In this lecture, based on his 2017 book of the same title, Professor Russell will make the case that the distinctive character of Canada is best understood as the result of the interaction of Canada’s three foundational pillars, Aboriginal Canada, French Canada and English-speaking Canada. It is the survival of the two smaller pillars as “nations within” and English-speaking Canada’s relinquishing its desire to be a simple one-nation state, that has enabled Canada to become the world’s leading multinational, multicultural country.”

BIOGRAPHY
Peter H. Russell is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Toronto where he has taught since 1958. He was the Principal of Innis College and the founding Principal of Senior College, the University of Toronto's youngest college for its oldest scholars. His writings and public activities cover the fields of judicial, constitutional, Aboriginal and parliamentary politics. His most recent books are Two Cheers for Minority Government, Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis, Recognizing Native Title: Indigenous Resistance to English-Settler Colonialism and, in 2017, Canada's Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. He has served as the President of the Canadian Political Science Association and Chair of the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy. He is the recipient of honorary degrees from a number of universities, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

City Hall can seem daunting! While there is much to offer, navigating bureaucratic channels can oftenbe challenging. This lecture will aim to empower citizens of Toronto to get involved in local issues, and to understand the inner workings of City Hall. Councillor McMahon will draw on her experience as Chairof the Parks and Environment Committee to speak about some of the pressing issues related to parks, forestry and the environment in the City, and how civic action plays an important role in helping the City to achieve its goals.

BIOGRAPHY
Mary-Margaret McMahon is the Toronto City Councillor for Ward 32 Beaches-East York. First elected in 2010, Councillor McMahon has sat on various committees and boards, including Audit, Public Works and Infrastructure, Licensing and Standards, Executive Committee and is currently Chair of the Parks and Environment Committee. Councillor McMahon is also a voting member on 5 BIA's in her ward and has served on the Young People's Theatre Board and the Design Exchange Board. Councillor McMahon has championed many initiatives at City Hall, some of which include TransformTO, the City's climate change plan, the development of a Laneway Suites as-of-right planning policy, the introduction of Indigenous cultural competency training for City Staff, incorporating Indigenous place-making in parks, and the implementation of the 10 year Cycling Network Plan, particularly the Woodbine Bike Lanes.

In this illustrated lecture Julian Porter, author of 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe (So You Can Ignore the Others) and 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in North America (So You Can Ignore the Others), will focus on 17 paintings “that scream, ‘Magnificent!’”

Painting is magic, often beyond the capacity of words. Give a painting time to talk to you and you’ll be the wiser. Enjoy the journey of looking again. Copies of Mr. Porter’s books will be available for sale at the lecture.

BIOGRAPHY
Julian Porter, QC, was called to the Bar in 1964 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1976. He has practised litigation exclusively since his call and is a specialist in civil litigation and a leading expert in defamation law.

He has a passion for art that began when, as a student, he spent seven years as a tour guide in Europe. Since then he has conducted countless tours of famous galleries in Europe and North America.

His first book, 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe (So You Can Ignore the Others) was published in October, 2013. In February, 2015, he was the guest of honour at a luncheon given by the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada who invited him to talk about his book and some of the paintings in his book. His new book, 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in North America (So You Can Ignore the Others), is co-authored by Stephen Grant. These books describe with entertaining irreverence the best of the best art.

In this lecture, “Reclaiming the Don: An Environmental History of Toronto’s Don River Valley,” based on her 2014 book of the same title, Professor Bonnell will show how the Don Valley played a central role in Toronto’s development. The lecture will trace the valley’s evolution from the founding of York in the 1790s to the construction of the Don Valley Parkway during the 1960s and up to the present day. For the past two centuries, the Don has served as both a sink for wastes and a site for numerous improvement schemes. By chronicling how successive generations of Toronto residents have imagined the Don Valley as an opportunity, an eyesore and a refuge, this lecture provides a fascinating account of how a small river can shape the growth of a big city.

BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer Bonnell is an Assistant Professor of Canadian and environmental history in the Department of History at York University. She is the author of the award-winning Reclaiming the Don: An Environmental History of Toronto’s Don River Valley (University of Toronto Press, 2014) and co-editor of Historical GIS Research in Canada (University of Calgary Press, 2014). Bonnell’s articles and essays have appeared in The Canadian Historical Review, The Journal of Canadian Studies, and Museum & Society, among other publications.
She has contributed to a variety of public history projects, including documentary film and television projects for the Evergreen Brick Works and Metal Dog Films, and research and engagement work for LabSpace Studios and No9 Contemporary Art and the Environment. She is currently working on a new book, Foragers of a Modern Countryside: Honeybees, Agricultural Modernization and Environmental Change in the Great Lakes Region.

In this lecture, based on his 2017 book of the same title, Professor Russell will make the case that the distinctive character of Canada is best understood as the result of the interaction of Canada’s three foundational pillars, Aboriginal Canada, French Canada and English-speaking Canada. It is the survival of the two smaller pillars as “nations within” and English-speaking Canada’s relinquishing its desire to be a simple one-nation state, that has enabled Canada to become the world’s leading multinational, multicultural country.”

BIOGRAPHY
Peter H. Russell is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Toronto where he has taught since 1958. He was the Principal of Innis College and the founding Principal of Senior College, the University of Toronto's youngest college for its oldest scholars. His writings and public activities cover the fields of judicial, constitutional, Aboriginal and parliamentary politics. His most recent books are Two Cheers for Minority Government, Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis, Recognizing Native Title: Indigenous Resistance to English-Settler Colonialism and, in 2017, Canada's Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. He has served as the President of the Canadian Political Science Association and Chair of the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy. He is the recipient of honorary degrees from a number of universities, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.