Alberta at the Crossroads

The UCP's Penal Populism and Violence Against Women

In this presentation, I explore the United Conservative Party’s mobilization of penal populism in response to violence against women. Alberta has among highest rates of sexual violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, social problems that dramatically escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the New Democratic Party government had developed policy strategies to confront violence against women, as I demonstrate here, the UCP has instead embraced form of penal populism that redefined this gendered problem through a rigidly individualized lens that privileged carceral responses. The presentation will focus on the UCP government’s embrace of de-gendered police frameworks that make the problem of violence against women disappear, the use of “panels” as symbolic gestures (such as the Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), resistance to the federal National Action Plan, and the enactment of criminalization approaches, (such as Clare’s Law).   

Lise Gotell is the Landrex Distinguished Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Alberta. Much of her recent work concerns the legal regulation of sexual violence in a context of neoliberalism. Read more »

Community: A remedy for an increasingly polarized society

This presentation will offer an interactive perspective on the Women Centre of Calgary's unique approach to community building and how that approach serves as a remedy for growing misogyny and polarization in our society.  In particular, we will explore the protective properties of our community capacity building peer model through case study.

Michelle James (she/her) is the Public Policy Specialist with the Women’s Centre of Calgary.  She holds an MPH with specialization in social policy and is a health and social equity enthusiast. Michelle has worked in the social services sector, in both BC and Alberta, for over ten years.

Bo Masterson (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Women’s Centre of Calgary.  She holds a MSc in International Development and has over 15 years of international and community development experience. Read more »

Policing, Use of Force and Lessons Not Learned

This presentation explores police use of force in Canada. It draws on findings from a SSHRC-funded collaborative research on deployment of conducted energy weapons and the Officer-Involved Shooting Database to underscore the micro-mechanics of police use of force in Canada. Policing of the freedom convoy is articulated as part of the ideational underbelly of law enforcement. The final part of the presentation focuses on recommendations for police reform.

Temitope Oriola is professor of criminology at the University of Alberta and the 2022 recipient of the CAFA Distinguished Academic Award. Oriola’s scholarship and public engagement on police reform have led him to being one of the most sought-after public intellectuals on policing in Canada. Read more »

Countering the Convoy: Then and Now

Alex Silas, Regional Executive Vice-President for the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s National Capital Region will share lessons learned from organizing on-the-ground against the Ottawa convoy occupation last winter, including the mass response on February 12, the Battle of Billings Bridge and organizing in the context of a far-right occupation

Alex Silas was appointed the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region (NCR) in May, 2020 and was elected REVP in May 2021. He previously served as the Alternate REVP for the NCR, having been elected to that position in December 2018. Read more »