UNews - Liberal Party of Canada

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ saddened by passing of Jim Coutts

trevor.kenney — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:42:27 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge community offers its deepest condolences to the friends and family of Dr. James Allan Coutts (LLD 2012) who passed away peacefully in Toronto on December 31, 2013.

"Jim Coutts was an incredibly generous person and an outstanding Canadian who made great contributions in public life to our country and was incredibly generous and supportive of our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. We will miss him greatly," says Dr. Mike Mahon, President and Vice-Chancellor.

Jim Coutts was an icon in Canadian political circles.

"Jim entrusted the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with a significant part of his life's work and passion through gifting his art collection and family homestead in Nanton to the stewardship and care of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. We were humbled to receive that gift at the time and remain grateful to Jim for leaving such a legacy to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with the expressed desire to see it benefit Canadians. Jim was very interested in the continued success of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and dedicated significant amounts of his time in recent years connecting the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to others and sharing the story of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge flag has been lowered to half mast in Jim's honour.

Coutts, James Allan, C.M. - Passed away peacefully on December 31, 2013 after a long illness bravely fought. Survived by his sister Jean (Wayne) Moore, his nephews Greg (Cathrine) and Michael (Yehudit), his nieces Pat (Owen) and Laurie, his great nieces and nephews Heather, Jessica, Darren, Liam and Emily.

Jim had a tremendous gift in friendship and will be sorely missed by his many close friends across Canada, in the United States and throughout Europe, and by his devoted assistants Anne Drakes and Sukhlal Patel.

Coutts was most at peace while walking the gardens of his homestead property in Nanton.

Born in High River, Alberta, on May 16, 1938, to Ewart and Alberta (Allan) Coutts, Jim grew up in his beloved Nanton. He received a BA and LLB from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Though he practised as a lawyer and business consultant, his great love since the age of 14 was politics in general and the Liberal Party of Canada in particular. From 1963 to 1966 he was Appointment Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson. From 1975 to 1981 he served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

From 1970 to 1975, Jim was a Founding Partner, Canada Consulting Group, where he helped Maurice Strong organize the Stockholm Environment Conference and establish the UN’s Environment headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1982 he became a principal of Lowther Consultants Limited and subsequently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CIC Canadian Investment Capital Limited.

Jim’s business success seemed merely a means by which he could undertake his highly activist philanthropy as a generous donor, a relentless fundraiser and a dedicated mentor to countless young people and more than 17 god children. Jim served with exceptional distinction as a founder and chairman of the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific Foundation Board; a co-founder with The Writers’ Trust of Canada of the W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize for Writers and Mentors; a director of The Hospital for Sick Children Board and Foundation for 17 years; a National Chair of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, where he took the lead in organizing two campaigns that raised over $700 million for conservation in Canada; and a member of the board of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

In recognition of his service to others and to his country, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2001. In 2012 he donated his family homestead, which he so passionately restored to renowned gardens with native grasses, to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. In addition, Jim donated more than 300 works of art to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Later he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Jim was a man of many interests. He was a voracious reader and art collector, an avid bird-watcher and gardener, a keen traveler and essayist, a family historian and social analyst. Though he failed in his attempts to become a Member of Parliament, his wise counsel was constantly sought by prime ministers, federal and provincial MPs and party officials to his very last days. He was an unfailing advocate for social justice, education and youth employment. Jim was a true and giving friend to many, from all walks of life, who will miss his stories, his wit, his knowledge, his guidance and his loyalty.

Celebrations of Jim’s life – both in Toronto and in Nanton, Alberta, will be announced at a later date.

Federal budget offers opportunities to U of L

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:34:46 +0000

Rarely does a federal budget garner the public's attention like the one recently delivered by Stephen Harper's Conservative government.

Particular attention was paid to this budget not only because of the current slowdown in the Canadian economy, but because the government's fate rested on whether it would be able to convince the Liberal Party of Canada to support its passage.

It was also an important budget for the post-secondary sector with a number of
announcements that affect universities and colleges. First, $2 billion was promised to improve infrastructure at Canada's post-secondary institutions. It was stated 70 per cent of that amount is to be spent at universities, with preference given to those that can improve the quality of research and development at their institution.

Other budget announcements that may provide opportunities for the U of L include:

• $150 million through the Canada Foundation for Innovation to increase the funding available for meritorious projects in the 2009 Leading Edge and New Initiatives Funds Competition.

• An additional $200 million over three years to support aboriginal skills development and training. This funding will enhance the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative and create a new fund.

• A two-year fund of $60 million to support infrastructure- related costs for local and community cultural and heritage institutions such as local theatres, small museums and libraries.

• $305 million over the next two years to ensure that further steps are taken toward these goals: to strengthen current programs (Non-Insured Health Benefits and primary care services), improve health outcomes for First Nations and Inuit individuals, and move toward greater integration with provincial and territorial health systems.

• $500 million over two years to support construction of new community recreational facilities and upgrades to existing facilities across Canada. Eligible facilities include recreational facilities owned by municipalities, First Nations, counties, community organizations and other not-for-profit entities.

• $250 million over two years under a Treasury Board-managed process to undertake an accelerated investment program to address deferred maintenance at federal laboratories.

• While these investments in post-secondary and research sectors are welcomed; there was one statement in the budget that has created some concern amongst a number of institutions.

The budget states, "the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada are streamlining operations and aligning programs with the objectives of the Government's Science and Technology Strategy and national research priorities."

The speech went on to say that the savings were being used to support other areas of importance in the post-secondary sector. Considering the U of L has traditionally been very successful in the tri-council competitions, especially for a smaller university, cutting funding in this area raises some concerns.

U of L senior administration will soon be in Ottawa to meet with various Ministers and senior departmental staff. The goal of these meetings are two-fold.

Firstly, they intend to educate members of the federal government about the contribution this institution is making on behalf of Canadians through research and teaching initiatives.

Secondly, they will follow-up on the various opportunities presented to us above.

While it will be interesting to see how the federal government decides to spend its infrastructure money and whether there is equity among the different regions of the country, the U of L will make its case as to why investing in our university is wise.

UNews - Liberal Party of Canada

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ saddened by passing of Jim Coutts

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ saddened by passing of Jim Coutts