2021 Leitch Lecture examined pandemic’s effect on Canadian politics

CBC broadcaster Vassy Kapelos delivered astute observations on the political effect of the COVID-19 health crisis in Canada during the 2021 Merv Leitch, QC, Memorial Lecture.

Kapelos, the host of the national current affairs show Power & Politics, made a lively case for how the pandemic has changed political behaviours and what Canadians should be on the lookout for as the next flashpoints in federal-provincial relations.

She suggested that there are three key areas to watch: pandemic spending, climate policy and resource development, and health-care transfers.

Specifically, Kapelos drew attention to how difficult it might be for the federal government to step back from spending to the degree it has during the pandemic, in areas that are typically provincial responsibilities; how the upcoming Supreme Court of Canada decision on carbon tax will exacerbate the power struggle; and how the pandemic has made health-care transfers an issue that unites every premier in opposition to the federal government.

The lecture was delivered virtually to the Faculty of Law communities of the University of Alberta and of the University of Calgary on March 9, with a Q&A hosted by two winners of 2019 Leitch scholarships, Nahanni Fellenz from U of A and Jared Armstrong from the University of Calgary.

The Merv Leitch, QC, Memorial Lecture was established in honor of C. Mervin Leitch, BA, LLB, QC, who died in 1990, by the late Peter Lougheed and other friends and associates of Leitch. They created an endowment that funds the lecture to honor the significant contributions he made while serving his fellow Albertans.

Each fall, the endowment also bestows several awards on students from each of the faculties of law, and their names are acknowledged at the lecture. This year, the 2019 and 2020 recipients were acknowledged at the same time. They are:

2019 Merv Leitch Q.C. Prize: Nahanni Fellenz and Zachary Wilson

2019 Merv Leitch Q.C. Leadership Scholarship in Law: Emily Stolz and Viviana Heather

2020 Merv Leitch Q.C. Prize: Kelsey Fortier and Rielle Gagnon

2020 Merv Leitch Q.C. Leadership Scholarship in Law: Avram Heisler and Jessica Kim