awarded five honorary doctorates and is an Adjunct Research
Professor in History at Carleton University. She was the 2003 Recipient of the
Pierre Berton Award for distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian
History. Charlotte is a member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada. Charlotte lives in Ottawa with her husband George Anderson,
and has three sons.
Wednesday 09 May 2018
Speaker:
Denise Cumming, CEO University Hospitals Kingston Foundation
Topic:
"Kingston's Hospitals - Accomplishments and Plans"
Denise Cumming was
hired as Director of Joint Advancement by Kingston General Hospital, Hotel Dieu
Hospital and Providence Care in November, 2004. She led the process of
establishing the new Kingston Hospitals Joint Advancement Foundation (now
University Hospitals Kingston Foundation), which was incorporated in October,
2005 and has been the executive lead there ever since.
A professional
fundraiser for more than 30 years, Denise held positions of increasing
responsibility with Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, University Hospital
Foundation of London (now London Health Sciences Foundation), the University of
Western Ontario and St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation (London) before
relocating to Kingston.
Denise has an
undergraduate degree in Sociology and Personnel Administration from the
University of Waterloo. She has completed extensive training in not-for-profit
governance, management and fundraising with various organizations and
educational institutions. She been a Certified Fund Raising Executive since
1997. In addition to her leadership role with KHSC and the foundation, Denise
has served for more than 20 years as a volunteer board member with a number of
charitable and not-for-profit organizations.
Wednesday 11 April 2018
Speaker:
Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque, Britain's
High Commissioner to Canada
Topic:
"Britain's Place in the
World Today"
Her
30-year diplomatic career has taken her to three continents, and exposed her to
issues from the EU, to nuclear non-proliferation, anti-narcotics work and the
corporate challenge of the Foreign Service's HR policies. She has lived through
a coup in Venezuela, and the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote in her last
post as Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the UN
organizations in Vienna. A career highlight was taking part in the negotiations
that led to the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran.
Susan speaks French,
German and Spanish and is married to Stéphane a former journalist and teacher.
They have two grown-up sons.
2.Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative
to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna 2012 to
2016
Organizations in Vienna 2012 to
2016
Wednesday 14 March 2018
Speaker: The Honourable Thomas Cromwell, CC, Retired
Supreme Court Justice
Topic: "Access to Justice in Canada"
The Honourable
Thomas Albert Cromwell, a Kingston native, earned a music degree (1973) and a
Law degree (1976) from Queen's, and a graduate law degree from Oxford (1977).
From 1979 to 1982 he practised law in Kingston and Toronto, and taught at
Queen's Law School. He taught law at Dalhousie University for thirteen years
between 1982 and 1997.
After eleven
years on the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, he was appointed to the Supreme Court
of Canada in 2008 and served for eight years until his recent retirement. He has
chaired the Chief Justice of Canada's Action Committee on Access to Justice in
Civil and Family Matters since 2009.
Justice
Cromwell was first recipient of the Louis St. Laurent Award from the Canadian
Bar Association, and has received four honorary doctorates in law. An award in
his name was established by Queen's Law in 2015. In December, 2017, Justice
Cromwell was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He is now Senior Counsel
with the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais.
Supreme Court
decisions affect Canadians in many ways. Bring yourquestions about them, as
Justice Cromwell discusses his time on the Supreme Court and his interest in
access to justice as the biggest single problem faced by our legal system today.
Wednesday 14 February 2018
Speaker: Glenn Vollbregt, President and CEO, St.
Lawrence College
Topic: "Our Future"
Glenn Vollebregt began his tenure
as the President and CEO of St. Lawrence College in 2013 with a strong student
focus and commitment to student success, academic excellence and leadership in
our communities. In addition to a broad and diverse range of senior leadership
experience in the private sector, municipal government and higher education,
Glenn holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from the
University of London (UK), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, CMA) Designation
and a Business Diploma from Georgian College.
If
you follow Glenn on Twitter you will know he is passionate about the student
experience at St. Lawrence College and ensuring success of all of our learners.
He is dedicated to the leadership role the College plays in our community and
the importance of our students and graduates to our region.
Glenn believes in health and wellness, is a passionate tennis player, runner and
cyclist and practices yoga. An avid reader, Glenn ensures that he finds quality
time to spend with his family, one of his most important priorities.
Wednesday 10 January 2018
Speaker: Ken Arnold, CEO, ESG
Solutions
Topic: "ESG - Another of
Kingston's Best Kept Secrets"
Ken Arnold is the CEO of ESG Solutions, a Kingston company established in 1993
by a research group from Queen’s University. The company is a leader in its
field – micro-seismic monitoring for the oil, gas and mining industries. It
enables clients to improve safety and production in a range of activities:
mining, fracking (hydraulic fracturing), enhanced oil recovery, wastewater
injection, natural gas storage, carbon sequestration, geo-technical
applications.
Ken Arnold and his family make their home in Kingston. Prior to his current
business career, he studied engineering at Waterloo University, followed by a
business degree from York University in 1988. Since 2010 Mr. Arnold has been the
President of ESG Solutions.
In 2014 ESG Solutions was bought for $64 million by Spectris pic, a British
consortium. The sale came after five years of rapid growth by ESG Solutions,
said Ken Arnold at the time in a Whig interview. He
added said that since its founding the company always wanted to build itself in
Kingston, hiring staff from Canada and the United States who were interested in
living here, and all the while maintaining a low profile in the community. ESG
employs about 120 people, with 100 of them working at the company's headquarters
in Kingston.
Wednesday 13 December 2017
Speaker: Robert Clark, Kingston
author, Correctional Services Canada (retired)
Topic: "What is the real purpose
of prison?"
Robert Clark,
Kingston author and retired prison official, spent thirty years working for
Corrections Canada. Starting as a volunteer while doing his M. Ed. at Queen's,
he later worked in seven different federal prisons, at every level of security,
in every conceivable role. His last position was Deputy Warden at the Kingston
Pen. In his career he has worked with some of Canada's most dangerous and
notorious prisoners. He retired in 2010 and lives in Kingston.
He spoke about
his new book, "Down Inside - Thirty years in Canada's Prison Service." It's a
compelling personal memoir and a scathing indictment of agenda-driven government
policies. He challenges the "tough-on-crime" approach and argues for humane
treatment and rehabilitation.
We are all aware
that Kingston has many penal institutions in its environs. As well, there is
extensive current interest among Canadians about our country's significant use
of solitary confinement in the various penal systems across provincial systems
and the federal system. Robert Clark's topic is timely and will provide thought
provoking ideas for all attending.
Topic: "Reflections
on Canada's Diplomatic Challenges -
Afghanistan in Hindsight"
Ms. Olexiuk was the first Canadian diplomat accredited
full time to Afghanistan as Political Counsellor in 2002. When the Canadian
Embassy was established in August 2003, she served as Deputy Head of Mission
until August 2005. She was responsible for political themes, including good
governance, and democracy building, and supporting Afghanistan’s adherence to
international human rights norms; security sector reform which included
de-militarization, counter-narcotics, and, police and justice reform. Her last
assignment in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
was as Senior Policy Advisor to the newly established Stabilization and
Reconstruction Task Force.
After retirement from the Foreign Service in 2007, Eileen
Olexiuk was contracted to provide political and cultural advice to the Commander
and the headquarters staff destined for counter-insurgency operations in
Kandahar. With the closure of the Kandahar mission, she continued under contract
to advise on the political and civilian aspects of exercises and training
programs for the Canadian Forces in general until 2013.
Ms. Olexiuk has also been posted to Canadian Embassies in
Colombia, as Program Manager for Development Assistance and in Greece as Program
Manager for Political Affairs. Other assignments with DFAIT included
responsibility for Canadian assistance for Reconstruction in the Former
Yugoslavia and for the Economic and Political Transformation of Russia. While
with the Canadian International Development Agency in the 1970’s she managed
development assistance to Bangladesh and the South East Asia region. Ms. Olexiuk
has also worked in Germany and Jamaica.
Wednesday 11 October 2017
Speaker:
Mayor Bryan Paterson, Kingston
Topic: "The State of the City"
On October 27, 2014
Bryan was elected as the 9th Mayor of the City of Kingston. He first ran for
City Council in 2010 in Trillium District. As a Councillor, he used his
economist background to push forward a progressive agenda centred on economic
development, quality of life initiatives and the facilitation of more affordable
housing in Kingston.
As Mayor, Bryan has
set a vision for Kingston as a smart and liveable 21st century city. The vision
aims to harness the incredible assets we have as a community and build a culture
of innovation to establish Kingston as a leader among cities. Bryan's work to
realize this vision includes championing the airport expansion, advancing the
Waterfront Master Plan, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, launching the
Youth Employment Strategy and getting the Third Crossing shovel ready – all
while holding the annual tax rate increase to 2.5%.
Bryan moved to
Kingston in 2000 to attend Queen's University as a graduate student. After
obtaining his Master's and PhD in Economics at Queen's, he joined the economics
faculty at Canada's Royal Military College in Kingston, where he has worked as
an Assistant Professor since 2006. Bryan lives in the west end of the city with
his wife Shyla and their two boys.
2016-2017
Wednesday 10 May 2017
Speaker:
Manfred Bienefeld, Professor Emeritus, Policy
Studies, Carleton University
Topic: "Making Sense of the Geopolitical Crisis:
Will it be resolved peacefully?"
Please Note: A copy (MS Word) of the notes for this
presentation are available, on request, from the Webmaster (bmorris93@cogeco.ca)
Dr. Manfred
Bienefeld is an economist and Professor Emeritus of Carleton University’s School
of Public Administration. He was full professor there from 1986 - 2012. Prior to
that he was a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the
University of Sussex (UK) from 1972 - 1986.
Dr. Bienefeld is a
graduate (Ph, D.) of the London School of Economics. He has worked extensively
in the field of international development, most recently focusing on the impacts
of globalisation and financial deregulation, on the ability of national
societies to make economic, social and political policy choices. He has warned
of the dangers inherent in
neoliberalism’s
excessive reliance on market forces.
He has lived and
worked in Africa, the Pacific region, Southern Europe and in Russia, Vietnam,
China and Cuba. He has published books and papers on the challenges of national
policy making. He has been a visitor and speaker at universities around the
world and worked with governments, trade unions and international organizations.
At Carleton he
coordinated the Development Administration program in the School of Public
Policy and Administration, and served on the university’s Board of Governors.
Now retired, he is Vice Chair of the Group of 78, an Ottawa based foreign
policy pressure group founded over thirty years ago, including some of Canada’s
leading civil servants, intellectuals and public figures.
Wednesday 12 April 2017
Speaker: Dr. Chris Simpson, Head of Cardiology, KGH
Topic: "Wonderful
Innovations in Cardiac Care"
Dr. Simpson was the
Canadian Club of Kingston’s speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, April 12. Dr.
Simpson obtained a B.Sc. from the University of New Brunswick, and then studied
at the Medical School at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
He completed
internal medicine and cardiology training at Queen’s University in Kingston and
a Heart and Stroke Foundation Clinical and Research Fellowship in Cardiac
Electrophysiology at the University of Western Ontario.
Returning
to Kingston in 1999, he founded the Heart Rhythm Program at KGH. From 2006-2016
he served as Professor and Head of Cardiology at Queen’s, and Medical Director
of the Cardiac Programs at Kingston General Hospital/Hotel Dieu Hospital.
Currently he is a Medical Director at the Queen’s School of Medicine.
Dr.
Simpson’s primary non-clinical professional interest is health policy. He served
as the 2014-2015 President of the Canadian Medical Association, championing
seniors’ care. Dr. Simpson has authored or co-authored over 350 peer reviewed
papers and abstracts and has won numerous teaching awards. Dr. Simpson serves on
the Board of the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, and is the proud father of three
daughters and a son.
Wednesday 15 March 2017
Speaker: Dr. Sheema Khan -
Author; Columnist, Globe and Mail
Topic:"Of Hockey and
Hijab: New Reflections on being Female, Canadian, and Muslim"
Sheema Khan was born in Varanasi and moved to Montreal with her parents in 1965.
After undergraduate studies at McGill University, she completed a PhD in
Chemical Physics at Harvard and has worked in industry and more recently in the
field of Intellectual Property law. She has written about Canada’s innovation
strategy for the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business.
Since 2002, Sheema was hired by the Globe and Mail to write a monthly column on
Islam and Muslims (over 150 and still counting) and provided insight on being a
modern and liberal, yet practicing, Muslim, especially in Canada. A collection
of her columns was published in the 2009 book “Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections
of a Canadian Muslim Woman”. Her aim has been to provide even-handed and
forthright commentary, while engaging readers across the country. In 2012, she
was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to Canada.
She is regularly invited to speak on issues pertaining to Islam, Muslims and
pluralism, helping to foster bridges of understanding. Sheema lives in Ottawa,
and is married with three children.
Wednesday 08 February 2017
Speaker: Bill
Hutchins - Anchor/Producer, CKWS News at 6
Topic:
"Favourite Stories from an Anchorman - and
the challenges to survival in the evolving TV News industry"
Bill Hutchins is a veteran News Anchor at CKWS-TV. He has
anchored the station’s flagship news program, Newswatch @ 6,
since 1997. In addition to his daily anchoring duties, Bill
enjoys leaving the desk occasionally to cover stories,
especially City Hall issues, while helping with daily story
assignments and assisting videographers.
Born in Toronto, Bill attended the Radio and Television Arts
program at Ryerson University. He got his first taste of
electronic journalism while still a student, as the part-time
News Director at the campus radio station in 1983. His
professional career started in 1984 as a newscaster and reporter
at Toronto radio stations CKEY, CFRB and CKFM and also as a
writer for Broadcast News.
In 1990 he moved to Kingston with his family to join CKWS TV as a reporter. Bill
has two teenage children and enjoys movies, reading and freelance writing.
Wednesday 11 January 2017
Speaker:
Senator Bob
Runciman, former Member of the Ontario Legislature, Leeds Grenville
Topic:
"Government is broken. Can it be fixed?"
Senator Bob Runciman began
his lifetime of public service in 1972. After eight years on city council in
Brockville, he spent 29 years as the Progressive Conservative MPP to Queens Park
for the riding of Leeds, serving in six different cabinet posts, and as his
party’s House leader. He was appointed to the Senate in 2010, and is currently
chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
and a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Transportation and
Communications.
Senator Runciman recently
applauded the approval of Plan 2014 by the International Joint Commission, which
governs water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. This plan is
designed to restore more natural variations in water levels, and will be
implemented in the coming months. Runciman feels this is a win for the
environment, as well as tourism and hydro, without hurting the shipping
industry.
However, the Senator has
been critical of the length of time taken to reach this conclusion. And he feels
it is symptomatic of a larger problem, ineffective Government. Hence the title
of his speech, “Government is broken. Can it be fixed?”, using Plan 2014 as an
example.
Wednesday 14 December 2016
Speaker:
Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, C.C., Author; Vice-Regal
Consort of Canada
Topic:
"Her Excellency's role as
vice regal spouse and how the important issue of mental health has come to
define her time in office"
Sharon Johnston graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966 as a
physical and occupational therapist, and subsequently worked in the area of
child psychiatry. She also completed her master’s and doctorate degrees in
rehabilitation science. Her doctoral thesis resulted in the publication of
scientific articles on respiratory mechanics.
While the family lived in Montreal for twenty years, she ensured that her
five daughters became fluently bilingual. Mrs.Johnston also volunteered on
many boards, as well as at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.
In 1999 Mr.and Mrs. Johnston moved to Waterloo, Ontario. There she began an
entirely new life managing for twelve years a hundred acre farm and small
horse boarding business. Mrs. Johnston has also written an autobiographical
essay, and recently published her first novel Matrons and Madams,
based on her grandmother’s experiences in post-Great War Alberta. In June
2016, Mrs. Johnston was appointed Honorary Captain (Navy) for Military
Personnel Command of the Canadian Armed Forces for her work in supporting
military families and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Wednesday 09 November 2016
Speaker: Richard Brisson,
Cryptologist (Retired) Communications Security Establishment Canada
(CSEC)
Topic: "The
Code-breaking Saga of Enigma in WW 2 - and Canada's Role"
Mr. Brisson graduated
from the University of Ottawa with an M Sc.. He also completed the American
National Security Agency (NSA) three year Cryptologic Mathematics Program. He
worked 31 years at CSEC as a cryptologist, in various fields of Mathematics and
Computer Science, as well as management.
Mr. Brisson is a long
time collector of vintage cryptologic and clandestine espionage related
artifacts. His artifacts focus on espionage used by the Canadian military in WW
II as well as equipment used by the major powers in the Cold War. His devices
have been displayed in the Diefenbunker, Canada’s National Museum of Science
and Technology, and the National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland.
They have also been
used in various television productions . In late 2001 his artifacts were part of
a one hour program called “Secret Secretaries”, featuring women who worked in WW
II for Sir William Stephenson at British Security Coordination. They were used
in another feature titled “The True Intrepid”, shown on Global and the Mystery
Channel. Part of his collection was also used in 2006 to form the “Cryptologic
Toys” exhibit at Fort Meade, focusing on children’s decoders and secret
writings, related to Radio Orphan Annie and Captain Midnight.
His clandestine
radios from WW II, notably the B2 radio suitcase, have been portrayed in a
production called “The Secret Liberators”, as well as in a French production,
“Les espions venus de la mer”, focusing on German spies who landed on the
eastern shores of Canada in World War II.
Wednesday 12 October 2016
Speaker: Catherine
Conaghan, Professor, Political Studies, Queen's U.
Topic: “American
Election Outlook - a last minute review"
Professor Conaghan's
research interests are wide, and include elections, policy making, political
elites and political corruption. Those interests combined with her background of
study at Pittsburgh and post graduate work at Yale help make her eminently
qualified to share with us her thoughts on the upcoming American election.
Catherine has written extensively in the area of politics. Her latest book is
“Deception in the Public Sphere” (2005).
Professor Conaghan
has been affiliated with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
the Helen Kellogg Institute of the University of Notre Dame and the North-South
Institute of the University of Miami. She served as visiting Fulbright Scholar
in Peru in 1997. In 2000 she was appointed as the visiting Knapp Chair in
Liberal Arts at the University of San Diego.
Professor Conaghan is a long-time member of the
faculty at Queen’s . She has
taught a variety of
courses in the area of
political studies, including one on
“Problems of American Democracy” in
2012-2013.
2015-2016
Wednesday 11 May 2016
Speaker: Merilyn Simonds, Author
Topic: “Inside Kingston
Penitentiary
with 'The Convict
Lover'"
Merilyn Simonds became nationally
known with her 1996 book The Convict Lover, a classic in Canadian
creative nonfiction. This February, playwright Judith Thompson presented a great
stage adaptation at the Isabel Centre in Kingston.
Merilyn writes both fiction and
creative nonfiction. She has published highly successful books, short stories,
and essays. She founded Kingston WritersFest, a world-class writers’ festival.
She served as Chair of The Writers Union of Canada in 2012-13. She is married to
author Wayne Grady, who spoke to the Club in 2014.
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Speaker: Doug Rigsby, Crown Prosecutor (Retired)
Topic: "Surviving
Schizophrenia”
Doug Rigsby, former Crown
Prosecutor, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on
Wednesday, April 13. His topic was: “Surviving Schizophrenia.” It’s an
inspiring and personal story of overcoming mental illness.
Doug Rigsby was born in
Kingston and raised in Kingston and Pointe-Claire, Quebec. He received his BA
and LLB from Queen's University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1975. He
practised law for 14 years including eight as a Crown Prosecutor in Calgary,
Alberta.
In 2001, the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto presented him the Courage to Come Back
Award, in recognition of his advocacy work in the field of mental health.
Wednesday, 09 March 2016
Speaker:
Ted Hsu, MP
(Retired) Kingston and the Islands
Topic: “I don’t work for the government! My experience as MP for
Kingston and the Islands, and how Parliament and political parties could be
improved to better hold the government of the day to account.”
Ted Hsu was a Member of Parliament from 2011 to 2015. He
served as the Liberal Party’s spokesperson for Science and Technology,
Post-Secondary Education, Federal Economic Development in Ontario, and Natural
Resources. He was also chair of the Ontario Liberal caucus. In 2013,
parliamentarians from all parties voted him the MP who “Best Represents
Constituents.” Ted studied physics at Queen's University, received his
PhD at Princeton, and was a research scientist at UBC, CNRS Grenoble, and Chalk
River. Moving into finance, he joined Banque Nationale de Paris in Philadelphia
and Paris, and Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. Returning to Kingston, he became
Executive Director of SWITCH, an association promoting investment in sustainable
energy. Ted now advocates for science and innovation in government and society.
He is fluent in English, French and Mandarin. He resides in Kingston with his
wife and two daughters.
Speaker: Mathew Ingram, Author, Senior Writer, Fortune Magazine; former
Communities Editor, Globe and Mail
Topic: “Big Brother and Little
Brother – It's Not Just the Government We Have to Worry About.”
Mathew Ingram explained that Big Brother refers to
governments and Little Brother to social platforms such as Facebook,
which accumulate data about their users.
Mathew is a senior writer at Fortune.com and covers the
intersection of technology and the media, as well as web culture. He was
previously a senior writer at the media site Gigaom and covered media evolution
as well as social networking leaders such as Twitter and Facebook. He earlier
spent 15 years as reporter and columnist at the Globe and Mail. He was its first
online columnist, blogger and social-media editor.
Mathew has advised numerous media outlets in Canada and
the U.S. on digital and social-media strategy. His articles have appeared in the
New York Times, Washington Post, Yahoo and Bloomberg.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Speaker: Mark Gallerneault, Director of Technology,
ALERECO Inc.
Topic: "A little graphene with your aluminum, ma’am? How aluminum research in
Kingston has changed.”
Dr. Mark
Gallerneault, Director of Technology, ALCERECO Inc., Kingston, was the Canadian
Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, January 13. His topic
was: “A little graphene with your aluminum, ma’am? How aluminum research in
Kingston has changed.”
Mark is a founding partner in a Kingston start-up\ technology company, Alcereco
Inc. He is a professional engineer with more than 30 years’
experience in the light metals industry. He has held various senior technical
and management positions with Alcan and its spinoff Novelis, including direction
of the Kingston R&D Centre. He received his PhD from Queen’s University, where
he currently holds an adjunct research position. He is credited with many
publications, invention records, and patents. Alcereco is a world-leading
development and innovation company, specializing in advanced lightweight
materials such as scandium alloys, rare earth oxides, specialty ceramics, and
graphene. Its team includes more than 25 scientists and engineers, mostly
ex-employees of Alcan and Novelis. It was acquired in 2014 by Grafoid Inc., a
private Canadian corporation which invests in graphene applications.
Speaker: Dan McTeague,
Senior Petroleum Analyst Tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com;
Former MP Pickering Scarborough
Topic: "Fuel
Prices - and what you may not know"
In 2007, Mr McTeague founded the website TomorrowsGasPriceToday.com to
provide transparency in motor fuel pricing and help Canadian consumers by
highlighting price changes a day in advance. He is also a senior analyst with
GasBuddy.com, a website which enables the public to report and view fuel prices
throughout North America (including Kingston).Dan McTeague served as MP for Pickering - Scarborough East from 1993 to
2011. He passed more private member’s bills than any of his contemporaries. A
long-time consumer advocate, he served on numerous Parliamentary Committees. In
1998, he chaired the Liberal Committee on Gasoline Pricing in Canada, which
interviewed more than 1,000 people in the gasoline business and reported on how
to improve retail competition.In 2014, Dan received the
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario’s Community Volunteer Award. He serves on the
board of Wounded Warriors Canada.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Speaker: James Leech,
Chancellor Queen's U.;
Former CEO Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
Topic: "A
North Pole Expedition"
James Leech was the speaker for the subject luncheon
at Minos Village.
Mr. Jim Leech has had a varied and successful career,
culminating in his being the President and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension
Plan, one of the largest pension plans in the world. He has also been special
advisor to the Ontario Minister of Finance concerning the provincial electricity
sector pension sustainability. He chairs the board of the Toronto General &
Western Hospital Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation. He was a founding
director of Right to Play International. He recently co-authored The Third Rail,
Confronting our Pension Failures, and was awarded the 2013-2014 National
Business Book Award.
Mr. Leech is the Honorary Colonel of the 32nd Signal Regiment of the Canadian
Armed Forces. He was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012.
In May 2014 he was a member of Canada’s largest expedition to ski to the
Magnetic North Pole, in aid of raising awareness and funds for Canadian Military
veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
In July of 2014 Mr. Leech was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, in
recognition of his contributions as an innovator in pension management, his
writings about retirement funding, and his wide and varied community
involvement. Mr. Leech is a graduate of Royal Military College and Queen’s
University.
Speaker: Haroon Siddiqui - Columnist (Ret'd) Toronto Star
Topic: "Post-election
Canada: Our future at home and abroad"
Haroon Siddiqui was the speaker at the subject
luncheon at Minos Village.
Haroon Siddiqui is the Star's editorial page editor emeritus. He
retired in April after 37 years, having been a columnist, national editor, news
editor and foreign reporter. Earlier he was at the Brandon Sun, Manitoba for
ten years. He has reported from nearly fifty countries, including the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, India’s emergence as a global power,
Turkey as a regional power, and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as soft
powers.
Haroon Siddiqui is a
member of the Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Order of
Ontario for “creating a broader definition of Canadian identity.” He has won
numerous journalistic awards and written several books.
2014-2015
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Speaker: Andrew
Mitrovica, Professor, Journalism , Sheridan College
Topic: "A
Reporter’s Case for Real Oversight of Canada’s Spy Services"
Andrew
Mitrovica is a top investigative journalist. His best-selling exposé of Canada's
spy service, Covert Entry: Spies, Lies and Crimes inside Canada's Secret
Service, published in 2002, won the Arthur Ellis Award for non-fiction. He is an
eight-time winner of the Canadian Association of Journalist's Award for
Investigative Reporting. He has also won Amnesty International's Award for Human
Rights Reporting.
For much of his career, Andrew was an investigative reporter at news
organizations including CBC’s Fifth Estate, CTV’s W5, CTV National News, Walrus
magazine, and the Globe and Mail. He currently teaches journalism at Sheridan
College, Toronto, where he is also Vice-chair of College Council. He continues
to write freelance for a variety of magazines, and his opinion columns appear
frequently in the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen.
Speaker:Peng-Sang
Cau, President and CEO, Transformix Engineering Inc.
Topic: "Transformix
Engineering - International Success Story (and another of Kingston's best kept
secrets)"
Peng-Sang Cau, President and CEO, Transformix Engineering Inc.,
was the Canadian
Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, April 8.
Peng-Sang Cau is an immigrant success story. In 1980, she escaped with her
parents from Cambodia to Canada, settling in Regina. She studied marketing and
business at Queen’s University. After graduating, she stayed in Kingston and set
up a small consulting firm, Transformix Engineering, with three fellow
graduates.
The company has grown dramatically since 1995 into a mid-sized manufacturing
company, based in Kingston. It now has annual revenue in the $10-million range,
and more than 50 employees. It makes highly automated machinery that allows its
customers to assemble plastic parts – ranging from small medical devices to
sunscreen pumps – at incredible speed. Most of its customers are outside Canada.
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Speaker:
Terry Fallis, Canadian
Writer and Public Relations Consultant; Winner of Leacock Award
Topic: "A
Strange Journey to the Published Land"
Terry Fallis is the author of four national bestsellers. His debut novel, The
Best Laid Plans, won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. A satire of
Canadian politics, it was aired as a CBC mini-series in 2014. His subsequent
novels are The High Road, Up and Down, and No Relation. In 2013, he received the
Canadian Booksellers Association’s Libris Award for Author of the Year.
Terry is a former Liberal Party strategist and worked on the campaign and
legislative staffs of Jean Chrétien, Jean Lapierre, Robert Nixon and Michael
Ignatieff. In 1995, he co-founded Thornley Fallis, a public relations and
social/digital media agency with offices in Toronto and Ottawa. He earned a
Bachelor of Engineering degree from McMaster University.
Speaker:
Eric Friesen, Radio Personality, Chair, Kingston
WritersFest Board of Directors
Topic:
"Radio
Days: Adventures on-air, and off!"
Eric Friesen, radio personality,
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday,
February 11. His topic was: "Radio Days: Adventures on-air, and off!"
Eric Friesen is a long-time radio
personality. He has hosted many CBC flagship programs, including All in a Day,
Radio Noon, The Eric Friesen Show, In Performance, and Studio Sparks. Since
leaving the CBC in 2008, he has been busy serving a wide variety
of major cultural organizations in Canada, including the National Arts Centre in
Ottawa, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and The Banff Centre.
Eric hosts Winnipeg’s splendid
Classic 107 radio station (www.classic107.com).
Locally, he hosts classical musicians at the Thousand Islands Playhouse,
Gananoque. He is past Chair of Kingston WritersFest’s Board of Directors. He
and his wife, artist Susan Friesen, live on Amherst Island near Kingston.
Thursday, 22 January 2015
Speaker:
Peggy Mason,
President, Rideau Institute and Former
Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament
Topic:
"Countering
the Islamic State: Why Canada needs to change course"
Peggy Mason is a recognized expert on post-conflict peace-building and the
military’s role in supporting the peace process. She was Canada’s Ambassador for
Disarmament to the United Nations (1989-1994); a Special Advisor to the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on small arms and light
weapons control (2000-2001); and a Senior Fellow at Carleton University’s Norman
Paterson School of International Affairs (2002-2012).
She now heads the Rideau Institute, a non-profit independent research and
advocacy group in Ottawa that focuses on foreign policy and defence policy
issues. She is a graduate and gold medallist of the University of Ottawa’s
Faculty of Common Law, and was inducted into its Honour Society in 2003.
Speaker:
John
Smol, Professor, Queen's U. and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change
Topic:
"Lessons
from Lake Mud: Determining what is natural and what is not in the Alberta oil
sands"
Dr. John P. Smol, professor of biology and Canada Research Chair in
Environmental Change at Queen's University, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's
speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, December 10.
New research by scientists at Queen's University and Environment Canada shows
that fifty years of Athabasca oil sands development have left a legacy of
contaminants in lake ecosystems. Dr. Smol will explain the significance of these
findings. He previously gave us a fascinating and insightful talk on climate
change in the Arctic
Dr. Smol is one of the world's foremost experts on long-term changes to lakes
and rivers, and has made profound contributions to identifying environmental
change due to human and natural forces. He founded and co-directs the Paleo-ecological
Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Queen's University.
He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Canada, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada. He
has degrees from McGill, Brock and Queen's.
Wednesday 12 November 2014
Speaker: Wayne Grady, Author
Topic:
"Emancipation
Day"
This is the title of his latest book and first novel.
He spoke about writing the novel, a surprisingly difficult experience,
perhaps because of its very personal nature.
Mr.
Grady is an award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction. His novel
Emancipation Day was long-listed for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and won
the 2013 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. His 14 non-fiction books encompass science
and natural history, travel and personal essays.
Wayne Grady has translated fourteen works of fiction
from the French. With David Suzuki he co-authored the international bestseller
Tree: A Life Story. With his wife, novelist Merilyn Simonds, he
co-authored Breakfast at the Exit Café: Travels Through America. They
live near Kingston.
Speaker:
Elizabeth Renzetti, Globe and
Mail Reporter
Topic: "Don't
Order the Casket Yet: What Four Great Writers Can Teach
Us About the Survival of Books"
Ms.
Renzetti is a national columnist with the Globe and Mail. She was earlier
its Arts and Books editor, and a correspondent in its London and Los Angeles
bureaus. She appears frequently on radio and
television to discuss current events. A journalist for
almost 25 years, she was the Rogers Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson
University in Toronto in 2014.
Her work has appeared in many publications, including
Maclean's, Report on Business Magazine, Chatelaine, and
Elle Canada. Her essays have appeared in several anthologies, most recently
"Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood."
Her first novel, "Based on a True Story," was published in June 2014. She
lives in Toronto with her husband, two children and a cat named Perdu, who keeps
getting lost.
2013-2014
Tuesday 20 May 2014
Speaker: Kevin
Page, Former Parliamentary Budget Officer
Topic: "Public
Finance and Democracy"
Kevin Page was the
guest speaker addressing the topic above. He provided a combined
perspective based on his immediate past role as the Parliamentary Budget Officer
and his current role as a distinguished academic researcher.
Kevin Page holds the
Jean-Luc Pepin Research Chair at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Ottawa. He was Canada's first Parliamentary Budget Officer from 2008 to 2013.
Previously, he was Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Macroeconomic Policy.
Most of his 27 years in the federal public service were in
three central agencies responsible for budgeting, namely Finance Department,
Treasury Board, and Privy Council Office. He has a Master's degree in Economics
from Queen's University. He is married and father of three children.
Speaker: Chris Boyce, Executive
Director of Radio and Audio, CBC English Services
Topic: "The
Future of Radio and the CBC's Connexions to Canadians"
Chris Boyce provided an
interesting, information-packed presentation on the CBC Radio's current
situation in respect of its future and its inter-relationships with the Canadian
public.
As Executive
Director, Chris Boyce is responsible for programming and day-to-day operations
of CBC Radio and for carrying out its strategic plan. He oversees programming
and schedules for two national over-the-air networks, one digital music service,
and 35 local stations across Canada.
Mr Boyce has developed numerous CBC programs including
Q, Wiretap, Age of Persuasion, White Coat Black Art, Spark, and Randy Bachman's
Vinyl Tap. Under his direction, CBC Radio has achieved some of its strongest
audiences in recent years. He lives in Toronto and is a graduate of the Radio &
Television Arts program at Ryerson University.
Topic:
"The World’s Worst
Neighbourhoods -- Hope for the Future."
Doug Saunders, international affairs columnist for the
Globe and Mail, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on
Wednesday, March 12. His topic was: "The World's Worst Neighbourhoods - Hope
for the Future."
He
promised a fascinating tour of the slums, shantytowns and poor-immigrant
districts of four continents. They can be the birthplace of a new middle class
and a source of prosperity or a source of violent conflict.
Doug Saunders writes a weekly column devoted to the
larger themes behind international news. He won the National Newspaper Award
(Canada's Pulitzer Prize) five times.
For more than a decade, he served as the Globe's
European bureau chief. Previously he ran the paper's Los Angeles bureau. He has
written extensively from East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and
North Africa. He is the author of: Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our
Next World (2011); and The Myth of the Muslim Tide (2012).
Wednesday 12 February 2014
Speaker: Patrick Toomey, Captain
(Retired) Canadian Coast Guard
Topic:
"Arctic Shipping Routes: Actual and Potential Routes
Resulting from Climate Change"
Captain Toomey is renowned for his expertise in ice navigation. He has completed
14 transits of the Northwest Passage, six voyages to the North Pole, one transit
of the Siberian Northern Sea Route, and 33 voyages to Antarctica.
He is now a specialist consultant in
training ice navigators and in regulations concerning ice navigation. He
contributes frequent articles for newspapers, magazines and academic journals.
He co-authored the Ice Navigation Manual.
Captain Toomey began his seagoing
career with the British Merchant Navy in the 1950s. Emigrating to Canada in
1964, he joined the Canadian Coast Guard at Dartmouth N.S. He attained his first
command in 1970 and commanded nine different icebreakers in 21 years, retiring
in 1991. He is bilingual in English and French. He resides in Kingston, Ontario.
Members of the Canadian Club of Kingston
deeply regret the recent death of our good friend,
H17417 Col The Hon John R.
Matheson, KStJ, CD(1913-2013) on 27 December 2013.
John was a great
Canadian.
He was a veteran who was
wounded in the second world war. He was a member of parliament for Leeds County,
and was appointed a member of the cabinet. After serving in government,
John was appointed as a judge on the Ontario Court of Justice.
John was a graduate of
Queen's University, and a Member of the Order of Canada.
Of course, John is best
remembered for his role as a co-designer of our Maple Leaf National flag. It is
likely that this was the achievement of which he was most proud in terms of his
public life.
With these
credentials, it should not be surprising that John was a very staunch supporter
of Canadian Clubs in general and specifically our Club here in Kingston. John
was an Honorary Patron of the Club, a faithful member and advisor.
He will be greatly
missed, and long remembered. May he rest in peace.
H17417 Col The Hon J.R. Matheson KStJ, CD
delivered the Royal Military College of Canada convocation address in May 1993.
Many of the people who were in attendance considered
it one of the most memorable and inspiring speeches that they had ever heard;
spoken by a man supported by not one but two canes.
With the recent passing of John Matheson we feel it is fitting to reprint his
entire 1993 speech. A WARNING:
Those reading the article may not
be able to do so with dry eyes.
Please see the contents of the hotlink [http://everitas.rmcclub.ca
(at bottom of webpage, click "previous entries" until
Issue 5, 02 February 2014 is selected)]
for details.
Speaker: Jamie Swift, Author - "Warrior
Nation", Journalist, and Activist
Topic: "Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety"
Jamie Swift, Kingston author, journalist and activist,
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Tuesday, Jan 14.
His topic was: "Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety."
He is the author of a dozen books. His latest, co-authored
with Ian McKay, is Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety.
This is a revealing inquiry into Canadian history. Are we a peace-keeping
nation? A warrior nation? How we define ourselves matters.
He teaches at the Queen's School of Business. He was
awarded the Michener Fellowship for Public Service Journalism at Queen's. A
lifelong political activist, he works on social justice issues for the Sisters
of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul.
Jamie Swift contributes regularly to the Ideas program
on CBC Radio. He has talked about Warrior Nation on The Agenda with Steve
Paiken. His articles appear in numerous Canadian publications.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Speaker: Michael Allen, General
Manager, MetalCraft Marine
Topic: "MetalCraft - an International Success Story"
MetalCraft
Marine is an aluminum boat manufacturer located in Kingston. It has a US
subsidiary in Cape Vincent, NY, that supplies boats for the burgeoning US
market.
Founded in 1987, t
he company has expanded continually and carved a
strong niche in the North American commercial boat industry. It
builds fireboats, work boats, patrol boats, search & rescue boats, barges and
research vessels.
Michael Allen provided a comprehensive presentation
on the history, current situation, and future plans for the remarkable success
story of this fast growing local firm.
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Speaker: Bruce
Campbell, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
(CCPA)
Topic:
"Managing Canada's Oil Wealth"
The rapid expansion in Alberta's bitumen oil production has given rise to a
raft of issues affecting Canadians. Bruce Campbell is the author of two recent
reports: "
The
Petro-Path Not Taken: Comparing Norway with Canada and Alberta's management of
petroleum wealth;"
and "The
Lac-Mégantic disaster: where does the buck stop?"
He is a frequent media commentator, and author of five
books and numerous articles on national and international public policy issues.
He has appeared as a witness before Commons and Senate committees and before the
US Congress.
Before coming to the CCPA in 1994, Bruce was a senior
economist with the Canadian Labour Congress; and a researcher with the North
South Institute. He holds an MA from the Norman Paterson School of International
Affairs, Carleton University.
Speaker: Doug McLellan, CEO,
McLellan Group
Publishing Strategic Communications
Topic: “A New Approach to Sustainable
Tourism" Future of electronic publishing,
highlighting work of Ian Coristine”
Doug McLellan, CEO, McLellan Group Publishing, was the
Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, Oct 9. His
topic was: "Storytelling and Sustainable Tourism: a New Approach."
The McLellan Group is a 26 year-old
integrated communications and marketing firm specializing in telling business
stories. It uses the web, video, print and social media to create awareness,
engage audiences and build business. It is based in Toronto's Historic
Distillery District and works with companies around the globe.
Doug has been very involved in tourism
in Eastern Ontario. In his speech, he will introduce us to the new world of
Interactive E-books, focussing on the work of Ian Coristine. Ian is well known
in the 1,000 Islands area, and his most recent book "One in a Thousand"
was published in this new format.
Topic: “Out
of the Blue -
A Memoirof Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes,
Happiness”
Jan Wong, journalist and author,
was the Canadian Club
of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, May 8. Her topic was: "Out
of the Blue," the title of her latest book.
Jan Wong has written six books. Her
latest, Out of the Blue: a Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery,
Redemption and, Yes, Happiness, was published in 2012 and recounts her
struggle with depression. She spoke to the Club in 2007 about her previous book,
Beijing Confidential.
Ms. Wong began her journalism career at the New York
Times bureau in Beijing. She has worked for the Montreal Gazette, Boston Globe,
Wall Street Journal, and Globe and Mail. She is currently an assistant professor
at St. Thomas University in Fredericton NB, and writes columns for Toronto Life
and the Halifax Chronicle Herald. She has received numerous awards.
Born and raised in Montreal, Jan Wong is a
third-generation Canadian and lives with her family in Toronto. She is a
graduate of McGill University, Beijing University, and the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism. She was one of only two Westerners at Beijing
University during the Cultural Revolution. Returning to China in the late
eighties as a journalist, she witnessed the Tiananmen Square massacre and the
tumultuous reforms under Deng Xiaoping.
Jan Wong: Her personal story
on workplace depression, recovery, redemption and happiness
.
May 8 2013 Kingston Canadian
Club
Jan returned to address The
Canadian Club of Kingston for a second time.
This time her subject was a
much more personal and serious one. Jan was the Globe and Mail marquee
investigative reporter, a company that employed her for more than 20 years.
After writing an article about the gun attacks at Montréal's Dawson College, she
suffered public outcries, political condemnation and unfair publicity. She wrote
a story that sparked a political backlash, her employer failed to support her
and later silenced her, and after she became clinically depressed, they fired
her.
The Globe and Mail turned on
her, Doubleday her long time established publisher- within days of publishing -
left her and an unresponsive bureaucratic claims department at Manulife
Insurance - the holder of her group benefit plan----kept after her to return to
work and gave her ultimatums. She received no sympathy or understanding. Human
resource officials at the Globe questioned her honesty.
More than any other
journalist she was singularly qualified to comment on the Montreal shootings.
Her ethnic background and her life in that province, unlike very few others,
gave her an understanding of Quebec society and it pursuit of racial purity. Her
family lived there for more than 100 years.
Peter Worthington a veteran
journalist and editor in chief said that "She was an ace reporter, blending
facts, analyses, perceptions and opinions arguably better than anyone in the
business' He never met Jan.
Jan made the point that
depression can happen to even the toughest person. She was advised by her
extensive professional medical support team that part of the road to recovery is
to continue to do those things that provide some pleasure. This could be music,
travel, reading or writing. Keeping busy with activities like these assist in
one's rehabilitation. Companies and the insurance companies that "insure" their
employees have little understanding of depression. Jan has an engaging smile and
even that was held against when she was accused of not being honest about her
inability to continue to write. They questioned how she can smile if she is
depressed!
Jan gave us a very expressive
personal story of her depression. The Club members were impressed with the
determination of this career woman and how well she was able to express her
experience in the hope that others may benefit. Depression usually lasts 6
months. For Jan it was 2 years and there is often a 50% chance of a relapse.
Jan wrote a book about her
experiences OUT OF THE BLUE. Because her publisher abandoned her she had
to self-publish it. It is available at your popular bookstores.
Speaker: John
Macfarlane,
Editor and
Co-publisher, The Walrus
Topic: “National
Sovereignty in the Twenty-first Century”
John
Macfarlane joined
The Walrus in 2008 as Editor and Co-Publisher, overseeing a revamp of its
editorial and art direction. He was previously editor of Toronto Life
(1992-2007).
The Walrus is
a national magazine about Canada and its place in the world. Since its launch in
2003, The Walrus has won more National Magazine Awards than any other
Canadian periodical. It is committed to presenting
"the best work by the best
writers and artists from Canada and elsewhere, on a wide range of topics for
curious readers."
Mr Macfarlane has had a highly
distinguished career in journalism. He served as: managing director of news and
current affairs at CTV; publisher and editor-in-chief of the Financial Times;
publisher of
Saturday Night magazine; editor of Weekend; and executive editor of
Maclean
's.
In 2007, he received the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement from the
National Magazine Awards Foundation.
He is chair of the Canadian Journalism
Foundation, the Writers
'
Trust of Canada, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Toronto. He was educated at the
University of Toronto Schools and the University of Alberta, Calgary. He is a
graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of
Management, University of Toronto.
Topic: “PARTEQ's
role in Kingston's commercial innovations”
John
Molloy, President and CEO of PARTEQ Innovations, was the Canadian Club of
Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, 13 March. His topic was: "A
Kingston success story " PARTEQ's 25 years of innovations."
John Molloy (MBA, Queen's) has been responsible for
the commercialization of intellectual property (e.g. inventions) at Queen's
University since 1986.
He has led the creation of venture
funds and other financing vehicles for early stage technologies. He is an
adviser to the Canadian and Ontario governments on
technology transfer and related policies for building a more innovative economy.
He sits on the boards of numerous private companies.
Queen
's
University founded PARTEQ Innovations in 1987 to commercialize intellectual
property arising from university-generated research. Since then, PARTEQ
has returned more than $33 million to the university. It has generated more than
45 technology companies that have attracted $1.4 billion in investor funding and
created 8,000 person-years of employment.
After a
quarter century of successes PARTEQ, the University's technology-transfer
agency, is looking ahead to new challenges and increased alumni involvement.
By Lindy
Mechefske
P
ARTEQ
Innovations recent 25th anniversary celebrations honoured researchers at
Queen's and the Royal Military College (RMC) whose discoveries have led to a
dazzling variety of innovations
In the quarter-century since its inception, PARTEQ has overseen
the commercialization of research ideas and discoveries that have returned more
than $30 million to Queen's and its inventors. The agency has also spawned the
creation of more than 45 companies (two of which were recently acquired by
global multinationals for more than $500 million), which have generated
employment opportunities, raised more than $1.2 billion in investment, and
brought to market products and processes that have benefited people worldwide.
PARTEQ President and CEO John Molloy (RMC 10864)
Founded in 1987 as a not-for-profit corporation, PARTEQ, a
derivative of Partners in Technology at Queen's is entirely self-funded and
reports to a board of directors made up of representatives from both University
and industry.
The idea of establishing an office dedicated to commercializing
the inventions of researchers and alumni was relatively novel in the mid-1980s,
and Queen's was one of the first universities in North America to do so.
In 1999, PARTEQ became the first Canadian technology transfer
office to attract and manage its own seven-million-dollar venture fund, offering
seed financing to start-up companies that use Queen's intellectual property or
are managed by members of the Queen's community.
John Molloy, MBAÕ84, CEO and President,
has been with PARTEQ Innovations from the beginning. He came to Queen's from the
Bank of Montreal and a career as an infantry officer in the Canadian military.
Molloy's curiosity about research and his enthusiasm for helping to find useful
applications for that research is evident. He has won a well-deserved reputation
as a leading Canadian voice on the value of commercializing taxpayer-funded
research discoveries.
"Universities are in the business of research and education," he
says. "Our job is to identify university research with market potential and to
work with researchers in pursuing patents and arranging for commercial
development. Essentially we act as the technology transfer agent for the
researchers and for Queen's, helping to convert important research innovations
into useful applications."
According to the Conference Board of Canada, this country ranks
14th out of 17 OECD nations in terms of its capacity to innovate. Switzerland
and Ireland rank, respectively, as first and second on the list.
Conversely, the Conference Board has also found that "Canada is
well supplied with good universities, engineering schools, teaching hospitals,
and technical institutes. It produces science that is well respected around the
world."
The discrepancy between having universities that produce
world-class research and our lack of capacity to innovate is referred to as
"innovation lag."
"We have a cultural climate that still largely fails to recognize
the merits of innovation and entrepreneurial activity," says Dr. Louis
Lamontagne, Artsci77. "Innovation is perhaps one of the most important and
critical engines of economic growth and prosperity for a country and determines
our ability to compete on the international stage."
Lamontagne is a scientist, but he's also an entrepreneur who has
spent more than two decades working in the biotech industry and helped to create
one of PARTEQ's earliest success stories - a biotech company called Neurochem
and a spinoff company, Painceptor.
"I came to understand the importance of innovation," Lamontagne
says. "I chose to launch these companies through PARTEQ because it is viewed as
perhaps the most successful technology transfer/commercialization organization
associated with a Canadian university."
One recent measure of PARTEQ's success is GreenCentre Canada, a
national Centre of Excellence for commercializing green chemistry discoveries,
which PARTEQ founded with $23 million from the Canadian and Ontario governments.
With GreenCentre now serving universities and companies across
Canada, John Molloy is setting his sights on another first: engaging alumni in
getting innovative new technologies to market.
"We need to be even more innovative in the way we do business,"
he says. "Commercialization can be costly and risky, and we've come to the
realization that one of the best resources we can tap into is our alumni.
They're a huge repository of knowledge, networks and experience. We'd like to
get this group on board in new ways. We'd like to see alumni involved in
mentorship, partnership, sponsorship, investment, and advisory or consulting
capacities."
For more information or to contact PARTEQ Innovations please
visit:
Speaker:
Hugh Mackenzie, Principal, Hugh Mackenzie and
Associates
Topic: “More
Government or Less? The public-private shift and what it means”
Economist Hugh Mackenzie
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its
luncheon on Wednesday, February 13. His topic was: "More Government or Less?
The public-private shift and what it means."
The shift has been taking place without debate. He
states: "in all political parties have twisted themselves into pretzels to avoid
the conversation" about taxes and public services. "This has to change."
Hugh Mackenzie is principal of a Toronto consulting
firm, Hugh Mackenzie and Associates. He is a recognized expert on economic
policy, public finance, and education financing. As an associate of the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives, he authors its annual Ontario Alternative
Budget, a counterview to the official budget.
Mr Mackenzie was a key adviser to the Kingston
Community Roundtable on Poverty Reduction, whose report A Living Wage for
Kingston was published in 2011. He has worked as executive director of the
Ontario Fair Tax Commission, and research director at the Canadian national
office of the United Steelworkers. He is a graduate of the University of Western
Ontario, and holds a Masters degree in economics from the University of
Wisconsin (Madison).
Currently, he serves on the Ontario Pension Board, the Ontario Teachers
Pension Plan Board, and the investment advisory committee of the Canada Post
Pension Plan. He is president and chair of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation --
established in 1942 by the Toronto Star publisher Joseph Atkinson in support of
health, social welfare, economic justice and education projects.
Speaker:
Catherine
Latimer, Executive Director, John Howard Society Canada
Topic: “Challenges
for Corrections Canada: closures, crowding, commerce”
Catherine Latimer, Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Canada,
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday,
January 9. Her topic was: "Challenges for Corrections Canada: closures, crowding,
commerce."
The John Howard Society of Canada is an organization
of provincial and territorial societies responding to problems of crime and the
criminal justice system. It works with people who have come into conflict with
the law; it advocates changes in the criminal justice process; and it promotes
crime prevention through community and social development activities.
Catherine Latimer was appointed its Executive Director
in 2011. Previously, she held senior positions in the federal government,
serving in the Solicitor General's Office, Privy Council Office, and Department
of Justice, where she was the Director General responsible for youth justice and
national drug strategy. She has worked on issues relating to legal aid,
sentencing, victims, and firearms.
Ms Latimer has a BA (Psychology and Sociology) from
Waterloo, LL B (Law) from Queen's, and M Phil (Criminology) from Cambridge. She
lives in Kingston.
Wednesday,
12 December 2012
Speaker: Jeffrey Simpson,
National
Affairs Senior Columnist, Globe & Mail
Topic: “Chronic
Condition: Why Canada’s Health-care system needs to be dragged into the
Twenty-First Century”
Jeffrey Simpson, national affairs
columnist, Globe and Mail, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its
luncheon on Wednesday, December 12. His topic was: "Chronic
Condition: Why Canada’s health care system needs to be dragged into the
twenty-first century
. He
talked
about his latest book, published in September with that
title.
Mr Simpson joined The
Globe and Mail in 1974. He became its Ottawa bureau chief in 1978; served in
London UK as European correspondent, 1981-1983; and began writing his national
affairs column in 1984. He has published eight books, written numerous magazine
articles, and appears regularly on television in both English and French.
He has won all three of Canada's leading literary prizes – the
Governor-General's award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine
Award for political writing, and the National Newspaper Award for
column-writing.
Jeffrey Simpson is an
Officer of the Order of Canada. He studied at the University of Toronto,
Queen's University, and the London School of Economics. He has received
honorary doctorates of laws from Queen's and other universities. He has
been a member of Queen’s board of trustees and the editorial board of The
Queen's Quarterly, and has taught at Queen’s Institute of Policy Studies.
He is a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public
and International Affairs. He lives in Ottawa with his family.
Speaker: Dr. Walter Dorn,
Professor, Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College and Royal Military College
of Canada
Topic:
"The
Cuban Missile Crisis a Half Century Later: The Untold Story"
"It was the most dangerous moment in human history,"
Arthur Schlesinger, President Kennedy's historian.
"I thought I might never live to see another
Saturday night," Robert McNamara, Defense Secretary.
Dr Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the
Canadian Forces College and the Royal Military College of Canada, was the
Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, November 7. Looking back to
when the world came closest
to nuclear war, he credits UN Secretary-General U Thant for quiet diplomacy and
mediation in helping end the conflict.
At
the Canadian Forces College, Walter Dorn teaches officers of rank Major to
Brigadier from Canada and about 20 other countries in areas of arms control,
Canadian foreign and defence policy, peace operations and international
security. He is actively involved in Canadian NGOs working for peace and
security, including Canadian Pugwash and Science for Peace.
Dr Dorn has visited conflict areas in Africa, Latin
America and Southeast Asia as a United Nations consultant and field officer. He
has worked at the International Criminal Court, Cornell University, Yale
University, Sandia National Laboratories, the Federation of American Scientists,
and Parliamentarians for Global Action. After receiving his PhD in chemistry at
the University of Toronto, he was a Research Fellow in International Relations
and Peace & Conflict Studies.
Fifty years ago today, on Oct. 16, 1962, U.S. President John F.
Kennedy was told that a U-2 spy plane had spotted something menacing in Cuba. It
was the first of a dramatic 13 day-
crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
A few days later, on Oct. 22, President Kennedy's dramatic
televised announcement shocked the world: the Soviet Union was installing
missiles in Cuba and the U.S. was instituting a blockade of the island. The
superpower navies were about to collide, and an escalation to general war with
nuclear weapons was a definite possibility.
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev wisely decided to withdraw his
missiles. Historians often glorify the role of Kennedy's resolve and American
military might in bringing this about, but recent sources indicate that the
United Nations' unassuming Secretary-General, U Thant, played a crucial role in
helping mediate and end the crisis. In fact, both Kennedy and Khrushchev
encouraged his involvement.
Thant ultimately was lauded by the two leaders for his
contribution as well as by many newspapers of the day. Kennedy even told New
York Times Magazine: "U Thant has put the world deeply in his debt". However,
history books have not been so generous.
Though rarely recognized as such, U Thant served as a crucial
mediator. His first task was to de-escalate the world-threatening crisis and
create a space for negotiation. He began on Oct. 24 by appealing for a Soviet
suspension of arms shipments and U.S. suspension of the quarantine. This would
allow time for negotiations to resolve the crisis peacefully.
Though this message was initially criticized by both Soviet and
American officials, Kennedy directed the State Department to ask Thant to send
another message to the Soviets "to give them a way out." Specifically, Kennedy
wanted Thant to ask the Soviets, as his own proposal, to stop their ships for a
few days so preliminary talks could be arranged under UN auspices.
Thant sent his second appeal on Oct. 25. Coming as a proposal
from the UN Secretary-General rather than an ultimatum from the American
president, it was accepted by Khrushchev and indeed, he used it to save face
while withdrawing his ships.
Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Ambassador to the UN during the crisis,
later lauded Thant's action. "At a critical moment 'when the nuclear powers
seemed set on a collision course' the Secretary-General's intervention led to
the diversion of the Soviet ships headed for Cuba and interception by our Navy.
This was the indispensable first step in the peaceful resolution of the Cuban
crisis."
Thus Thant enabled the superpowers to end their naval standoff
and focus on the essence of the conflict: the missile sites under construction
and the pending attack on Cuba. There again Thant fostered caution.
The recorded deliberations of Kennedy's top advisers, called the
ExComm, reveal the powerful influence for restraint Thant was having. His
initiatives for negotiations were used by Kennedy and U.S. Secretary of State
Dean Rusk to prevent hawks from pushing the U.S. to invade Cuba. Both the
President and his Secretary of State argued with their colleagues that
sufficient time needed to be given to Thant's initiatives. Khrushchev, too, was
influenced by Thant, and sought his "mediation" in a cable to Kennedy.
Like a good mediator, Thant also proposed solutions. When Kennedy
was under enormous pressure from the military brass to attack Cuba before the
Russian missiles were deemed operational, Thant proposed that the Russians would
dismantle all their missiles immediately in exchange for an American guarantee
that it would not invade Cuba. Thant advocated this solution publicly, then
specifically insisted on it with Stevenson. Two days later it became the final
agreement, accompanied by a secret commitment by Kennedy to remove U.S. missiles
from Turkey.
Thant flew to Cuba to mollify Castro, the third party in the
conflict, who might otherwise have upset the arrangements. While Castro refused
a follow-on UN supervisory force, Thant was able to get first-hand accounts of
missile dismantling.
Back in New York, he offered his good offices to find other ways
to verify missile removal. Soviet and American negotiators wrestled with the
issues in the UN Secretariat building as Thant shuttled between the conference
rooms. They agreed that U.S. ships and aircraft could come into close proximity
with departing Soviet ships to count the missiles.
Much has been written about how this conflict was resolved.
Kennedy's strength certainly played a role, but so did his understanding of the
need to give his opponent an honourable way out and of how to use an
intermediary to achieve that.
Thus it is appropriate, on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban
Missile Crisis, to give U Thant credit for his remarkable contribution to
averting the unthinkably horrific Ñ nuclear doomsday. The humble Burmese
diplomat who epitomized quiet diplomacy deserves no less.
Walter Dorn is a professor of defence studies at the Royal
Military College of Canada and chair of the department of security and
international affairs at the Canadian Forces College. Robert Pauk is a retired
Canadian military officer who served in UN peacekeeping operations.
Wednesday,
10 October 2012
Speaker: Dr.
David Haglund
Topic:
"The Obama Presidency and the U.S. Elections"
Dr David G. Haglund, Professor of Political Studies at Queen’s University,
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its first luncheon of the new
season, Wednesday, October 10. His topic was: "The Obama Presidency,
and the US Elections."
David Haglund is a renowned expert on American and Canadian foreign policy,
Canada-US and transatlantic relations. He is the Sir Edward Peacock
Professor of Political Studies at Queen’s University. He was director of
Queen’s Centre for International Relations from 1985 to 2002, and joined the
faculty in 1983.
Dr Haglund received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies in Washington DC, then taught at the University of British
Columbia. He has held visiting professorships in France, Germany and
Ireland. He is co-editor of the International Journal, published by the
Canadian International Council.
Dr. Haglund's interesting
presentation was followed by some spirited questions with comprehensive
responses.
Brian Porter is a great exponent of Canadian history. He
entertained the Canadian Club twice before with his portrayals of Sir John A.
Macdonald and Major James Walsh NWMP. This time
he focussed on the years just before Confederation – with threats
from the US Civil War and the Fenian invasions of 1866. It was a time of rising
national consciousness, when thousands of young men joined the local militias
such as the Brockville Infantry Company, formed in 1862.
Brian has just published a booklet entitled “Brockville
Infantry Company - Citizen Soldiers and Canadian Patriotism in the 1860s.”
He is a founding member of the Brockville Infantry Company (1862), which gives
historical re-enactments of the volunteer militia. He wore its red
uniform, with all accoutrements. He was accompanied by his wife Renee in
her 1860s costume. The meeting ended on a strong patriotic note.
Brian is Chairman of the
Brockville Museum Board, and a member of the Brockville History Book Committee.
He taught for 32 years in Brockville until retiring in 1998. Born and raised in
Peterborough, he was educated at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School,
Carleton University (BA History), and Ottawa Teachers' College.
Wednesday,
09 May 2012
Speaker: Gar
Pardy
Topic:
“Halfway
there: a Canadian Perspective on the American Elections”
Our guest speaker was Gar Pardy, who spoke on the
subject noted above.
H. G..
( Gar) Pardy joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1967. He served
in India, Kenya, the United States and Central America where he was
Ambassador to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and
Panama. In the late 1980s he was Director of the Asia Pacific
Division in headquarters, and from 1992 to 2003 was head of the
Canadian Consular Service.
Since retiring in 2003, he has been a commentator and writer
on issues of Canadian foreign and public policy. He appears regularly in the
Ottawa Citizen and Embassy newspapers and on CBC, CTV and Global television.
He is a son of the Rock and his early education was in Norris
Arm and Gander, Newfoundland. He first worked for the Meteorological Service of
Canada – in Gander, Goose Bay and Frobisher Bay. He has an honours degree from
Acadia University and a Master’s from McMaster. He and his wife Laurel live in
Ottawa.
Speaker: Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Professor,
University of Toronto; Author, ”I Shall Not Hate”
Topic:
"Dealing
with Unimaginable Challenges – Positively
"
Dr
Izzeldin Abuelaish captured hearts and headlines in January
2009, when Israeli shells hit his home in the Gaza Strip,
killing three of his daughters and a niece. That was minutes
before he was to speak on an Israeli TV program, and his cry of
anguish was heard around the world. He had lost his wife to
leukemia just twelve weeks earlier.
His deepest hope is that his daughters will be the last
sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis. In 2010, he
wrote a bestselling book I Shall Not Hate about his life in Gaza. He
has received numerous humanitarian awards for his contribution to peace and been
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dr Abuelaish is a Palestinian physician and infertility
expert. He now lives in Toronto with his five remaining children, where he is
an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of
Toronto. He was born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp. He won a scholarship
to study medicine in Cairo. He completed a residency in obstetrics and
gynaecology at Soroka hospital in Israel, studied fetal medicine in Italy and
Belgium, and received a Master’s degree in public health at Harvard University.
He was the first Palestinian doctor to work on staff at an Israeli
hospital – the Gertner Institute of Human Genetics.
Speaker: Dr. John Hoffer,
Professor of Medicine, McGill University
Topic:
"What is Orthomolecular Medicine? Is it Good? How do I
Know?"
Dr Hoffer is an internationally recognized researcher into
protein-energy malnutrition and using vitamins for chronic disease – including
high-dose vitamin C therapy in cancer. Orthomolecular medicine seeks to
maintain health and prevent diseases through nutritional intake and
supplements.
He
has a distinguished career in clinical medicine. He is a professor
at McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and an associate professor at
McGill’s School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition. He is also a
senior physician in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at
Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital; and project director at its
research arm, the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. The
Hospital and Institute are affiliated to McGill’s Faculty of
Medicine, all centres of excellence in Canadian health care.
Dr Hoffer earned his MD from
McGill University and PhD in Human and Clinical Nutrition from MIT.
He trained in internal medicine at McGill and in nutrition and
metabolism at Harvard Medical School, MIT and Brandeis University.
He is a Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Canada, and
serves on the Nutrition and Metabolism Committee of the Canadian
Institutes for Health Research.
Wednesday,
08 February 2012
Mayor Mark Gerretsen, City of Kingston, was the Canadian Club
of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting on Wednesday, February 8.
The Mayor's topic was "Kingston's Strategic Directions".
Mark
Gerretsen was elected the 95th mayor of the City of Kingston on
October 25, 2010. He also serves on the boards of Kingston
Hydro, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, and the Police
Services Board. He was previously City Councillor for
Portsmouth District, from 2006 to 2010.
He continues a
distinguished family tradition in politics, as his father John
Gerretsen had also served at City Hall first as Councillor then
Mayor before being elected to the Ontario legislature to
represent Kingston and the Islands.
A native of Kingston, Mark
finished grade school at École Catholique Cathédrale in their
French immersion program, graduated from Regiopolis-Notre Dame
Catholic High School in 1994, and entered St. Lawrence College
in their computer engineering program. After pursuing some
private business interests, he enrolled at Queen's University
and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
Wednesday,
11 January 2012
Speaker:
Leslee Thompson,
CEO and President, Kingston General Hospital
Topic: "The KGH
Story: Changes, Challenges and Plans for the Future”
Ms Thompson was appointed President and CEO of KGH in February
2009. She spoke to the Club that summer
about her first 100 days in office and her
vision for the Hospital’s future. She returned to the Club to provide an update.
She brings extensive
health-care industry experience in both the public and private
sectors to this leadership role. She was previously Vice President
of Medtronic of Canada, a global medical devices company; and before
that, Vice President of Cancer Care Ontario. She has held senior
executive roles in several teaching hospitals, including Sunnybrook
& Women’s Health Science Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, and the
Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.
She started her career as a critical
care nurse. She is a graduate of the School of Nursing at Queen’s University and
holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing from University of Toronto and an
MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
The Club enjoyed the benefit of
two speakers who presented two different perspectives, social and military on
the War of 1812.
Dr. Jane
Errington
,
Professor, Department of
History and War Studies, RMC
Topic: "A
Vain Hope for Peace': Reluctantly going to war in 1812"
Dr. Jane
Errington received her BA from Trent
University and a BEd at the University of Toronto. After teaching high school
for four years, she completed both her MA and Ph.D. at Queen's University. Her
graduate studies focused on the history of colonial societies in North America,
and particularly on the intellectual, political and social development of Upper
Canada.
Dr. Errington
recently retired from RMC - where she was Dean of Arts and a member of the
Department of History. She continues to be a member of the Department of History
here at Queen's, teaching a graduate course in Colonial North America and
supervising students. Her research interests continue to centre on life in 19th
century Upper Canada and imperial-colonial connections. She has two new projects
on the go: the intellectual and cultural connections between the colony and the
metropole as seen through the work of colonial benevolent societies; and a study
of imperial masculinity as seen through the creation and early years of RMC.
Her most recent important publications are:
Emigrant
Worlds and Transatlantic Communities: Migration to Upper Canada in the First
Half of the Nineteenth Century:
(Kingston & Montreal, Mc-Gill Queen’s University Press, 2007) and Women and Work in
Upper Canada,
(Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association, 2007).
AND
Dr. John
Grodzinski, Professor, Department of
History and War Studies, RMC
Topic:
Kingston in the War of 1812
Synopsis:
Kingston played a pivotal role in the War of 1812. It served as the transhipment
point for personnel, supplies and equipment that that were necessary for the
survival of Upper Canada. The dockyard at Kingston supported the naval forces
based on Lake Ontario, while the garrison of British and Canadian regular
troops, local militia and native warriors conducted several raids into the
United States. This presentation examined the military events in and around
Kingston between 1812 and 1815.
Biography: John
Grodzinski is an assistant professor of history at the Royal Military College of
Canada in Kingston, Ontario. His interests include the era of smoothbore
warfare, North American colonial conflicts and naval warfare in the age of sail.
He is editor of the on-line War of 1812 Magazine and regularly leads battlefield
studies on the War of 1812 and other conflicts. John has two manuscripts under
preparation: the first is a study of the leadership of Sir George Prevost, while
the second examines the conduct of the War of 1812 on the Upper St. Lawrence
River.
Kingston’s ‘reluctant warriors’
may have sung different tune
By
Mike Norris / The Whig-Standard
Posted 14 December 2011
Ian MacAlpine: The Whig-Standard
Dr. Jane Errington, who, along with Dr. John Grodzinski, gave a presentation
about the War of 1812 at the Canadian Club meeting at Minos Uptown Village
Restaurant on Wednesday. The professors of history and war studies at the Royal
Military College gave their presentation about military and social perspectives
of the war.
Not all residents of Upper
Canada, including Kingston, were gung-ho about the War of 1812, according to a
Queen's University history professor.
An early victory, led by
Maj.-Gen. Isaac Brock, over the Americans at Detroit in August 1812 spawned the
patriotic song The Bold Canadian, which celebrated the triumph.
"Kingstonians were not the 'bold
Canadian' boys in the song," said Jane Errington, one of two history professors
who spoke about the War of 1812 at a Canadian Club of Kingston luncheon
Wednesday.
"They were reluctant warriors.
Some left the community to go farther south."
The topic of Errington's speech
was "A Vain Hope for Peace: Reluctantly Going to War in 1812."
The early months of the war,
which began in June, were inspiring for Canadians, she said.
"In popular culture, and to the
chagrin of some of us, it was the first real test of a new people," said
Errington. "In 1812, Upper Canadians fought gallantly for their homes and king.
The Canadian victories, first in Detroit and the war itself, confirmed the just
cause of the Loyalists. The war represents the beginning of nationhood."
There's another side to this
tale, however, said Errington.
"I want to tell another story,
largely rooted in Kingston, about the war in June 1812 and how people responded
to it," she said.
"For more than 20 years,
Kingstonians lived in hope that the hostilities of 1775 to 1783 (the American
Revolution, between the British Kingdom and the 13 British colonies in North
America) would not resume."
Among the locals who didn't want
Upper Canada to get involved, she said, was Richard Cartwright, "who many would
argue is the founding father of Kingston. He exemplified all the virtues we
associate with a founding father."
Cartwright (1759-1815) was born
in Albany, N.Y., and, following a brief military career, settled in Kingston in
1785, becoming a prominent businessman, judge and political figure.
Cartwright's father, also named
Richard, came to the U.S. from England in 1742, but his loyalty was not with the
patriots during the American Revolution. As a businessman, the younger
Cartwright had many dealings with the British army, and by 1800 he was also
supplying U.S. garrisons with pork and flour.
"He was a proud member of the
British Empire," said Errington. "His opposition to the war remained strong. He
was a classic loyalist."
Americans advocated going to war
against Great Britain for a number of reasons, including a series of trade
restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France, with
whom Britain was at war.
In June 1812, the U.S. House of
Representatives and the Senate voted to declare war and the conflict began on
June 8, 1812, when President James Madison signed the measure into law. It was
the first time the U.S. declared war on another nation.
Between 1791 and 1812, said
Errington, "Richard Cartwright and Kingstonians are aware of the situation in
the U.S. In their new world, they recognize the empire and the king, but most of
the population is from the U.S.
"Cartwright is conscious of the
innate tension that exists. Many of his friends are federalists.
"Many Kingstonians were told by
Cartwright, 'Don't create problems with our neighbours.' "
Errington called it an unnatural
war.
"By 1807, (Cartwright) begins to
argue that Upper Canadians should be prepared to go to war, but never to seek
war."
Despite his opposition to the
war, Cartwright served as a senior colonel in the militia in Kingston during the
War of 1812.
The other speaker at the
luncheon was Maj. John Grodzinski, who teaches military history at Royal
Military College and is an expert on the War of 1812. His topic was "Kingston in
the War of 1812."
Although Kingston was the home
of the Royal Navy Dockyard, the city had a limited, yet significant, role during
the war, he said.
"The action, as spirited as we
may like to think of it, were just skirmishes, but they helped define our
homeland and our city as well," said Grodzinski, who shared his expertise on air
in the recent PBS TV documentary The War of 1812. "In a European context, these
would be minor skirmishes. To North Americans, it was a series of skirmishes
between forces, many numbering in the dozens to a couple hundred to thousands."
During the war, Kingston served
as a shipping point for personnel, supplies and equipment necessary for the
survival of Upper Canada. The dockyard at Kingston supported the naval forces
based on Lake Ontario, while the garrison of British and Canadian troops, local
militia and native warriors conducted several raids into the United States.
"By the end of 1814, Kingston
had become an extremely powerful naval presence — 450 guns, a garrison of 500
regular troops and some militia," said Grodzinski, the editor of War of 1812
online magazine.
The war ended in 1815.
Unofficially, the British had 8,600 killed, wounded or missing, while the
American casualties numbered about 11,300.
"Britain was exhausted after 22
years of war," said Grodzinski, referring to the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815).
"The U.S. was exhausted after 21/2 years of war. They were broke."
Speaker: Dr. Monia Masigh,
Author and Renowned Human Rights Activist (wife of Maher Arar)
Topic: "National
Security and Human rights: Where Does
Canada Stand?”"
Dr Monia Masigh, author and renowned human
rights activist, wass the
Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon on Wednesday, November 9. Her topic was: "National
Security and Human Rights: Where Does Canada Stand?"
Monia
Mazigh, says a Toronto Star article, is “the Laura Secord of our time.” In
2002, her husband Maher Arar was deported to Syria, tortured and held there
without charge for over a year. She campaigned tirelessly to obtain his freedom
and clear his name. In
2007, after a lengthy inquiry, her husband finally received an
apology from the Canadian government and compensation for the “terrible ordeal”
his family had suffered.
Dr Mazigh described this harrowing story in
her 2008 book Hope & Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar.
She was born and raised in Tunisia and immigrated to Canada in 1991. She holds
a PhD in finance from McGill University and speaks English, French and Arabic
fluently. She has worked at the University of Ottawa and taught at Thompson
Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. In 2004, she was the NDP
candidate for Ottawa South, coming third but gaining the most votes there the
NDP had ever received. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.
Wednesday,
12 October 2011
Speaker: Hon. Peter Milliken,
Former MP and Speaker, House of Commons
Topic: "The
Role of the Speaker"
The Hon. Peter Milliken, former MP and
Speaker, House of Commons, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its
first luncheon of the new season,
Wednesday, October 12.
His
topic was: "The Role of the Speaker.”
Peter
Milliken, the longest-serving Speaker of the House of Commons,
recently joined Queen’s University as a Fellow in the School of
Policy Studies. He was first elected to
the House of Commons in 1988 as the Liberal Member of Parliament
for Kingston and the Islands. He was re-elected in six
consecutive elections before retiring in 2011. He was elected
as Speaker of the House in 2001 and re-elected three times,
serving until retirement. He is renowned for his knowledge of
the rules of parliament and respect for its traditions.
Mr Milliken was born and raised in
Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at Queen’s, Oxford, and Dalhousie
Universities. In 1973, he was called to the bar of Ontario and enrolled as a
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ontario. He was a partner in a Kingston law
firm from 1973 until 1988, when he was first elected to Parliament. In 2001, he
received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the State University New York at
Potsdam. In 2003, he was named Honorary Commander of the Fort Henry Guard and
was appointed Honorary President of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of
Canada – Hamilton Branch.
Speaker: Paul Wells,
Senior Columnist, MacLean's Magazine
Topic: "The
Election - and Beyond"
Paul Wells, senior
columnist, Maclean's Magazine,
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at a special
end-of-season luncheon meeting.
As
Senior Columnist for Maclean's magazine, Paul Wells is
one of Canada's foremost political commentators. Fresh, funny
and authoritative, he was hailed by Mordecai Richler as "a
columnist for whom I have the highest regard" and by Robert
Fulford as "a first-class Ottawa reporter."
His first book, Right Side
Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New
Conservatism was a national bestseller. He has written for
Time magazine, the National Post, La Presse and
the Literary Review of Canada. His blog, Inkless Wells,
is required reading in Ottawa and wherever people spend too much
time worrying about politics.
Paul provided the large audience
with his perspective on the election process and its results, with a focus on
what might happen over the next four years of Conservative majority government.
Wednesday,
11 May 2011
Speaker: Dr. Alec Douglas,
Ex-Director of History, Department of National Defence
Topic: "Old
wine into New Wineskins: Canada’s Navy at the century mark"
Alec Douglas
was the speaker for the subject luncheon. He provided an informative and
entertaining set of extracts from the long and proud history of the Canadian
Navy. He answered several questions arising from his interesting
historical perspective on the Canadian Navy, which celebrated its 100th
anniversary in 2010.
Commander (Retired) Douglas served
in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1950 to 1973. He enjoyed a lively career at
sea, serving in naval ships Ontario, Quebec, Outremont, Ottawa, Kootenay
and Fort Erie; and as Equipment and Trials Officer to the Flag Officer
Atlantic Coast.
While in the Navy he earned a
Master's Degree in History from Dalhousie University and a Doctorate in History
from Queen's. He became the official historian of the Canadian Armed Forces in
1973, retiring as Director General History in 1994. He is one of our most
prolific writers of naval history - author of a long list of publications. He
has taught at the Royal Military College as well as Duke, Cambridge and Carleton
universities. He is Past President of the Canadian Battle of Normandy
Foundation and of the Canadian Nautical Research Society.
His publications include: Out
of the Shadows: Canada in the Second World War, (Oxford, 1977) (Dundurn
1995), with Brereton Greenhous; The Creation of a National Air Force: The
Official History of the RCAF, Volume II, (Toronto, 1986); The RCN in
Transition. 1910-1985 (UBC, 1988) (editor); No Higher Purpose: The
Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy Vol II, part I (Vanwell, 2003),
A Blue Water Navy: The Official History of the Royal Canadian navy Vol.
II, part 2, (Vanwell, 2007) (with Roger Sarty and Michael Whitby). He is the
Past President, Canadian Battle of Normandy Foundation, the Past President,
Canadian Nautical Research Society. He was the visiting Professor of History,
Duke University, 1988-89, 2001-2002, and the Visiting Fellow (1996) and life
member, Clare Hall, Cambridge. He is also an Adjunct Research Professor of
History, Carleton University.
Speaker: Louis Delvoie,
Senior
Fellow for International Relations, Queen’s University
Topic: "Egypt
and Libya: Causes, Differences and Consequences"
Louis
Delvoie was the replacement speaker (for Paul Wells who had to
withdraw because of Federal Election commitments) for the subject
luncheon held, as usual, in Minos Village Restaurant. He
provided a very enlightening perspective on the past, current, and
possible future events and activities in the North African nations
of Egypt and Libya.
Louis Delvoie has had a most distinguished career in the Foreign Service
and since then in academia. He is a Senior Fellow in the Centre for
International Relations at Queen's University and a visiting
lecturer at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute in Ottawa. He
has written extensively on Canadian foreign and security policy and
on international relations.
In the Foreign Service, he served
as Ambassador to Algeria; Deputy High Commissioner to the United
Kingdom; and High Commissioner to Pakistan. Earlier postings
included Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Belgium and Yugoslavia.
In Ottawa, he served as Director General for International Security
and Arms Control in the Department of External Affairs; and
Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy, Department of National
Defence. He was educated at Loyola College, University of Toronto,
McGill University, and the National Defence College of Canada.
This is a summary of
the highlights of the speaker’s subject presentation, which he
characterized as “a very brief and superficial overview of the topic”.
Introduction
The Mid-east and Arab worlds are
usually treated as unstable regions. However, in fact, there has been
remarkable stability in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and Libya. Changes of regime
have only been by death or coup, with the exception being Lebanon. Hence, the
recent ouster of the President of Tunisia, by popular uprising, was
revolutionary. The resulting shockwaves throughout the Middle East triggered
popular unrest in Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, and Algeria. The focus of this
presentation is on Egypt and Libya – causes, differences, and consequences.
Causes
The causes are long-standing and
systemic, exacerbated by short-term triggers. Such realities as the massive
youth unemployment and under-employment, where youth represent an ever
increasing proportion of total population, coupled with unfulfilled
expectations, is part of the uneven distribution of benefits of economic
progress. Massive political and bureaucratic corruption compounded the
situation of growing despair with the continuing repression of all political
opposition, especially Islamist-based. The virtual police state nature, with
its arbitrary arrests, torture, and denial of political and human rights, in a
climate of fear, eventually was overtaken by seething discontent.
There were three principal
factors which precipitated the recent unrest. First, news of the Tunisian
example spread quickly and widely. Second, the contribution of the increasing
array of social-based media, much of it on-line via the Internet, was immense in
overcoming the previous isolation, and provided an improved potential for
organization through communications. Third, the extreme discontent caused by
increases in the prices of food and other basic commodities combined with the
previous two to produce an explosive mixture.
Differences
The two nations of Egypt and
Libya were, however, very different in terms of at least the regimes and the
basis of the populations. Egypt is very old with a strong sense of national
identity and corresponding national unity. Libya is a relatively young country
deeply divided among its tribes and geographic areas (Cyrenica and
Tripolitania). Whereas Egypt has strong, albeit flawed, institutions (cabinet,
parliament, judiciary, and national armed forces), Libya has nothing comparable
(one-man rule supported by an army more like a praetorian guard than a national
institution, supported by a separate security apparatus). President Mubarak,
despite his flaws, was a rational leader, whereas Colonel Gadhafi, while a
skilled political tactician, displayed two strains of mental illness –
narcissism and megalomania.
Thus, when the situation
unravelled in Egypt, the leadership of the Armed Forces eventually decided that
it was in the national interest that Mubarak should retire, and he accepted that
verdict. No such institutional response occurred in Libya, and Gadhafi reacted
to events totally differently.
Consequences
In Egypt, the revolution is
anything but complete. The situation remains fluid, with the outcome thoroughly
unpredictable at this stage. There are three possible scenarios:
a.first, a continuation of military rule
by the Generals, whether direct or indirect, with a promise of democratic
elections;
b.second, an elected government
dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood (not because a majority of Egyptians are
Islamists, but rather the Brotherhood is the only organized opposition
movement); and,
c.third, an elected government dominated
by secular and nationalist forces drawn primarily from the educated middle
classes – business/professionals.
In Libya, there would appear to
be two possible scenarios in the short term:
a.first, the continuation in power of
the Gadhafi regime, weakened by revolutionary events, but still able to maintain
control through the unscrupulous use of the regime’s military and security
apparatus (a reign of vengeance/terror?); and,
b.second, the overthrow of Gadhafi,
followed by a period of chaos and civil war as various tribes jockey for
position and power (accentuation of the east-west split between the Cyrenica and
Tripolitania, with the possible break-up of the country).
Hence, for both Egypt and Libya,
a period of uncertainty and perhaps instability, lies ahead. In the wider Arab
world, events in both Egypt and Libya may serve to encourage further popular
uprisings the resultant instability. This, in turn, will foster further
uncertainty in the world-at-large. Indeed, the effects of that uncertainty are
already evident in the sharp rise of oil prices, fuelled just as much by fear
and speculation as by the realities on the ground (Libya accounts for only 2%
of world production, although it is of the preferred “sweet crude” variety
favoured for production of oil-based products). This situation may put in
jeopardy western alliances with Arab countries, with the associated economic
consequences, plus the security consequences in the struggle against Islamist
extremism and terrorism. Regionally, all this could inflame confrontation
between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the attendant implications for armed
conflict and nuclear weapons proliferation. Some of these difficulties are
currently playing out in Bahrain. This may also complicate the efforts of the
USA to complete its withdrawal from Iraq. These events could have important
political and security implications for Israel, particularly in the form of an
Egyptian government less committed to the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979, and
one less interested in playing a constructive role in Arab-Israeli affairs.
Finally, the decision of a number
of western countries to intervene militarily in Libya, under cover of a UN
Security Council Resolution 973, coordinated via NATO, is fraught with uncertain
outcomes. This mission is ill-defined as to both methods and objectives. Is it
simply the creation of a No-fly zone? Is it the protection of all civilians
against the forces of Gadhafi? Is it the overthrow of the Gadhafi regime? This
mission has already provided serious divisions within NATO and the European
Union. It will continue to do so as disagreements persist regarding objectives
and exit strategies.
Louis Delvoie entertained several
questions on the topic. These related to Mid-East areas other than Egypt and
Libya, e.g. Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and the UAE. He provided
well-reasoned, but succinct, responses to complement his already highly
effective coverage of the topic.
Speaker: Dr.
Hector Mackenzie,
Senior Historian at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of
Canada
Topic: "My
very long weekend in Kingston -- A personal perspective on stroke recovery"
Dr Hector
Mackenzie, Senior Historian at the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade of Canada, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at
its luncheon meeting on Wednesday, March 9. His topic was: "My very long
weekend in Kingston -- A personal perspective on stroke recovery."
Hector Mackenzie
joined the Department of External Affairs as an historian in 1989. He has
published numerous articles and reviews on the history of Canada's international
relations; and has edited two volumes in the series Documents on Canadian
External Relations. He is also an adjunct research professor at Carleton
University, where he teaches courses on the history of Canada and its
international relations. He had earlier taught at the University of Toronto and
the University of Western Ontario. He was educated at the University of Toronto
and Oxford University, from which he received his doctorate.
In 2008, Hector
Mackenzie had a stroke for which he was treated at Kingston General Hospital and
from which he recovered promptly and completely. He was able to resume his work
within a month of that trauma. Since then, he has spoken several times about
his experience to medical conferences, in addition to his scholarly
presentations and publications.
Wednesday,
09 February 2011
Speaker:
Brian
Porter,
Author; Founder– Brockville
Infantry Co.(1862)
Topic: "Major
James Walsh of the North West Mounted Police, friend of Sitting Bull"
Brian Porter, a great fan of Canadian
history, provided the luncheon attendees with an enacted
life of Major James Walsh NWMP. He had previously
entertained the Canadian Club in March 2009 with his
portrayal of Sir John A. Macdonald. Major
Walsh, born in Prescott in 1840, was one of the original
nine officers of the NWMP, founded by Sir John A in
1873. Walsh led the first recruits across the Dawson
Trail to Fort Garry, Manitoba. In 1874, his troop built
Fort Walsh in Saskatchewan. In 1877, Sioux Chief
Sitting Bull crossed into Canadian territory with his
people, after defeating Lt. Col. Custer at Little
Bighorn. Walsh rode into their camp to enforce Canadian
law. He retired to Brockville and lived until 1905.
Brian taught for 32
years in Brockville until retiring in 1998. He is Chairman of the
Brockville Museum Board, a member of the Brockville History Book
Committee, and a founding member of Brockville Infantry Company
(1862) – which gives historical re-enactments of the volunteer
militia. Born and raised in Peterborough, he was educated at
Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School, Carleton University
(B.A. History), and Ottawa Teachers' College.
Speaker: Agathe Côté,
Deputy Governor,
Bank of Canada
Topic: Trends in the Canadian
economy, with a focus on the household sector
Agathe Côté's speech attracted much
media attention. Here is how the television station CKWS summarized
it. She spoke about the importance household spending has played in
Canada's recovery. She said a number of factors – like the tax rebate
on home renovations and consumer confidence – brought Canada out of the
recession. But all that spending has led to higher debt loads for
consumers. Canada's recovery is closely tied to the United States --
which is our largest trading partner. She said: “Going forward the bank
expects the composition of demand to shift away from government and
household spending towards business investment and net exports and in
that regard the surge in business investment that started in the past
year is a very encouraging start.” Her full
speech is available on the Bank of Canada’s website.
The luncheon was held at Minos Uptown Village Restaurant, Kingston, and was
attended by 102 people. Invited guests were: Peter Milliken, MP for Kingston
and the Islands, and Speaker of the House of Commons; John Gerretsen, Ontario
MLA and Minister of the Environment; Brian Reitzel, Councillor, Pittsburgh
District; Florence Campbell, President, Community Foundation for Kingston and
Area; Frank Milne, Queen's University, BMO Professor of Economics and Finance -
and formerly Special Advisor, Bank of Canada; Lloyd Fleming, Regional VP, Bank
of Montreal; and John-Paul Shearer, Director of Business Development, KEDCO.
Agathe
Côté is one of two deputy governors responsible for
overseeing the Bank's analysis and activities in
promoting a stable and efficient financial system. As a
member of the Bank's Governing Council, she shares
responsibility for decisions with respect to monetary
policy and financial system stability, and for setting
the strategic direction of the Bank.
Ms Côté joined the Bank in 1982 as an
economist. After assuming a series of positions of
increasing responsibility, she was appointed Deputy
Governor effective 30 July 2010. Born in
Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, she received a bachelor's
degree in economics in 1981 and a master's degree in
economics in 1983, both from the University of Montréal.
The Bank of Canada is the nation's
central bank. It is responsible for Canada's monetary
policy, bank notes, financial system and funds
management. Its main role, as defined in the Bank of
Canada Act, is "to promote the economic and financial
welfare of Canada." It does not offer banking services
to the public.
Summary by John Foster
Wednesday,
08 December 2010
Speaker: Bob Hepburn,
Journalist, Toronto Star
Topic: "The
changing role of the media in Ottawa/Washington and the world"
Bob Hepburn is an award-winning
journalist who has worked as the Star’s bureau chief in Ottawa, Washington and
the Middle East. He has reported from more than 30 countries for the Star and
has also served as the Star’s editorial page editor, assistant managing editor,
national editor and foreign editor. His column appears every Thursday.
Bob Hepburn provided an interesting backdrop of the
recent history of the evolution of journalism, with a focus on the newspaper
industry. He Bob highlighted the impact of the changes to the presentation
of news events and activities being forged by the developments in the Internet,
the social media such as YouTube and Facebook, and the technology of cell
phones, IPods, IPads, Wikipedia, and wickileaks. He described the current
and evolving framework within which the news is to be reported, and the waning
professionalism of the wider variety of sources now involved in reporting.
He noted the challenges to the newspaper, radio, and television media to retain
some semblance of integrity in reporting, given the reduced resources able to be
brought to bear on the traditional reporting environment. Overall, Bob presented
the challenges to clients/customers of news to appropriately filter the myriad
of information flows from competing sources of reporting.
Topic: "Breaking
the silence - getting our Veterans to talk"
Ted Barris is an renowned journalist, author and
broadcaster. For nearly 40 years, his writing has regularly appeared
in the national press and magazines. He has hosted or contributed
to most CBC Radio network programs and TV Ontario. He is a professor
of journalism at Toronto’s Centennial College.
Barris is the author of 16 non-fiction books,
including a series on wartime Canada. All have received critical
acclaim and bestseller status. His 16th book, Breaking
the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to
Afghanistan, a bestseller, was published earlier this fall. His
writing has been twice short-listed for the Pierre Berton national
history prize.
Among the awards Ted Barris has received are the
international Billboard Radio Documentary Award, the Yorkton
Film Festival’s Golden Sheaf, and several ACTRA nominations. He is
an active member of numerous military associations. He has received
numerous awards in recognition of his contribution to the awareness
and preservation of Canadian military history and traditions.
Wednesday,
13 October 2010
Speaker: Colin Robertson,
Senior strategic
advisor, international law firm McKenna, Long and Aldridge LLP
Topic: "The
Obama presidency, Tea Party movement and Mid-term Elections: how do they impact
on Canada?"
Colin Robertson
was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting on
Wednesday, October 13. His topic: "The Obama presidency, Tea
Party movement and Mid-term Elections: how do they impact on Canada?"
The previously scheduled speaker, Dr. Alec Douglas, has had to
reschedule for a later meeting.
A
former Canadian diplomat, Colin Robertson is a senior
strategic advisor for the international law firm McKenna,
Long and Aldridge LLP and works in Ottawa. He is a senior
research fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs
Institute and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Norman
Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton
University. He is on the boards of Canada World Youth and
the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. He is
president of the National Capital Branch of the Canadian
International Council.
With Foreign
Affairs and International Trade Canada, Mr. Robertson had been minister
at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC; consul general in Los Angeles;
and counsellor and consul in Hong Kong. He has served at the Permanent
Mission to Canada at the United Nations and the Consulate General in New
York. He helped negotiate the Free Trade Agreement with the United
States and later coordinated the NAFTA implementing legislation.
Ken Watson, author and member of Friends of the
Rideau, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its
luncheon meeting on Thursday, May 13. He spoke about "The Rideau
Route." The luncheon was held at Minos Uptown Village
Restaurant, 2762 Princess Street, Kingston.
Ken Watson worked as a geologist
in the Yukon and northern Ontario before moving to the Rideau area in 1995. He
is a renowned expert on the Rideau Canal. He has developed an amazing website
on the Canal (http://www.rideau-info.com)
and published two books: A History of the Rideau
Lockstations, 2000; and The Rideau Route: Exploring
the Pre-Canal Waterway, 2007. He is publishing a
new book this year: “Tales of the Rideau.”
Ken is a director of Friends
of the Rideau (http://www.rideaufriends.com)
and The Delta Mill Society (http://www.deltamill.org).
He volunteers with various other heritage organizations, including the Rideau
Canal Museum, Kingston Historical Society, Rideau Heritage Network, Chaffey’s
Lock and Area Heritage Society, Merrickville and District Historical Society,
and Canadian Canal Society. He lives beside the Rideau Canal Waterway with his
wife Pat and dog Tika.
Thursday,
08 April 2010
Speaker: Don Drummond, Senior
Vice-President & Chief Economist, TD Bank
Topic: "What
comes after the Great Recession?"
Don Drummond was
the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting on
Thursday, April 8. He spoke about "What comes
after the Great Recession?"
Don Drummond joined
the TD Bank in June 2000 as Senior Vice President and Chief
Economist. He leads TD Economics’ work in analyzing and forecasting
economic performance in Canada and abroad. He travels widely across
Canada and abroad, speaking about the Canadian economy and its
prospects, and he is frequently quoted by the media on economic and
policy issues.
Mr. Drummond joined
the federal Department of Finance upon completing his studies at
Queen’s and held progressively more senior positions in areas of
economic analysis and forecasting, fiscal policy and tax policy.
His last position was Associate Deputy Minister -- responsible for
economic analysis, fiscal policy, tax policy, social policy and
federal-provincial relations. In particular, he coordinated
planning of the annual federal budgets.
Don was born and
raised in Victoria BC, where he graduated from the University of
Victoria. He received his MA in Economics from Queen’s University.
Speaker: Alia Hogben, Executive Director of the
Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW)
Topic: "The
Challenges of being Muslim."
Alia Hogben was born in Burma, was raised in India and lived
in other countries as the daughter of an Indian diplomat. She currently lives
with her family on a farm near Kingston.
Founded in 1982, CCMW is the most prominent Muslim women's
group in Canada. It assists Muslim women and others to learn about Islam and
its message of equality, pluralism and inclusiveness; and to participate as
fully as possible in all aspects of living. CCMW opposed the implementation of
Sharia law during the debate in Canada.
Alia writes a monthly column on Islam and Muslims for the Kingston
Whig-Standard. She speaks regularly at domestic and international events; and
she is frequently interviewed by Canadian and international media. Prior to
joining CCMW, she worked with the Ontario Ministry of Community & Social
Services. She has also served as Director of the March of Dimes; taught human
studies at St Lawrence Community College; and worked with the Children’s Aid
Society.
Thursday,
11 February 2010
Louis Delvoie was the substitute speaker at this
luncheon meeting. His topic was "Afghanistan:
The Return of History?".
Thursday,
14 January 2010
Dr. Jacalyn Duffin was the Canadian Club of Kingston's
speaker at its luncheon meeting on Thursday, January 14. She holds the
Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine at Queen's University.
She spoke about "Music and Memory: What Can
Dementia Teach Us about the Brain?".
Dr.
Duffin is an award winning scholar and educator. She is a
medical historian and haematologist, and she isa great speaker. She was one of the Top 10
lecturers in the 2008 TVO Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition.
She has made significant
contributions to the field of history of medicine, and is the
author of five books and editor of several others. Her research
interests include 19th century French and Canadian
medicine, medical illustrations, and medical saints.
In 2005, she co-authored, with Dr Lola Cuddy, professor
emeritus of psychology at Queen’s, a prize-winning study of a woman with severe
Alzheimer's disease who showed surprising musical memory. They researched the
question: is music recognition spared in dementia, and how can it be assessed?
The results are both uplifting and fascinating.
Topic:“Cap and
Trade for Greenhouse Gases:What is it, why
does it matter, Kingston benefits”
Ted Hsu’s interest in global warming and climate
change has grown steadily in recent years. He is
Executive Director of SWITCH – a non-profit organization that aims to make
Kingston a leading centre for alternative and renewable energy. It provides a
network for businesses, research institutions, public sector participants, and
volunteers. He spoke about our energy economy, greenhouse gas offsets, and
ways to influence public policy.
Ted is highly active in the community. Among other
things, he co-chairs the Kingston Environmental Advisory Forum – which assists
the City in environmental strategy. He studied physics at Queen's University,
received his PhD at Princeton with a thesis on high temperature
superconductivity, and worked as a research scientist at UBC, CNRS Grenoble, and
AECL's Chalk River Laboratories. He then moved into finance, working with Banque
Nationale de Paris in Philadelphia and Paris, and with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo.
Ted provided members and
guests with a highly informative session on the "cap & trade" framework for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions within Canada, and in cooperation with the
United States and other world nations. He described the framework for
attacking the CO2 portion of global warning in a succinct manner, with an
excellent demonstration using an example for three sample CO2 emitters.
The short question period was handled effectively, but it was all too brief to
satisfy the obvious interests of the enthusiastic audience.
Thursday,
12 November 2009
Florence
Campbell, Vice President of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
Topic:
Kingston’s Vital Signs” – a new report by the Community Foundation for Kingston
& Area
Florence
Campbell is Vice
President of the Community Foundation for
Kingston & Area. This is one of over 160 community foundations in
Canadian cities and towns. Its report on Kingston’s Vitals Signs is a
community report card, with key indicators measuring the community’s
“health” and vitality. The idea began in Toronto in 2001 and was made a
national program of the Community Foundations of Canada.
Florence Campbell has a distinguished background in community
board governance. In the health area, she serves on boards of the Community for
Excellence in Health Governance, and Queen’s University Family Health Team; and
was earlier on those of the Kingston General Hospital, Children’s
Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation, and Ottawa Heart Institute.
She has served as Vice Principal, Queen's University; and Vice President,
Conference Board of Canada. She has been on boards of the Kingston Symphony
Association, Grand Theatre Fundraising Restoration Committee; and
the Canadian Clubs of Toronto and Ottawa.
Florence provided a succinct summary of the subject
report to the audience at the luncheon.
Dr. Henri Habib,
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Concordia University
Topic“The Middle East in 2009 :
Peace or Conflict?”
Dr Henry Habib, Distinguished
Professor Emeritus, Concordia University, Montreal, was back by
popular demand as the Canadian Club of Kingston's guest speaker. At
its first luncheon of the new season, Wednesday, October 7,
he spoke on: “The Middle East in 2009 : Peace or Conflict?”
Dr
Habib is a highly respected scholar and an authority on the politics
of the Middle East, on which he is frequently invited to speak and
comment. He has published two books on Libya and numerous articles
on Arab unity, the Palestinian question and other Mid-East topics.
He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Concordia University,
Montreal; a Visiting Professor in Islamic Studies at McGill
University; and a Governor Emeritus of Concordia’s Board of
Governors.
Dr Habib founded and chaired
the Political Science Department at Loyola College and its successor
Concordia University until his retirement in 1999. He graduated in
Political Science from the American University of Beirut. He
studied at Princeton University and received his MA in Political
Science at Fordham University. He taught for several years at the
American University of Beirut and at Saint Mary’s University in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. He received his PhD from McGill.
Leslee Thompson,
President and CEO, Kingston General Hospital
Topic :
“The Way Forward for Kingston General Hospital”
Leslee Thompson, President and
CEO of Kingston General Hospital, was the Canadian Club of
Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting on Friday, June 19. Her
topic was "The Way Forward."
Ms Thompson was appointed
President and CEO of KGH this February. She brings extensive health-care
industry experience in both the public and private sectors to this important
leadership role. She will tell us about her first 100 days in office and how
KGH will move towards the future.
She was
previously Vice President, Health System Strategies with Medtronic of Canada, a
global medical devices company. She has served as Vice President, Cancer System
Integration and Performance with Cancer Care Ontario. She has also held senior
executive roles in several teaching hospitals, including Sunnybrook & Women’s
Health Science Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, and the Royal Alexandra
Hospital in Edmonton.
Ms Thompson
started her career as a critical care nurse. She is a graduate of the School of
Nursing at Queen’s University and holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing
from University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
08
April 2009
Don Carty,
Chairman
of Porter Airlines and Virgin America Airlines
Topic :
“Porter
Airlines and new Innovations in Aviation.”
Don
Carty has a distinguished corporate career. He is chairman of Porter
Airlines and Virgin America Airlines (both since 2006). He is a
director of Dell Inc, Hawaiian Airlines, Sears Roebuck, CHC Helicopter
Corporation, and Barrick Gold Corporation. Until last year, he was vice
chairman and chief financial officer of Dell Inc (2007-2008). He is an
Officer of the Order of Canada.
He was previously Chairman and
CEO of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines (1998-2003). He
joined the airline in 1978 and rose to become
Executive Vice President for finance and planning, then President of AMR and
American Airlines. In between, he served as President and CEO of Canadian
Pacific Airlines (1985-1987). Before joining American Airlines, he had worked
with Celanese Canada, Air Canada, and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Mr. Carty was born
in Toronto, graduated from Queen’s University and Harvard Business School, and
holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s. He and his wife, Ana, live in
Dallas, Texas. He is chairman of the Big
Brothers Big Sisters of America, a board trustee of Southern Methodist
University, and a board director of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts
Foundation.
Brian Porter,
Brockville Infantry Company (1862), aka Sir John A. MacDonald, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting on
Thursday, March 12. His topic was "Sir John A, the Man Who Made Us." He
was accompanied by his wife aka Renee Porter, aka Lady Agnes Macdonald.
Brian Porter is a great fan of Canadian history. He enjoys
telling the life stories of Sir John A. Macdonald and Major
James Walsh NWMP. Brian Porter has been playing Sir John
for the past ten years and has spoken to over two hundred
groups, visiting historical societies, schools, conferences
and more.
Brian is an elementary school teacher and taught for 32
years in Brockville until retiring in 1998. He is Chairman
of the Brockville Museum Board, a member of the Brockville
History Book Committee, and a founding member of Brockville
Infantry Company (1862) – which gives historical
re-enactments of the 1860s volunteer militia. He was born
and raised in Peterborough, and was educated at Peterborough
Collegiate and Vocational School, Carleton University (B.A.
History) and Ottawa Teachers’ College.
10 February 2009
Jim Sandford, Economist, Canadian Automobile
Workers
Topic
“Rethinking
Economics: Why the Current Crisis Should Spur Us to Challenge Conventional
Wisdom”
The well-known
economist Jim Stanford was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its
luncheon meeting on Tuesday, 10 February 2009. Insights into the new
Federal Budget were anticipated – he’s been prominent on CBC radio recently.
Jim Stanford is a
Senior Economist with the Canadian Auto Workers, Canada's largest private-sector
trade union. He is also a Research Associate of the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives. He is the author of Paper Boom (published in 1999), and
Economics for Everyone (Pluto Press and Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, 2008). He writes a regular economics column for the Globe and
Mail. He is a member of CBC TV’s regular National News economics panel. Jim
received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1995 from the New School for Social Research
in New York, and also holds economics degrees from Cambridge University and the
University of Calgary. He lives in Toronto with his partner and two daughters.
Katherine Barber, Former
Director,
Oxford Canadian Dictionary (CBC’s Word Lady)
Topic
“Bachelor for Rent”
The
definition of knowledgeable – Katherine Barber
Long-time
editor-in-chief of Canadian dictionaries delivers address to Kingston Canadian
Club
Posted By
MATTHEW PUDDISTER, FOR THE WHIG-STANDARD
Billed as "Canada's
Word Lady", Katherine Barber - former editor of the Oxford Canadian Dictionary -
speaks to the Canadian Club of Kingston Thursday about the use of language in
Canada.
Michael Lea /Whig-Standard
Look up the
word hockey in your dictionary, Katherine Barber suggests, and you'll see what
makes Canadian English so distinctive.
"If you look in
a British dictionary or one of these so-called Canadian dictionaries," Barber
said during a speech yesterday to the Canadian Club of Kingston, "you will
discover that hockey is defined as, 'A game played on a field with 11 players.'
"
That's not
generally the image that comes to mind when we think of the nation's most
beloved winter sport and for Barber, known as Canada's Word Lady, it illustrates
the need for a dictionary from a truly Canadian perspective.
As
editor-in-chief of Canadian dictionaries at Oxford University Press from 1991 to
2008, Barber ensured that when we say hockey, "we mean the thing that's played
on ice, we do not mean the thing that is played on grass."
In her
distinctively witty style, Barber's address - titled Bachelor For Rent - kept
the audience entertained with examples culled from her years as a leading
authority on Canadian English.
No dictionary,
it seemed, could be free of cultural bias, even for seemingly objective words
such as place names.
"Dieppe,'
Barber said, "is defined as follows in the Oxford British Dictionary: 'A port in
Normandy from which ferries depart for Newhaven, Sussex.' " Barber paused for
laughter.
"This is only
slightly Britocentric," she I wrote to my colleagues in Oxford and said, 'If
you're going to have an entry on Dieppe, don't you think that you should mention
the war?'
"They wrote
back and said, 'Did something happen at Dieppe in the war?' "
Language, as
Barber said, is in her genes. Her mother was an English teacher and her father
was always interested in languages. Although she was raised in Winnipeg, Barber
was born in England and lived there until she was eight.
"It was a real
eye-opener to me that people could speak English in such different ways," she
said. "The difference between British English and Canadian English ... piqued my
interest."
Aside from a
unique combination of British and American spelling, Canadian English developed
into its present form through British political institutions and the country's
bilingual status, which helped terms from Canadian French -poutine, anyone?
-seep into the lexicon.
"The fact that
Canada is a multicultural society means that we borrow from Italian and
Ukrainian and Icelandic ... and Canadian native peoples," Barber said. "Then, of
course, we have to use words that describe our particular geographic reality,
dealing with the winter and so on."
Barber's most
reliable rhetorical device was describing Canadian English from the perspective
of an American visitor, for whom terms like "loonie," meaning dollar, and "Can
Stud," meaning Canadian Studies, can be incomprehensible.
"If we are to
maintain Canadian English," Barber concluded, "we have to make sure that we
maintain our Can-Stud attitude and never run out of loonies."
Dr.
Art McDonald – Gray Chair in
Particle Astrophysics, Queen’s; Director SNO Institute
Topic:“Observing
our Universe from 2 km Underground: SNO and the new SNOLAB”
Dr Art McDonald was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at
its luncheon meeting on Thursday, December 11. He holds the Gray Chair in
Particle Astrophysics at Queen's University, and is Director of the Sudbury
Neutrino Observatory (SNO) Institute. His topic was "Observing our Universe
from 2 km underground."
Dr McDonald
joined Queen’s in 1989. He spearheads an international research project
studying tiny particles emitted from the sun. This is one of the most
important scientific experiments being conducted in Canada today. The SNO
Laboratory is located 2 km underground in one of INCO’s old mines in Sudbury,
Ontario. It is designed to detect solar neutrinos and study major scientific
questions such as the nature of dark matter. He explains: “The research that we
are doing ... really bridges the entire universe. We … try to understand the
most detailed things about the universe, how it was created and evolved; in
short, the origins of the universe.”
Dr McDonald
is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He and his team have received some of the
world’s most prestigious prizes in physics. They include the Benjamin Franklin
Medal in Physics (past winners Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Marie and
Pierre Curie), and the Bruno Pontecorvo Prize, the world’s top award in particle
physics.
13
November 2008
Jeffry Simpson, Columnist, Globe and Mail
Topic “Hot Air”
Jeffrey Simpson, The Globe and Mail’s national affairs
columnist, was the Canadian Club of Kingston's speaker at its luncheon meeting
on Thursday, November 13. His topic was “Hot Air”, the title of his
latest book.
Mr. Simpson
joined The Globe and Mail in 1974. He became its Ottawa bureau chief in 1978;
served in London UK as its European correspondent, 1981-1983; and began writing
his national affairs column in 1984. He has published eight books. His latest,
published in 2007, with Mark Jaccard and Nic Rivers, is titled Hot Air:
Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge. He has written numerous magazine
articles and is a regular contributor to television programs in both English and
French.
Jeffrey Simpson
has won all three of Canada's leading literary prizes – the Governor-General's
award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine Award for political
writing, and the National Newspaper Award for column-writing (twice). In 2000,
he became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He studied at the
University of Toronto, Queen's University and the London School of Economics.
He has received honorary doctorates of laws from Queen's and other
universities. He has been a member of Queen’s board of trustees and the
editorial board of The Queen's Quarterly. He has taught at Queen’s Institute of
Policy Studies and The University of Ottawa Law School. He is a senior fellow at
the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
He lives in Ottawa
with his wife Wendy, and they have three children.
Globe columnist
lambastes ‘national incoherence’ on carbon emissions - Posted By Lynn Rees
Lambert on Kingston This Week Website 27 November 2008
Now that we won’t have
the Bush administration to bash, get ready to see Canadians hitch their wagons
to the newly-elected Obama administration’s policy on handling carbon emissions.
Jeffrey Simpson, the
national affairs columnist for “The Globe and Mail” and winner of all three of
Canada’s major literary prizes, provided a journalist’s insight into the issue
as the guest speaker at the Canadian Club of Kingston meeting Nov. 13.
While climate change has
grabbed headlines over the last decade, Simpson, whose latest book “Hot Air,
Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge,” co-authored with Mark Jaccard and
Nic Rivers, pointed out that the last six months have put a completely different
spin on the topic.
In essence, it’s been put
on the back burner as the “economic downdraft” packs a global wallop.
“Fourteen months ago,
when we wrote this book, we anticipated that oil would rise in a measured steady
fashion,” he explained. At the time, policy makers were toying with a form of
carbon tax and a range of options to combat climate change.
Not now.
Two things have
completely changed the landscape: the rapid rise in the price of oil, which
started in the summer, and the economic meltdown that began in the United States
and has washed over the globe.
When gas prices
skyrocketed, “people were overwhelmed with talk about a carbon tax,” said
Simpson. “SUV sales went down, factories closed and the sale of fuel-efficient
cars went up.”
“People will change their
behaviour when faced with a new economic reality but people can’t adjust that
quickly,” he noted.
And, while the public
appears to be united in wanting to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, he said,
how and at what cost is another story altogether. It’s a case of NIMBY — not in
my back yard, he said.
“We go for
energy-efficient light bulbs, energy-efficient appliances, but paying higher
prices for energy or gas is an unpalatable option.”
Plus, the general public
is distrustful of all politicians when they say a carbon tax will go to reducing
taxes.
“They fear it will be
wasted, sent overseas or they’ll lose it.”
Simpson lambasted the
“national incoherence” on the political scene, noting that the world is
watching.
“We’re naked as newts,”
he said of our scandalous, but rarely talked about, emissions record, pointing
out that we have the worst record on Kyoto emission levels. Our emissions have
gone up faster than during the Bush administration’s, he said.
But being “morally
superior Canadians,” we have a plan: a 20-per cent reduction in emissions by
2020, a target that is “arithmetically impossible,” as long as we continue to
develop the oil sands.
What’ll we do?
“We’ll join the
Americans, since we can’t come up with a national solution.”
Through this confusion,
Simpson believes we are headed in a new direction.
“We are living in the
early stages of a revolution, or re-organization, towards a new kind of energy
mix,” Simpson stated. “We’re beginning to develop alternatives but we’re not
sure when or its application. A lot will be trial and error.”
But, again, with the
“economic downdraft” front and centre, these issues will get short shrift.
The auto industry, “a
catastrophe,” is one area that needs analysis.
“Four years ago the
government gave a subsidy to GM to build Camero muscle cars,” he pointed out.
And, while he is sympathetic to the workers and families who will be affected by
the massive layoffs that are predicted for the Big 3 companies, should the
government decide to offer bailouts, “every penny has to be invested into green
technology.”
Simpson also pushed for a
national transportation grid, acceleration on the infrastructure that is useful,
as in a fast train from Toronto to Quebec, and an accelerated public transit
project.
“We also need to figure
out a way of pricing carbon.”
The right time to start
such a campaign is now, he said, while gas is low.
Don Curtis –
Communications
Consultant and Strategic Planner
Topic: ”Kingston's
Liquid Assets - its Blue Belt Lifestyle and Kingston’s Unequalled Historic
Assets"
Don has over 40
years experience handling communications for over 75 of the largest corporations
in the country. He was partner and managing director of Goodgoll Curtis
Advertising, 1990-2000; and managing director of Vickers and Benson Advertising,
1972-1989. Since retiring and moving to Kingston in 2000, Don has been highly
active in the community. He has conducted a strategic study of the city;
developed a walking-tour book on the Historic Churches of Kingston; developed
Kingston’s Blue Belt (water lifestyle) strategy; developed historic tours; and
is now developing Kingston 360 – a website to bring Kingston’s unique assets to
the attention of the world. Don is a member of the Kingston Imagine Round
Table, a contributing writer to the Kingston Whig-Standard and to Kingston This
Week, and a guest lecturer at St. Lawrence College.
Summary
Don provided a
scintillating set of highlights about
Blue Belt-Kingston – surrounded by fresh, blue waters, Lake Ontario to the
south, the St Lawrence River and the magnificent 1000 islands to the east, the
historic Rideau Canal to the northeast, the Bay of Quinte to the west and a
myriad of fresh pristine lakes to the immediate north. This gives rise to the
finest water lifestyle in North America. He also extolled the considerable
virtues of Kingston's over 600 historic
buildings, most still in daily use, all authentic, with fascinating stories.
His presentation was augmented by an interesting set of colourful slides of the
many blue water and historic heritage jewels in and around Kingston.
Don reported
that 355 years after Count Frontenac arrived on our shores in 1673 and one of
his party purportedly said “This is one of the most beautiful and agreeable
harbours in the world", Kingston remains a magnificent city site. It’s why later
Fort Henry was built here to defend the supply route of the St. Lawrence and
Great Lakes, it’s why we were a major shipbuilding centre, its why the Naval
dockyards were here, why the Loyalist chose to come here, it’s why many of the
audience came here. A map of the
Kingston region reveals that the city is surrounded by fresh, blue water: Lake
Ontario to the south, the Bay of Quinte to the west, the St. Lawrence River and
1000 Islands to the east, to the north-east, the historic Rideau Canal and to
the immediate north hundreds of pristine lakes.
Within a 60 KM
circle from Kingston, there are 38 lakes in the circle. Kingston is the Fresh
Water Sailing Capital of the World. The water and wind are why Kingston
was the site of the 1976 Olympic sailing races, are the site of the yearly CORK
races featuring the world’s best young sailors. As for Power Boating,
Kingston has an unsurpassed diversity - 3 entirely different kinds of boating
from one starting point 1. Lake Ontario, 2. St. Lawrence River & the 1000
islands - there are 3 channels trough the islands, where one can stop at quaint
towns on either side of the river, explore the 20 National Park Islands, swim,
picnic, hike and at every twist and turn of the river you have incredibly
beautiful and different vistas. 3. Or travel up the Rideau, a 3-5 day trip -
explore towns and villages of this UNESCO heritage site. Kingston has the potent
to be the Dive Centre of Canada based on 335 years of Marine commerce - ships
from the war of 1812, to every type of schooner etc - 5 minutes away just off
Wolfe and Amherst Islands, with a Virtual under water museum to provide a
history lesson in the types of ships that plied the Great Lakes over the
centuries.
As for Fishing,
there are 2 different types: Lake Ontario charter fishing, like deep sea
fishing, cold water, trolling 85 feet down for 50 pound salmon, 25 inch brown
trout and record muskellunge. Then there are the back lakes, with every kind of
fresh water fish - Perch, Large-Mouth Bass, Small-Mouth Bass, Pickerel, and,
Rainbow trout. For Canoeing and Kayaking, all those 38 lakes, silver ribbon of
lakes, are ideal for such outings. One could kayak or canoe a different lake
everyday for a couple of months if one includes the 20 lakes in Frontenac Park.
For Competitive Rowing, Kingston boasts world class winning championships
starting in 1837, with a resurgence in 1870 because of Ned Hanlon, leading to
the first official rowing competition in1881. On to Windsurfing and
Kite-boarding right by Queen's. From the waterfront, one can view CORK
sailboat race going on further out in the harbour, the kite boarders, the Wolfe
Island ferry going across, and the St. Lawrence tall ship passing by. As
for Hiking, particularly in Frontenac Park, with its 20 lakes and 170 km of
trails, Kingston is blessed with many superb areas. The Park is part of the
Frontenac Arch which has world heritage designation. And if one wants more
hiking, close by are Charleston Lake Park, Bon Echo Park, Lemoine Point Park,
Little Cataraqui Conservation Area - a hikers paradise.
Don proceeded to recount the
highlights of its History and Heritage. Kingston has been
called the Historic Heart of Canada, having been around for 335 years, with
Canada being only 141years old. Kingston is one of only four cities in Canada
with significant historic pasts - Halifax, Montreal, Quebec being the others!
Kingston
has over 600 historic buildings in our downtown alone - all authentic, all still
in use, not roped off from the public - a mix of commercial buildings, houses,
and beautiful mansions. Kingston was where of Upper and Lower Canada were
united. It was the first capital of Canada, the first parliament was held here,
the first 2 Governors General lived here (and died here ) and, of course, the
first prime minister, our own Sir John A. Macdonald, Father of Confederation,
founder of the Mounties, chief author of the BNA act, builder of the national
railway, considered by experts as the most important political figure in
Canadian history, grew up ,worked and is buried here. Kingston is where
the United Empire Loyalists came to build a new nation based on British laws,
government and religion and their families, and over the next couple of
generations built a lot of the magnificent homes still standing. The old
British Whig building on King Street is the oldest newspaper daily in Canada.
Kingston is home to 13 old 19th century stone churches. St
Georges Cathedral, founding church of Anglican religion in Canada, originally
was a wooden structure where the old British Whig building now stands. The
catholic Church of the Good Thief on west King Street, is the only church of the
Good Thief in the world. St. Paul’s is the oldest protestant cemetery in
Canada with many founding families buried there. St. Andrews is
round inside, St. George’s plaques tell a history onto themselves.
Don mentioned that each of the heritage houses has a story associated with it,
and he recounted several examples. For a King Street experience, one can
drive the 4 KM from City Hall to Portsmouth Village and pass 72 points of
historic interest - houses, statues, commercial buildings, parks. One can
stroll up Princess Street, originally called Store Street, with its examples of
amazing architecture.
Don related some
key aspects of the role of Kingston and impact on the city residents of War of
1812, where Kingston was not attacked because of a very strong commanding view
over the bay. The war had nothing to do with Canada. The British declared
victory because no boundaries changed, the Canadians declared victory because
they had repulsed the enemy, and the Americans declared victory because they won
the last battle - the Battle of New Orleans, even though the battle was waged
three weeks after the treaty was signed. The real losers were the natives who
fought so valiantly hoping to get their lands back from the US government - they
got nothing! The war that seemingly achieved nothing in fact gave rise to a
feeling of nationalism in Canada and gave rise to a new nation, with an
important early role for Kingston.
Don highlighted the fact of
Kingston
being surrounded by our history. One can stand on the waterfront and look
out at the bay where Frontenac, LaSalle, Molly and Joseph Brant, Lord Sydenham
and Sir John A. Macdonald stood.
To emphasise the role of history
in Kingston, Don quoted from Arthur
Lower, noted Historian and Queen’s History professor: “History is in some ways
to see the past as vital and living. History in an attempt to see backwards
along the path we have come to perhaps glean some inkling of the path down which
we are going. As a Canadian city, Kingston is unique, unique for its structural
material of which it is constructed - much of Kingston built itself out of
itself, small wonder it is called the Limestone city.”
In closing, Don
noted that the architectural remnants, including both the magnificent and
mundane of old Kingston, touch the lives of all citizens. The elegant City
Hall, a legacy from the triumphant, exuberant Kingston of the 1840’s, dominates
its waterfront, a few hundreds yards away from the partially excavated
foundation of Fort Frontenac, each within view of the Martello Towers on the
shore and that in Fort Frederick on the Royal Military College grounds across
the harbour. Don encourage all attendees to become active ambassadors for
this beautiful city blessed with so much of natural environmental and historical
heritage.
Summary by Bruce Morris
In thanking Don Curtis,
Bradley Sumner of the Canadian Club Kingston Executive, provided the
following:
Your comments make some of us wonder
what the future is for a city that displays perhaps its greatest pride in its
206 year old cemetery! Surely this strange remark makes Kingston unique from any
other city on the planet!
That got me to wondering whether life
for many in Kingston is like the movie GOLDEN POND or if it resembles the 1937
film LOST HORIZON. Or both.
In the Lost Horizon, in the
mysterious Eden like valley of Shangri La, its people are protected in the
mountains from the world outside – a seductive escape for all who live there.
Shangri La is a place without illness, war or any type of dispute - clearly
different from any Kingston community experiences!
In Kingston we do not have the
protection of mountains. But we do have Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal on our
boundaries, and maybe that bigger city cover has inhibited our progress. We have
our public service sector here that provides us with an economic base that
should have, but has not been, a cornerstone of business development.
You have provided us with a very
thoughtful analysis of ways in which this community can build on the remarkable
geography and history with which we have been blessed. To not do so is
letting down the generations that follow us.
There are few people who come to this
community, or any other one for that matter to retire, look around their
neighbourhood and decide that changes have to be made – so that we are in fact
not a Golden Pond or a Lost Horizon.
You have seen a lost opportunity
here, and you are bringing to it your life’s experience so that you and others
can have a positive impact on this community.
On behalf of our Club many of us
would like to see action taken on your ideas.
In your presentation you mentioned
our world class sailing and power boat waters. Using that metaphor our history
should not be an anchor on our community progress, but instead a chart to a
progressive future
Again thanks for showing us your
chart and suggesting that the many winds on our back here steer us to needed
changes.
David Phillips–
Senior Climatologist, Atmospheric
Environment Service
Topic: “Confessions of a Weather
Weenie”
David Phillips is the country's
most popular weatherman. He is Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada's
Atmospheric Environment Service. He appears frequently on national radio
and television as a commentator on weather and climate matters and is well known
as the expert on The Weather Network. He writes the 'Weatherwise' column for
Canadian Geographic magazine and originated Environment Canada's Canadian
Weather Trivia Calendar.
David has published several
books, papers and reports on the climate of Canada. They include essays in The
Canadian Encyclopedia; a book on The Climates of Canada; and two
bestsellers: The Day Niagara Falls Ran Dry and Blame It On The Weather.
In 2001, he was named to the
Order of Canada. He has received the Patterson Medal for Distinguished
Service to Meteorology in Canada and twice received the Public Service of Canada
Merit Award. He graduated from the University of Windsor and holds an honorary
Doctorate of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo. David,
his wife Darlene and Winston the Weather Dog, live in Aurora ON; they have two
grown daughters.
10 April 2008
Steve Maich – Deputy Managing Editor, Maclean’s Magazine
Topic: “Freedom of the Press versus Political
Correctness”
Steve Maich writes mainly on business and national
affairs. In 2006 he won the National Magazine Award for commentary. Prior to
joining Maclean’s in 2004, he was a reporter and columnist for the Financial
Post. He began his career in 1998 with the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, where he
covered municipal politics and native affairs. He is a graduate of Queen’s
University.
Steve
was a four-time Atlantic Journalism Award nominee and two-time winner for his
work investigating financial corruption in native politics. He is co-author of
a new book The Ego Boom: why the world really does revolve around You, to
be released this fall by Key Porter Books. He lives in Toronto with his wife
Erin, and their daughter Avery.
Dr. Mohamed Bayoumi – Chair,
Local Kingston Islamic History Month, Canada
Topic: “A Framework
for Understanding Islam”
Dr Bayoumi is a pillar in Canada’s Muslim
community. He is a board member and regional director of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. He is a Past President of the Islamic Society of Kingston. He
chaired the Kingston
Committee on Islamic History Month Canada (October 2007). He has spoken on
Islam at numerous groups, schools and churches.
His other volunteer activities are legion. Inter
alia, he is a governor and board member of Kingston General Hospital (KGH). He
is a board member of Queen's Theological College.
Dr Bayoumi is a Professor Emeritus in Electrical and
Computing Engineering at Queen’s University. He had a distinguished career
there and also taught at the Royal Military College (RMC). He initiated the
area of robotics at Queen's and helped establish the Robotics Laboratories at
both institutions. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt where he graduated in
electrical engineering. He holds a Masters degree in Mathematics and Doctor of
Technical Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. A Canadian
citizen, he lives in Kingston.
14 February 2008
John Foster
- International
Energy Economist
Topic: “Afghanistan
and the new great energy game”
John is an expert on the world
oil scene. He’s visited and worked in more than thirty countries in Asia,
Africa and Latin America. Born in London, England, he graduated from Cambridge
University in economics and law. After service in the Royal Navy (including
Suez), he joined British Petroleum, working on strategic planning in London UK,
then came to Montreal for a two-year posting. He moved on to the World Bank
(Asia Department) in Washington DC, working on country economic assessments and
loan operations and becoming the Bank's first petroleum economist. When
Petro-Canada was created, he served as its lead economist in Ottawa and
Calgary. Later, he returned to Washington DC and worked with the Inter-American
Development Bank on energy and development issues in Latin America.
Summary: Afghanistan has become the major focus of
Canadian defence, aid and foreign policy. Why? Official answers omit
Afghanistan’s strategic importance in the geopolitical rivalry for control of
the oil and gas resources of Central Asia – the New Great Game. At stake are
pipeline routes to get energy resources to market, and power and wealth in the
region. Afghanistan’s role as an energy bridge – a geographic link between
Central and South Asia – has long been recognized, but rarely talked about in
Canada. Intelligent decisions on Canada’s future role in Afghanistan and NATO
require attention to energy issues.
10 January 2008
Dr. Ken Wong – Professor &
Teaching Fellow in Marketing, Queen’s University School of Business
Topic: “Kingston’s
Economic Prospects”
Ken is a faculty member and Teaching Fellow in
Marketing at Queen's School of Business. He has taught in degree programs at
Carleton University, Cornell, Radcliffe and Harvard, and in executive programs
at the universities of Alberta, Dalhousie, Toronto and York. He has received
numerous awards for courses in Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Business
Strategy. He is co-author of Canada’s largest-selling introductory marketing
text, Basic Marketing.
Ken is a frequent speaker and facilitator at
conferences and executive development programs around the world. He consults on
strategic planning and marketing issues to a galaxy of private corporations,
public agencies and associations. He anchors a regular feature in the National
Post and is one of Canada’s most frequently cited authorities in media coverage
of marketing issues. He is on numerous Boards of Directors and Advisory
Boards. He received his B.Comm and MBA degrees from Queen’s University prior to
doctoral studies at Harvard Business School.
Topic: “A Catalogue
of Failures: The Foreign Policy of the Bush Administration”
Louis Delvoie has had a most distinguished career in
the Foreign Service and since then in academia. He is a Senior Fellow in
the Centre for International Relations at Queen's University and a visiting
lecturer at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute in Ottawa. He has
written extensively on Canadian foreign and security policy and on international
relations.
In the Foreign Service, Louis Delvoie served as
Ambassador to Algeria; Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; and High
Commissioner to Pakistan. Earlier postings included Lebanon, Egypt,
Turkey, Algeria, Belgium and Yugoslavia. In Ottawa, he served as Director
General for International Security and Arms Control in the Department of
External Affairs; and Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy, Department of
National Defence. He was educated at Loyola College, University of
Toronto, McGill University, and the National Defence College of Canada.
08 November 2007
Jan Wong – Author and Globe &
Mail Columnist
Topic: “Beijing
Confidential”
Jan Wong was the much-acclaimed Beijing
correspondent for the Globe and Mail from 1988 to 1994 – reporting on the
tumultuous era of capitalist reforms under Deng Xiaoping. Her first book,
Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now, was named one of Time
magazine’s top ten books of 1996 and remains banned in China. She returned
to China in 1999 to make a documentary and to research her second book, Jan
Wong’s China: Reports from a Not-So-Foreign Correspondent. It tells
the story of China’s headlong rush to capitalism and offers insight into an ever
changing country.
She first went to China in 1972 during the Cultural
Revolution as one of only two Westerners to enrol at Beijing University.
She met and married the only American draft dodger from the Vietnam War in
China. During those six years in China, she learned fluent Mandarin and
earned a degree in Chinese history.
Besides the Globe and Mail, Jan
Wong has also written for The New York Times, The Gazette in Montreal, The
Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal. She has received numerous
prestigious awards for her reporting. She is a graduate of McGill
University, Beijing University and the Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism. She is a third-generation Canadian, born and raised in
Montreal, and she lives with her family in Toronto.
Dr. Brian Osborne – Past
President Ontario Historical Society, and Professor Emeritus Queen’s University
Geography Department
Topic: “The Future
of
Kingston: Building on the Past for the
Future”
There is no better authority on the topic than Dr
Osborne. He has published extensively on the Kingston area. He is
now working on a new edition of his classic book “Kingston: Building on the
Past for the Future”, which he co-authored in 1988. He tells us of the
successive phases of First Nations, French, and Loyalist settlement in this
region. He describes the evolution of the city with its commercial,
military, and governmental roles in the past two centuries. He adds a new
theme: the search for a strategy to enhance Kingston’s economic and social
viability, yet protecting its distinctive sense of place and enhancing its
quality of life and ambience.
Professor Osborne is currently Past President of the
Ontario Historical Society, a former President of the Kingston Historical
Society, and serves on the boards of several heritage organisations. He
has taught at Queen’s University since 1967. He has also consulted for the
National Capital Commission, Heritage Canada, Parks Canada, Canada Post and the
National Film Board.
2006-2007
10 May 2007
Mr. Jameel Jaffer – Lawyer,
American Civil Liberties Union
Topic: "Civil
Liberty Abuses."
12 April 2007
Dr. Elizabeth Eisenhauer – President, National
Cancer Institute and Director,Investigational New Drugs Program (Oncology) Department of
Medicine, Queen’s University
Topic: “Cancer: Are
we close to a cure?”
The topic was
of great interest to everyone. There is no better authority in Canada than Dr
Eisenhauer to give an assessment on progress in the battle to conquer it. Since
1982, she has been Director of the Investigational New Drug Program of the
Clinical Trials Group at the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC). Her
major responsibilities lie in identifying and bringing new anti-cancer agents
into clinical trial. In 2002 she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the
NCIC and in 2006 was elected as its President.
His Excellency Lu Shumin -
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Canada
Topic: "China's
Role in the World Today"
08 February 2007
Mr. Volker Thomsen – President,
St. Lawrence College
Topic: “New Energy
Sources and Opportunities for
Kingston”
Mr
Thomsen has long been involved in renewable energy initiatives (wind, biomass,
solar), particularly in Denmark and Germany. In 2006, he helped found the
World Wind Energy Institute—dedicated to learning in the field of renewable and
sustainable energies. He is a proponent of the wind park planned for Wolfe
Island. St Lawrence SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1College has installed a wind
generator at its Cornwall campus; plans others at its Kingston and Brockville
campuses; and is engaged in a large-scale community plan for renewable energy.
He sees an opportunity for Kingston to become the Canadian centre for renewable
energy innovation and conservation.
11 January 2007
Mr. Sean Conway – Director,
Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen’s University
Topic: “Meeting the
Energy Demands of Ontario
14 December 2006
Dr. Peter Taylor – Head of
Queen’s University Mathematics Department
Topic: “What’s Wrong
with High School Mathematics?”
Dr. Henri Habib
– Professor Emeritus, Concordia University
Topic: “Dynamics of
Iraqi Politics”
Summary:
Dr.
Habib provided the audience of over 100 interested listeners with a very
comprehensive overview of the historical and current perspective on the politics
of Iraq, an artificial nation comprising three key separate territorial realms
of Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites. He included lucid descriptions of the
ethnic players involved and the impact of the deeply-rooted historical
experiences mainly of the Shiites and the Sunnis within the territories of the
middle-east countries of Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria,
Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Turkey. He focussed on the implications to the
west of the historical developments among the regional countries and their
peoples. An important part of the theme was the resurrection and
resurgence of the Islamic movement, spearheaded by the Shiite-dominated
Iranians, as they manoeuvre towards the establishment of a crescent Shiite
“empire” closely resembling the Persian Empire of old. He related the
historical involvement of the Sunnis who dominated Iraq for many centuries,
despite their minority status. He explained the role of the
Sunni-dominated monarchical regime of Saudi Arabia, and their fear of the
Islamic fundamentalists within their nation. Among the many historical
highlights which are impacting the current and future relations among the
Islamic peoples and nations, and between the Islamic and Non-Islamic nations,
were the great impact of key events in the seventh century on the pilgrim
behaviours in both Saudi Arabia (Sunnis) and Iraq (Shiites). He provided
his perspective of the dangers to non-Islamic nations (USA, Canada, the European
Union, etc) of ignoring the harsh realities of the great significance to Islamic
peoples of these key historic events. Dr. Habib noted that Iran's
aspirations are increasing just as Iraq's are disappearing -perhaps forever.
The ultimate outcome will be a resurrection of the Persian Empire.
He also explained that Hezbollah, not previously given
much consideration, is now an arm of Iran. Iran's
aspirations were assisted by the U.S. attack on the Taliban and the
crushing of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. has displayed and continues to
display no understanding of the history of the area or the religious and ethnic
crosscurrents that are centuries old. Henri mentioned to watch for
the emergence of Iran and its Hezbollah 'arm' and for Turkey and Israel to
gain strength in the area. He indicated there are no Arab leaders to
address the situation. The U.S.A. would be well served by putting their
Ambassador back in Damascus and to become a nation much better in the
diplomatic area. He does not hold out much hope for the Saudi regime,
an area with most of the oil and with links to the U.S.Dr. Habib answered a large number
of questions from the audience with the same clarity and completeness as his
delivery of the highly effective overview. In answer to one of the
questions he indicated that he sees little hope for any positive outcome in
Afghanistan and he regrets our Canadian involvement in that area. Overall,
Dr. Habib provided listeners with a comprehensive framework within which
witnesses of the Islamic “revolution” can view past, current, and future events
related to the interrelationships among the various factions within Shiites and
Sunnis, and among the nations involved in the continuing struggles of Islamic
versus non-Islamic peoples.
Dr. Jack Preger
– “Street Doctor of Calcutta” and Queen’s University 2006 Dunning Trust Lecturer
Topic: “Care of the
Poor in
West Bengal”
2005-2006
11 May 2006
Jack Chiang
– Photo Editor, Kingston Whig-Standard
Topic: “Canada
in pictures and stories”
13 April 2006
Ernesto Senti Darias
– Cuban Ambassador to Canada
Topic: “Cuba
Today”
The
Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, Mr. Ernesto Senti Darias' address
was “ CUBA TODAY”. At the time of his comments the Cuban people continue
to endure almost a half a century of sanctions from the United States. The
President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, has held power over the same period as
ten different U.S. Presidents. The Ambassador emphasized the importance of
human relationships for each other in this world. He was
particularly proud that Centifegues, Cuba and Kingston, Ontario formed the first
formal sister-city partnership in Canada. He mentioned that Cuba has a
very large Terry Fox Run, second only to Canada. Millions of Cubans
participate and he noted that some from Kingston join in the run. He
stressed his and Cuba's thanks for the warm relationship that Canada has had
with Cuba for such a long time. Health care, medicine and education are
areas where Cuba has provided assistance to its citizens and where Canada has
and will continue to find further opportunities. The Ambassador’s wife
accompanied him. She has been prominent in Cuba for advancing the causes
of women.
Many club
members asked questions and The Ambassador was forthright in his response.
Thanks were given to him for honouring The Club and Kingston with his presence.
Summary by
Bradley Sumner
09 March 2006
Dr. John Smol
– Professor, Queen’s University and Canada Research Chair in Environmental
Change
Topic:“Warnings from
Lake Mud; Long-term Environmental
Changes in the Arctic”
John Smol provided the audience
with a wide range and interesting insight into the results of his many years of
research in the sediments taken from core samples from Arctic lake bottoms.
He described a fascinating spectrum of information on climate changes over the
centuries, and the resultant impacts on plant, animal, and sea life. John
described the processes by which the raw data was obtained and the processing
required to arrive of some frightening conclusions regarding climate change and
its impact on the environment. He highlighted the role of climatic
changes, increased UV penetration, deposition from airborne contaminants, and
pollution from local sources on the changes to the overall environment.
John acknowledged the constraints imposed on any study of climatic change by the
relatively recent historical recordings of temperatures (less than three
centuries). John’s specialty (Paleolimnology: Tracking long-term
ecosystem changes using information preserved in lake and river sediments)
has been instrumentalin arriving at so many conclusions relative to the
impacts of climate changes. John outlined the role of the atmospheric
fallout, the catchment, and the aquatic system, in contributing to the raw data
and the derived information on impacts. The focal role of Diatoms
[Bacillariophyta, abundant and diverse, excellent environmental indicators, and
siliceous cell walls (frustules)] was explained to the fascinated listeners.
John used his theme of “warnings from lake mud” to explain the extreme dangers
of the rapidity and severity of the impacts of climate change on the sensitive
Arctic region, and the flow-down effects on the rest of the world. John
was warmly thanked for his unique perspective presented in an informative
manner.
Dr. John Rapin – Past-President, Ontario Medical Association
Topic: "Public /
Private, Whither Medical Care"
12 January 2006
Ron Ridley, Curator, Fort Henry National Historic Site
Topic:
“Inside
the Walls: A Chronological Journey through
Fort Henry”
08 December 2005
Dr. Henri Habib, Professor Emeritus, Concordia University,
Montreal
Topic: “Clash
of Civilizations: Myth or Reality”
10 November 2005
Hon, Herb Gray, Chairman, International Joint Commission
Topic: “The
Future of the
Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement”
13 October 2005
Dr. Karen Hitchcock, Principal, Queen’s University, Kingston,
Ontario
Topic: “The
Engaged University”
2004 – 2005
12 May 2005
Werner Hirschmann, former U-boat Officer
Topic: “Another
Time, Another Place”
Werner grew
up in Germany and served in the Second World War as an engineer officer on U
Boats. On the 60th anniversary of the end of that war, Werner spoke to the
membership about those years. He recounted the many interesting episodes of his
naval career, including serving on the destroyer that escorted the Bismarck on
her last operation. On his last patrol to North America, his submarine U-190
sank HMCS. Esquimalt, the last Canadian warship to be lost during the
war. After his submarine surrendered to the Canadian navy in 1945, he spent a
period in Canada and Britain as a prisoner-of-war before being repatriated to
Germany. In the 1950's he emigrated to Canada. He is an honorary member of
the veterans' association HMCS Esquimalt of the warship his U-boat sank.
He remained close to many of the sailors from that ship and spent time in
Esquimalt at many of their ceremonies. Our membership was pleased to be able to
hear a first hand account from a German submariner who spent his time at sea,
and was able to provide a commentary on what it was like. Werner also wrote an
award winning book ANOTHER PLACE, ANOTHER TIME - A U Boat Officer's Wartime
Album. He has also been an active member of many Canadian Naval
Associations and Clubs.
Sandy Nelson, Operations Department, Bruce Power, and
Canada’s Representative on the United Nations “Mission Antarctica” Endeavour
Topic: “Mission
Antarctica”
Sandy Nelson provided an
interesting personal perspective of the situation respecting a massive
environmental clean-up effort in Antarctica based on her trip as part of a group
of essay-writing winners on the subject. She related the role of Robert
Swann, the British driving force behind the monumental effort, to the challenges
and accomplishments. Through the means of slides with embedded video
clips, Sandy entertained the audience with a wide range of insights into the
environment and wildlife (e.g. Minke whales, elephant seals, Weddel seals, and
penguins) of Antarctica. She described her experiences at the Ukrainian
Base of Vernadsky, and of her voyages on the sailing ship “2041” from Puerto
Williams Chile to that Antarctic base. Overall, Sandy captivated the
attendees with her fascinating descriptions augmented by her personally-gathered
photos and videos. The environmental aspects of this Antarctic area were
an effective eye-opener to many in the audience.
Summary by Bruce Morris
12 February 2004
Janet Matthews, writer, editor, teacher, and co-author /
creative producer of “Chicken
soup and the Canadian Soul”
Topic: “Chicken
Soup for the Canadian Soul”
15 January 2004
Brigadier-General (Retired) Don Macnamara, Senior Fellow, Queen’s University Centre for International Relations
Topic: “Understanding
Canada’s National Security Interests”
Don
Macnamara provided a comprehensive overview of the highlights of the
ever-changing Canadian National Security situation, within a Department of
National Defence perspective. He summarized the current status of the
state of major conflicts throughout the world. Don explained the role of
national security within the context of a definition as National security is
the matter of guarding national values and interests from both internal and
external dangers. He described the Canadian national values and
interests, covering the total spectrum of sectors that are the most significant
to Canadians. Outlining Canadian security concerns, within an
international context, he described the security interests for Canada. Don
described briefly a security policy framework for Canada, and followed that up
with a series of insightful questions relating to the future of Canadian
national security policy and its implementation. In all, Don stimulated
some provocative thinking in respect of Canada in an uncertain ever-changing
world, full of serious threats to our national well-being.
Dr Christine Overall, Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean,
Faculty of Arts and Science, Queen’s University, and Journalist
Topic: “Live Long
and Prosper? The Ethics of Human Longevity”
13 November 2003
Trina McQueen, Vice-Chair, Historica Foundation of Canada,
and former President and COO of CTV Inc.
Topic: "Giving Our
Past a Future -
Memories Matter"
09 October 2003
Captain (N) (Ret’d) Ted Davey,
RCN former Director of the Juno
Beach Centre Association
Topic: “Juno
Beach”
Please see the new brochure for
the 2008-2009 Program on its own
webpage.
Luncheon meetings for the Canadian Club of
Kingston are on Wednesdays 11:30 for 12 noon, in the Minos Village Restaurant at
2762 Princess Street. Reservations for the
luncheon are required and may be made by telephoning Minos at 613-384-2021. Luncheon price is $24 for
members and $29 for non-members.
. Membership forms
are available at each of the luncheon meetings.
Information regarding membership may be obtained by calling 613-530-2704, or emailing Marg Kubalak at
admin.cc@sympatico.ca.
John Smol is
a Distinguished University Professor in the Biology
Jan Wong has written six books. Her
latest, Out of the Blue: a Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery,
Redemption and, Yes, Happiness, was published in 2012 and recounts her
struggle with depression. She spoke to the Club in 2007 about her previous book,
Beijing Confidential.
Alec Douglas
was the speaker for the subject luncheon. He provided an informative and
entertaining set of extracts from the long and proud history of the Canadian
Navy. He answered several questions arising from his interesting
historical perspective on the Canadian Navy, which celebrated its 100th
anniversary in 2010.
Webmaster: Colonel (Retired) R. Bruce Morris, CD,