The Comox Valley Community Justice Centre and the Sid Williams Theatre Society are proud to co-present the sixth annual Campagnolo Lecture: A Duet On Justice on Thursday, April 27 at the Sid Williams Theatre.
The evening will feature a conversation on restorative justice with the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul.
“This year’s Campagnolo Lecture is a rare opportunity to see and hear Madame Clarkson and Mr. Saul engage with issues that are so dear to their hearts and which speak to what it will take for Canada to become the nation we all want to be,” says Bruce Curtis, chief administrator of the Community Justice Centre.
Madame Clarkson and Saul will engage in dialogue with each other and in conversation with the audience about the effective welcome and inclusion of new Canadians, respect for our rich diversity, and reconciliation between Canada’s First Nations and our settler society.
As Canada’s 26th Governor General and Canada’s leading public intellectual, Madame Clarkson and Saul have worked tirelessly to advance social progress in these vital concerns around forming the Canada of the 21st century.
Over the past six years the Campagnolo Lectures have brought a range of speakers to the Comox Valley that would not ordinarily be heard here.
Past lecturers have included Svend Robinson, Senior Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs to the Global Fund, one of the world’s most effective donor agencies in the fights against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Robinson spoke last year on the crisis in mental health and how restorative justice can be a powerful process in addressing the increasing conflicts between those with mental health issues and the justice system. The year before, chief justice Beverley McLachlin spoke to a local audience about the evolution of restorative justice in the Canadian justice system.
“The Campagnolo Lectures were established to honour the Community Justice Centre’s patron, the Honourable Iona Campagnolo, on her 80th birthday. They have become a highlight of the Comox Valley’s annual spring schedule of events, attracting up to 500 people each year. The Community Justice Centre, in partnership with the Sid Williams Theatre Society and North Island College, have created a truly amazing annual event,” Curtis said.
The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson came to Canada from Hong Kong as a refugee in 1942 and made the astonishing journey from a penniless child to accomplished broadcaster and distinguished public servant in a multi-faceted lifetime.
Madame Clarkson is the bestselling author of the 2014 CBC Massey Lectures, Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship, Room for All of Us: Surprising Stories of Loss and Transformation, Heart Matters: A Memoir, and a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune, the Canadian hero of the Chinese people. In 2005, she co-founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) to help new citizens in Canada integrate into Canadian life.
John Ralston Saul is an award-winning essayist and novelist. His 14 works have been translated into 28 languages in 37 countries. His most recent works, The Comeback (Le Grand Retour) and A Fair Country (Mon pays métis), are examinations of the remarkable resurgence to power of indigenous peoples in Canada and have greatly influenced the national conversation on these issues.
Tickets for A Duet On Justice are $30 for Sid Williams Theatre Society and Comox Valley Community Justice Centre members, $35 for general public, and $25 for students or groups of 10 or more.
Purchase in person at the Ticket Centre Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., by phone 250.338.2430, or online at sidwilliamstheatre.com.
