In Lethbridge, the decades after the Second World War became a time of great growth in our city. Our college was born, along with plans for Alberta's new university.
New neighbourhoods were developed, modern highways were built, and Lethbridge became an important centre for services, retail and industry. And with many families arriving from post-war Europe, our population kept on growing.
But sadly, not all of those families were welcomed with open arms. Mayor Rajko Dodic, speaking at the city's "Discover Diversity" conference last week, remembered the dark side of those times.
Immigrant families' children, like him, faced name-calling and more physical discrimination. "Their kind" weren't really wanted here, after all.
It wasn't until years later, the mayor added, that city council decided it might be possible to allow a woman to serve on some of the city's board or committees. Just one, mind you - nobody wants to get carried away with this "equality" nonsense!
And about the same time, someone in Ottawa thought it was time to allow First Nations people to vote in federal elections. They had lived here a lot longer than the rest of us, after all!
We may look back now, and feel our community and our nation have come a long way since then. While we've never elected a woman as mayor of Lethbridge, we might point to the fact Alberta's premier and three of her counterparts in other provinces or territories are women.
Yes, we have made progress. But as Mayor Dodic and many others at the conference observed, there's still a lot more work to be done.
In our community and across the nation, many Canadians are still facing barriers of all kinds - because of their race or nationality, their gender or sexual identity, their first language or religion, their physical limitations . . . even their age.
Those are just a few of the more obvious bases on which some of our landlords, employers, businesses and individuals are still judging and marginalizing others today. Others, fortunately, are not - and that's why today more of the people teaching our children or servicing our vehicles or replacing our hips, reflect the diversity in our own neighbourhoods.
But as events like "Discover Diversity" remind us, we still have a long way to go. School children are still bullied because they're immigrants, or they're gay, or they're living with a learning disability.
Well-qualified people arriving here from overseas are still forced to take on many of the lowest-paid jobs, because we're not prepared (or willing) to accept their training and credentials. And sadly, when First Nations men and women earn their diplomas and degrees, they still seem to be the last hired.
And tragically, Canadians have just been reminded how much danger some immigrant women face in our communities - despite the educational and social services and law enforcement systems we have in place. Whether it's a pre-birth bias against female infants, or something as despicable as "honour killings" of mothers and daughters, it's stark evidence that even in our largest cities there are huge gaps in the ways we should be assisting distressed women and their children - newcomers and all others.
Clearly, events like this conference become a real wake-up call for people in Lethbridge or wherever they're held. In a nation where so much of our "news" comes from the south, in a time when violence and destruction reports bombard us from around the world - it's vital we see and start to address concerns right at home. Issues that we, personally, can help resolve.
The city's social development staff, the University of Lethbridge and all those involved here with the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination deserve commendation for pulling this event together, and for attracting a capacity audience. It's heartening to realize almost all the insight and expertise came from right here in Lethbridge.
We have the people, we have the tools, and thanks to events like this, it appears we have the determination to face the injustices within our own community. Now, Lethbridge residents can hope conference participants will be able to back their words with action.