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• SPRING 2023 SPEAKER EVENT SERIES (via Zoom)

  • Start
    April 03, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM
  • End
    May 15, 2023
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual meetings

  Register

  
  

  Spring 2023 Speaker Event Series 
  
  

  All Spring 2023 speaker events will be conducted virtually using Zoom software

  
  

  April 3	David Miller	While Nations Talk, Cities Act
  April 17	Dr. Sylvia Solomon	The Trial of Leo Frank: Precursor to Peril?
  April 24	Ambassador Bob Rae	Policymaking in Times of Crisis
  May 1	Rev. Michael Stainton	150 Years of Canada Taiwan Relations and no Embassy Yet - Does it Matter?
  May 8	Medécins Sans Frontières Speaker	A Day in the Life of MSF on the Front Lines
  May 15	Dr. Cynthia Wesley- Esquimaux	Living the Medicine Wheel Teachings

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

    

  
   
  

  
  

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• While Nations Talk, Cities Act

  • When
    April 03, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

      David Miller 

  David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. 

  Mr. Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and served as Chair of C40 Cities from 2008 until 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies.  

  Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and served as Future of Cities Global Fellow at Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 2011 to 2014. He has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo in Environmental Studies, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from York University and is currently Executive in Residence at the University of Victoria. He is the author of "Solved, how the great cities of the world are fixing the climate crisis" (University of Toronto Press).

  David Miller is a Harvard trained economist and professionally is a lawyer. 

  
  

  While Nations Talk, Cities Act

  David Miller will speak from his experience with C40 Cities, as Mayor of Toronto, and from his book "Solved, how the great cities of the world are fixing the climate crisis" about how our hopes to address global heating can best be met by embracing the leading climate mitigation actions happening in cities today -  and ensuring they happen everywhere, now.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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• The Trial of Leo Frank: Precursor to Peril?

  • When
    April 17, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

        Dr. Sylvia Solomon

  Sylvia Solomon  (M.Ed, Ed.D) is an experienced educator who retired after more than 20 years of teaching and 14 years at the Ontario Ministry of Education. At the Ministry, among other initiatives, she was responsible for policy and resources for English Language Learners, the development of Standards for Gifted Programs and the revision of the entire Ontario High School Curriculum from five years to four. She has taught at all levels of public education including special needs/gifted and she was a Professor of Education at several universities including the University of Toronto, Queens and Ryerson.

  After retiring she began presenting the Great Trials That Changed the Course of History course at U of T and Ryerson as well as at the Instituto d’Allende in Mexico and the 92^nd St. Y in New York city.

  The Trial of Leo Frank: Precursor to Peril?

  Some say that perhaps no 20th century trial had more far-reaching effects on American society than the heinous trial of Leo Frank. Now largely forgotten, in its day it was on everyone’s lips. The degree of anti-Semitism involved in Frank's conviction and subsequent lynching is difficult to assess, but it was enough of a factor to have inspired Jews, and others, throughout the U.S. to protest the conviction of an innocent man.

  The success of the Broadway musical Parade has rekindled interest in the Leo Frank case, and the case still spurs debate and controversy. What are the facts of the Frank case? Come and find out! 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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• Policymaking in Times of Crisis

  • When
    April 24, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

        Ambassador Bob Rae 

  Before his appointment by the Government of Canada as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York, Bob Rae served as Canada’s special envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues, continuing the important work that he began in 2017 as Canada’s special envoy to Myanmar while also addressing other pressing humanitarian and refugee issues around the world.  

  The former premier of Ontario and former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Rae was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013. He stepped down as a member of Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice and, in particular, to work with Indigenous communities and continue his work in education, governance and human rights. His passion for social justice dates back to his early days in student politics and community service. 

  Before his appointment as permanent representative, Mr. Rae was senior counsel at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP. In addition to his legal practice, he taught at the University of Toronto in the School of Public Policy and Governance, in the Faculty of Law and at Massey College and Victoria University, and he was a fellow of the Forum of Federations, Massey College and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He has also worked as a mediator and arbitrator with ADR Chambers. A former partner at Goodmans LLP, Mr. Rae led the restructuring of the Canadian Red Cross and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and chaired the board of the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is the author of 5 books and a number of government reports.

  Mr. Rae is a privy councillor, a companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world. He received his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History from the University of Toronto and a Master of Philosophy degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

  
  

  Policymaking in Times of Crisis

  We are in a time of great upheaval. The current global turmoil is marked by inequality, climate change, pandemics, food insecurity, and war, among other things. These challenges we face also present us with opportunities. Canada, by virtue of its history, geography, demographics, social composition, and economy, is directly involved in the world. How should we engage in this tumultuous world to promote peace and justice, end conflict, and create sustainable economies and societies?

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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• 150 Years of Canada Taiwan Relations and no Embassy Yet - Does it Matter?

  • When
    May 01, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

      Reverend Michael Stainton 

  Rev. Michael Stainton is the founder of the Canadian Mackay Committee, President of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada, and a retired  associate  at the York (University) Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) .

  In the 1980’s he was a missionary with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan working with indigenous university students , then in  rural community development and adult education. In the 1990’s he did graduate study in anthropology at York, focused on Taiwan’s democratization and indigenous rights movements. He has led two Canadian election observer groups to Taiwan.  In 1996 he organized the first visit of Taiwan Indigenous leaders to Canadian First Nations, to study self-government.

  In 2000 he founded the Canadian Mackay Committee, to promote the memory of Canada’s first overseas missionary and outspoken opponent of the Head Tax, George Leslie Mackay (1844-1901) who is forgotten in Canada but a national hero in Taiwan. In 2022 he has been busy organizing activities and speaking for the 150^th anniversary of Mackay’s arrival in Tamsui.

  
  

  150 Years of Canada Taiwan Relations and no Embassy Yet - Does it Matter? 

  Reverend Stainton will discuss the fascinating history behind Canada’s relations with Taiwan and from there to all of Asia.   
  

  • It started when Canadian Presbyterian missionary George Leslie Mackay began a mission in Tamsui, at the northern tip of Formosa, on March 9, 1872. After his death in 1901 the Presbyterian link continued, but now Taiwan was part of Japan, not China. In 1928 Canada’s first diplomatic relation in Asia was established with Japan.  
  • In 1943 Canada established relations with China and in 1945 Taiwan became part of the Republic of China. The 1947 “228”massacres on Taiwanese by KMT were witnessed by Canadian missionaries. Canada did not open an embassy in Taipei but  voiced support for the right of the Taiwanese people to self-determination.
  • Canada switched its recognition to the Peoples Republic of China in 1970 but the Trudeau government insisted “we are not going to sell out Taiwan”.  Training in a Christian strategy of non-violent social transformation was provided by Taiwanese Canadians, led by Ryerson teacher Albert Lin. They were a major factor in Taiwan’s peaceful democratic transition.  
  • Since 1989 the Taiwan’s representative in Ottawa is de-facto treated as an ambassador, and Parliament has passed resolutions in support of Taiwan’s international status.
  • Back from the grave 2001-2022 Mackay is officially a national hero in Taiwan, but bigotry against “missionaries” in Canada keeps him unknown. In 2020, in gratitude for Mackay, Taiwan gave over 2.4 million PPE as gifts to Canada when we had no masks. We still have no “embassy” but Taiwan is now a major partner for Canada in Asia.     

  
  

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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• A Day in the Life of MSF on the Front Lines

  • When
    May 08, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

     

  Medécins Sans Frontières Speaker 

   

  
  

  
  

  A Day in the Life of MSF on the Front Lines

  TBD

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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• Living the Medicine Wheel Teachings

  • When
    May 15, 2023
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom virtual lecture

  
  

  
  

       Cynthia Wesley- Esquimaux

  Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed the 1^st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada.

  Cynthia was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014 and is Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

  She is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding. She sees endless merit in bringing people from diverse cultures, ages, and backgrounds together to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives.

  
  

  Living the Medicine Wheel Teachings

  The medicine wheel teaches us there are four quadrants that require our dedicated attention - the "Physical quadrant" which encompasses everything we are from conception to elderhood.  The "Mental or learning quadrant" where we gather knowledge, courage, and confidence about our world. The "Emotional quadrant" where we embrace the concept of "all my relations" as a foundation for our lives and build capacity to love unconditionally. The "Spiritual quadrant" where we are reminded of the need "to be good ancestors" and guide next generations with a good heart as we walk the 7 values (grandfather/grandmother teachings) into the future.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring 2023 Speaker series. 
  

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