About Salt Spring Forum

With a provincial referendum on proportional representation happening this fall, how much do we really know about democracy? This Friday, September 21st at 7:30 PM at the Gulf Islands Secondary School, the Salt Spring Forum is excited to host Professor Max Cameron – a world-leading expert on democratic theory and electoral design – to help us […]

The European Union (EU) was created to ensure peace and stability in Europe. Today, Europe faces some truly deep challenges—of migration, populism, Brexit, and Trump. Will the EU dissolve, and what would this mean for the rest of the world? Is Europe turning its back on migrants? Are far-right parties gaining power across Europe? How […]

The brain is one of our most important organs, yet we know very little about how it develops and functions. In fact, scientists once believed that after childhood the brain was fixed. It turns out that nothing could be further from the truth! Did you know that every time you learn a new fact or […]

No-one was prepared for the closest election outcome in British Columbia history, on May 9, 2017. The BC Liberals had emerged with just two seats more than the BC NDP, leaving the decision—as to who would form the government—to three Green Party MLAs. What led to Christy Clark’s downfall, to the NDP forming government and […]

Comedy brings people together and, through laughter, helps us more easily explore difficult topics. Comedy can empower and it can be a tool for social justice. For the final event of the school year, the Salt Spring Forum is excited to partner with the GISS Student Council to present a speaker who will do all […]

Is Canada’s public health-care system under threat? What are the social and economic impacts of mental illness? Why is tackling poverty not a health-care priority? Why do so many Canadians lack a family doctor? Health issues have long occupied top headlines in Canadian media, and no journalist has written on public health with more authority […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is more and more in the news. Are our cell phones actually becoming ‘smarter’ and will our cars soon be driving themselves? From healthcare to warfare, will robots become our future companions and our future soldiers? How much of the media hype about AI should we believe? Who benefits from the ‘the […]

Clean technology is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world—and an essential response to climate change. In British Columbia, several First Nations are leaders in the renewable energy sector. By the end of 2016, 30 First Nations had operational solar, run-of-river, geothermal, wind, and biomass projects powering their communities and BC. There are […]

Why are there so few women in politics? Why is public space, whether in the street or on social media, still so hostile to women? Is the #MeToo movement signalling a real shift in society’s treatment of women? From Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign to the quest for equal pay, and from the transgender movement to […]

Salt Spring Islanders know the importance of healthy oceans. Indeed, many Salt Spring residents are protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, which if completed will add hundreds of oil tankers to the Salish Sea each year. The threat of oil spills is but one of many challenges facing our oceans. Overfishing, climate change, and plastics […]

The legalization of cannabis in Canada is approaching quickly—as early as this July. Here in BC, the provincial government just announced that adults will be able to buy marijuana from private retailers and in government-run stores. However, the province will only license retailers with support from local governments. What will legal pot mean for you, […]

With missile tests and nuclear threats, how dangerous is North Korea and, for that matter, Donald Trump? Are sanctions against North Korea having any effect? What might China and Russia do if the crisis worsens? Last week, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock two minutes from midnight as the threat of nuclear warfare has […]

Governments hold an increasing amount of your electronic information. So too do private companies. Who exactly has access to your information, and what are they allowed to do with it? What is the state of Canadian law regarding online surveillance and data-sharing? Are our privacy laws out of date? What can we do to protect […]

There are currently more than 1.8 billion people worldwide between the ages of 10 and 24. This is the largest young generation in history. This is also the generation most affected by climate change. The Salt Spring Forum is partnering with members of the Student Council at the Gulf Islands Secondary School to present more […]

Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General, called certain global issues “problems without passports”—challenges that cannot be solved by one country acting alone. According to Annan’s former adviser Michael Doyle, climate change is a clear example of a problem that cannot be solved unless China, the United States, and India all take strong and decisive […]

Did you know that half of us believe in at least one conspiracy theory? Did you know that thirteen percent of Americans believe that climate change is a hoax? Although scientists long ago settled on the conclusion that human activities are causing climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases, a small but vocal number of […]

When you think of philosophy, do you wonder whether philosophy can actually help us today, during a time of ecological crises and populist politics? Mark Kingwell – The Salt Spring Forum’s next speaker – reveals a contemporary, accessible, and highly relevant side of philosophy. On Sunday, October 29th at 7:30 PM at ArtSpring, Kingwell– who […]

Long before the days of the Food Network, Graham Kerr leapt into the 1970s with his exuberant cooking show The Galloping Gourmet. He has spent nearly seven decades working with food and is now an expert in nutrition, healthy eating and the locavore movement. Graham Kerr joins the Salt Spring Forum on Sunday, October 22nd at 7:30 […]

A war on science is underway in the United States, where President Donald Trump has fired government scientists, rolled back environmental protections, and withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement. Nancy Baron, aka “The Scientist Whisperer”, is one of the most skilled champions of science in the US. She joins the Salt Spring Forum in conversation […]

The Salt Spring Forum can help! The Forum hosts environmental lawyer Karen Campbell – the first guest of its exciting Fall Speaker Series – on Wednesday, September 6th at 7:30 PM at ArtSpring. Campbell is a lawyer for Ecojustice, Canada’s largest environmental law charity. At the Forum event, Campbell will discuss the legal strategies being […]

The majority of Canadians currently live in cities rather than in rural areas. Major centres continue to grow quickly, leading society forward and also encountering many challenges. Vancouver, for example, is on track to be 100 percent reliant on renewable energy by 2050 and is one of the “greenest” cities in the world. At the […]

People who oppose pipelines in British Columbia are often portrayed as job-killing and anti-economy. However, with orca and fish populations strained and ocean waters warming, many are determined to protect the coast and its waters for future generations. Can we really have a vibrant economy as well as a healthy environment? How do we find […]

The world’s oceans are rapidly warming and acidifying due to climate change. Global overfishing and massive underreporting of catches are putting world fish populations in peril. How close are the planet’s fisheries to collapse? What can be done to alter this dangerous trajectory? Dr. Daniel Pauly is a world-renowned fisheries scientist—in fact, Canada’s most cited […]

What does Noam Chomsky, one of the greatest thinkers of our time, think about President Trump and the current state of US politics? The recent US bombings in Syria and Afghanistan? Nuclear war? North Korea? ISIS? Russia? Climate change? Humanity’s prospects for survival? Corporate greed? Inequality? Democracy? The media? #FAKENEWS? The Salt Spring Forum hosts […]

From Donald Trump’s attempted entry-ban on individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries, to continued violence in the Middle East, Russian authoritarianism and expansionism, and deepening economic inequality in the West – clearly, there are many causes for serious concern. Millions of people are on the move. Entire populations are leaving their home countries to find a […]

All-gender and gender-neutral signs are appearing on local single-stall bathrooms, including at Salt Spring Coffee, Barb’s Buns, and in some of our public schools. This important change represents increased acceptance, inclusion, and safety for those who do not necessarily fall within the gender binary. However, recently in the United States, the Trump administration reversed protections from […]