Week of January 14 – 21, 2002
The referendum and beyond…. Given the run-up to the provincial referendum on aboriginal land claims, SFU is hosting six public seminars on aboriginal issues in BC. The first session is Friday, Jan. 18, 7-9 p.m. Moderator Gordon Gibson will introduce the topic — the history of aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations in BC — and speakers UBC political scientist Paul Tennant and constitutional lawyer Keith Lowes. www/.sfu.ca/referendum
Gordon Gibson, 604-737-7878 or Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, 604-291-5151
Sizing up local government…What do Canadian cities have in common and how can they better service their citizens? Those will be among questions considered when the mayors of five of the country’s largest cities meet for the C5 conference in Vancouver, January 17-18. The mayors will be joined by Jane Jacobs, an influential thinker on how cities work, to discuss financial needs, autonomy and other issues. They’ll look at ways to better enable the delivery of programs and services that municipalities should provide. A media briefing will be held at 3:30 p.m. at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus. SFU political science professor Patrick Smith, who specializes in municipal government, expects the meetings will also focus on relationships between local and senior government. He can also provide reaction to the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s upcoming meeting on sustainability and issues concerning GVRD governance — and, on the federal front, the cabinet shuffle.
Patrick Smith, 604-291-3088; 604-291-1544 (h)
Leading the Alliance…What are the chances for the four candidates vying for leadership of the beleaguered Alliance party? SFU political science professor David Laycock says Stockwell Day actually has a very good chance of winning his second run for the leadership, because many remaining party members are social conservatives, who voted for Day last time and are "far less worried about Day’s gaffes, policy knowledge and moral traditionalism." Laycock says the exodus of the grassroots has favoured Day’s chances more than any other leadership hopeful. He says others will need to recruit substantial numbers of new party members — not an easy task, especially in Ontario, where the focus is on replacing Mike Harris as leader of the conservatives. Laycock is author of the newly released book, The New Right and Democracy in Canada: Understanding Reform and the Canadian Alliance (2001).
David Laycock, 604-291-3089
Sexy seniors…Dr. Pegan Ren, a sex therapist in private practice and SFU women's studies sessional instructor, is leading what is billed as a "lively and interactive forum examining the pitfalls and pleasures of sex in our later years." The six-week course, part of SFU Seniors Program, covers almost everything you'd want to know, from myths about sexuality, sexual communication, sexual development over the life span, medical, emotional and mental concerns and residential restrictions, loss of spouse and bereavement, to dating as seniors. The topic is a first for the SFU program, which welcomes participants from age 55 up. Says Ren, participants generally find "the more they learn, the more they want to learn."
Pega Ren 604-269-2692 or Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, 604-291-5151
[ Search
| Issues Index | Press
Releases | Media & PR | SF
News | SFU ]
© Simon Fraser University, Media and Public Relations