Fall 2024 10th Anniversary Series: Then and Now, What’s Next???
This event is offered in-person and livestream
Tuesdays September 24 – October 29th, 1:30 – 3:30
Registration Opens August 20, 9:00 am
Launched in October 2014, TAB’s first series was titled ‘The Changing World Order — A Return to Geopolitics’. As our first speaker writes, “a decade later, geopolitics have run amok!” Globally and locally, we are challenged on every front, and divided in a way that we have not seen in our lifetimes.
Seven expert speakers – including Dr. Larry Black and Dr. Michael Johns who presented in TAB’s first series, Kathleen Wynne, Ontario’s 25th Premier, George Tackach, Dr. Mark Bourrie, and Bob and Jeff Lehman, will join us this fall to look at changes between then and now, and anticipate what comes next. All but one speaker will be with us in person, and the series will also be livestreamed and recorded. Recordings will be available for a month following the end of the series.
Please join us in person at Grace United Church, Grove Street Barrie, or on Zoom Tuesdays, September 24th – October 29th, 1:30 – 3:30. We know you will enjoy these thought-provoking speakers and helping Third Age Barrie kick off its second decade.
September 24: The New World Disorder: A Decade of Spiralling Down
Dr. Larry Black, Professor Emeritis, Author
Launched in October 2014, TAB’s first series was titled ‘The Changing World Order — A Return to Geopolitics’. Earlier that year, a political crisis in Ukraine drove its president out, Russia annexed Crimea and civil war had broken out in the north-eastern parts of the country. Brexit was looming, NATO and the EU were growing, China opened the ‘One Belt One Road’ mega project, and mass population movements were starting.
A decade later geopolitics have run amok. Ukraine is the site of a major war, the Middle East has blown up, long-standing global trade patterns have been disrupted, social media fills the airwaves with disinformation and drones dominate war fighting on the ground. Important arms control pacts of the 1980s have disappeared, populist governments are moving further to the right, the Global South has risen, climate change threatens the world food supply and once shrugged-off rumours of broader war are now treated as probabilities.
What next?
October 1: Cold War 2.0 – What it means for Canada
George Takach, Technology Lawyer & Author
In a recently published book, Cold War 2.0, technology lawyer and author George Takach analyzes the new cold war between the autocracies (principally China and Russia) and the democracies (led by the United States). In this presentation to Third Age Barrie, George will discuss some of the key themes of the book, including: what it means to be in a new cold war; how cold war 2.0 compares to the first cold war; why technology is playing such a central role in the new cold war; what the democracies need to do to win the new cold war; and what this all means for Canada and Canadians. George will present some intriguing ideas and observations, but he is also looking forward to taking questions from the audience.
October 8: Changing Landscape for Political Leadership
Kathleen Wynne, Ontario’s 25th Premier
Politics has always been a tough business. John F. Kennedy depicted politics as “a jungle – torn between doing the right thing and staying in office.” In her farewell to the Legislature in 2022, Kathleen Wynne said it was the job of politicians to ‘shine some light’, and the extent to which they divide, rather than shine that light, is the extent to which they fail. In the past decade, divisive politics have become the norm, and political life has seen a resurgence of misogyny, attacks, negativity and danger. “Tearing each other down, distorting reality for political gain serves no one. There may be short term political benefit, but no lasting good comes from generating more anger and hostility.” In this session, Ontario’s 25th premier discusses changes in the political landscape over the past decade, and what keeps her optimistic for the future.
October 15: New World Disorder: A Look Backward & Forward
Dr. Michael Johns, Dean, Faculty of Human and Social Science, Canadore College
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of TAB, Michael will examine the issues that have shaped the world over the past decade. Pandemics, Climate Change and Political Uncertainty have all been a part of our lives for the last 10 years. Moving forward we face challenges as diverse as anti-immigration, rising anti-democratic movements, misinformation and war. The talk will end with a discussion of how we can prepare for the next 10 years and how we can work to make the world a better place.
October 22: The State of Publishing in Canada
Dr. Mark Bourrie, Author, Lawyer, Journalist
Mark Bourrie believes that “a vibrant and fair press is more important than it has ever been, and similarly so is media analysis and critique. A free, fair press is one of the few protections that we have against arbitrary power.”
Mark will discuss changes in Canadian publishing – not for the better, over the past decade. From his unique perspective as lawyer, journalist, author and historian, he will look at changes in newspapers, books, and magazines and what those changes mean to Canada for the future.
October 29: Changes in Technologies, Social Change and Economic Forces
Robert Lehman, Urban Planner & Jeff Lehman, Chair, District Municipality of Muskoka
The last session of the series brings the issues talked about earlier closer to home and from the perspective of an urban planner and regional politician. The duo of Jeff and Bob will look both backward and forward while trying to stay upright. With reference to new technologies, social change, and economic forces, they will offer a sense of how life might be different in cities for our kids and grandkids – and what we might want to do about it now.
Speakers
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Larry Black, Sept 24J.L. (Larry) Black, born in Middle Sackville, NB, has degrees from Mount Allison, Boston University and McGill (Ph.D., 1968). He was a professor of history at Laurentian University (9 yrs) and Carleton University (30 yrs), where he also was the director of the Institute for Soviet & East European Studies for a decade, and founding director of the Centre for Research on Canadian-Russian Relations (CRCR). He is now Professor Emeritus. He was re-designated Distinguished Research Professor by Carleton in 2017.
Black also has served as a researcher for NATO, a briefer for CSIS recruits, and consultant with the Immigration & Refugee Board; he is the prolific author, co-author or editor of 56 books on Russia, the USSR and Russian-Canadian relations. The most recent is Eternal Putin? Confronting Navalny, the Pandemic, Sanctions, and the War in Ukraine (2023). Forthcoming soon is a book tentatively titled: Putin’s Version of ‘War and Peace’. The Battle for Russia’s Home Front, 2022-24.Larry has been one of TAB’s favorite speakers since its origins in 2014.
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George Takach, Oct 1
George S. Takach has an undergrad and law degree from the University of Toronto, and an MA from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa. He practiced technology law for 35+ years as a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms. He also taught at Osgoode Hall Law School for 22 years as an Adjunct Professor. He is the author of several books, including Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New Battle Between China, Russia and America. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary History at the University of Toronto. George will also have copies of his book for sale; and he will be delighted to sign them for people who attend the presentation.
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Kathleen Wynne, Oct 8
Kathleen Wynne was Ontario’s 25th Premier. She was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003 as the MPP for Don Valley West, and she became the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013. Kathleen has dedicated her professional life to building a better province for the people of Ontario. She and her government were guided by the values and principles that knit this province together: fairness, diversity, collaboration and creativity.
Kathleen has served as Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Education and Minister of Agriculture and Food. Kathleen served as a Public School Trustee in Toronto. She has led citizens’ groups in a number of grassroots community projects, and has played a major role as an organizer and facilitator. This experience has contributed to her results-based approach to life, government and community.
Kathleen has three adult children, Chris, Jessie and Maggie, and six grandchildren, Olivia, Claire, Hugh, Violet, Arthur and George. Before moving to Alliston, Ontario, Kathleen and her partner Jane lived in North Toronto for more than 30 years. -
Michael Johns, Oct 15
Dr. Michael Johns is the Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Science at Canadore College. He has previously held positions as Visiting Researcher at York University, Honourary Research Fellow at Cardiff University and was an Associate Professor of Political Science at Laurentian University. At Laurentian he held various positions including Vice-Dean of Arts, Chair of the Department of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Marketing and Management. His research and publications focused on issues of minority rights inside the European Union.
Michael has been a favorite speaker of the TAB audience since its origins, tackling complicated issues such as Brexit, US presidential elections and electoral reform. -
Mark Bourrie, Oct 22
Mark Bourrie is a Canadian journalist, lawyer and award-winning author. Mark Bourrie, PhD (History) was a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery from 1994-2018. He taught media history and journalism at Concordia University, taught history at Carleton University and Canadian Studies at The University of Ottawa. Mark is the author of 14 books including the RBC Taylor Prize-winning Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre Radisson. The Taylor Prize was Canada’s most important nonfiction award. His book, Kill the Messenger: Stephen Harper’s Assault on Your Right to Know, was a Globe and Mail Top 100 book of the year. Mark Bourrie’s academic writing has been published in journals and books in Canada and overseas.
Dr. Bourrie has won several major media awards, including a National Magazine Award, and has been nominated for several others. His journalism has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the National Post, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and most of the country’s major newspapers and several magazines including Toronto Life and Ottawa Magazine. He was also a lecturer and consultant on propaganda and censorship at the Canadian Forces Public Affairs School. As a lawyer, he is a member of the Ontario Bar.
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Robert Lehman, Oct 29
Bob Lehman has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies and worked initially for the City of Toronto Planning Department. He became a consultant in 1974, and established Lehman & Associates, a land-use planning firm, with his wife Joan in 1980 in the City of Barrie.
Bob has acted as project director for major research and policy studies related to the Province’s Growth Plan, the Commission on New Planning for Ontario and the Urban Density Study for the Office for the Greater Toronto Area. He has been retained by a number of public and private sector organizations to assist in a wide variety of communications-led processes including local government restructuring studies and Growth Management exercises.
Twice planner in residence at the University of Waterloo School of Planning, Bob is the author of the Zoning Trilogy, a bestseller of the American Planning Association Bookstore. Twice awarded with the Canadian Institute of Planners Honour Award for Planning Excellence, Bob served as the Chair of the College of Fellows from 2010 to 2014.
Bob is gradually retiring but continues to provide strategic advice to a small group of clients including the City of Calgary, the Ontario Legislative Assembly and the Archdiocese of Toronto. -
Jeff Lehman, Oct 29
Jeff Lehman is the Chair of Council of the District Municipality of Muskoka, having been elected in December 2022. He was previously the 46th Mayor of the City of Barrie. From 2014-2017, and again from 2021-2022, Lehman chaired Ontario’s Big City Mayors’ Caucus (LUMCO), representing Ontario’s 28 largest cities. He was re-elected in 2018 with 91% of the popular vote.
Chair Lehman was also a founding director of Alectra, the second largest community-owned utility in North America, serving more than a million customers in southern Ontario. Lehman holds a Chartered Director (C.Dir) designation and has served on the Boards of Directors of 9 separate organizations over his ten year career in public service, including on the Board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. His articles concerning the future of municipalities have appeared in the Globe and Mail and industry publications and he has been a frequent keynote speaker at conferences, focusing particularly on innovation in the public sector and the intersection of business, community, and government. He liaises frequently and directly with senior government both on behalf of his municipality and on behalf of the municipal sector.
In 2017, he was awarded the Gil Bennett Award by the Conference Board of Canada for excellence in corporate governance education through the Director’s College. He was also named the 2017 Community Leader Influencer of the Year by the Economic Developers Council of Ontario. In 2019, the prestigious US business magazine Fast Company named Lehman number 26 in its top 100 Most Creative People in Business for his innovative solutions in government.
He holds a B.A. from Queen’s University, and a Master’s Degree with first class honours from the UK’s London School of Economics, where he lectured for two years following graduation. As an economist, he worked with cities across the country to manage redevelopment and invest in their urban infrastructure during a ten year career as a consultant before entering public life. Chair Lehman is a passionate believer in transforming urban economies through public and private entrepreneurship, and he has shared this passion with TAB audiences over the decade.
