Project Apollo: The Genstar Report and the City of Calgary, 1973–1975

This article focuses on a secret study commissioned by the City of Calgary chief commissioner in 1973 to ascertain the extent and threat of monopoly control by a leading land developer in the city. Kept from City Council for months after its completion, the report, code named Apollo, found that the Genstar group of companies was in a strong monopoly position. When released, the report led to a public debate, political infighting at City Hall, threats of legal action by Genstar, and a federal investigation. Though its findings on monopoly implications were never substantiated, the report did indicate the growing concentration of corporate power in the land development and construction industries in Calgary, and likely in other Canadian cities as well.Cet article se concentre sur une étude secrète commandée par le commissaire en chef de la Ville de Calgary en 1973, qui avait pour but d’évaluer le risque d’un monopole par un de plus importants promoteurs immobiliers de la ville. Le rapport, nommé Apollo, fut tenu secret auprès du Conseil municipal et détermina que le groupe d’entreprises Genstar était un monopole majeur. Quand le rapport fut finalement rendu disponible, il s’en suivit une période de débats publics, de désagréments au Conseil municipal, de menaces d’actions judiciaires par Genstar, et à une enquête judiciaire fédéral. Malgré que les allégations d’un monopole ne fussent jamais justifiées, le rapport démontra tout de même la concentration accrue du pouvoir des entreprises dans le domaine du marché foncier et immobilier dans la région de Calgary et possiblement dans les autres villes canadiennes

Radiotherapy plus cisplatin or cetuximab in low-risk human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal cancer (De-ESCALaTE HPV):an open-label randomised controlled phase 3 trial

Background The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer, a disease affecting younger patients, is rapidly increasing. Cetuximab, an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, has been proposed for treatment de-escalation in this setting to reduce the toxicity of standard cisplatin treatment, but no randomised evidence exists for the efficacy of this strategy. Methods We did an open-label randomised controlled phase 3 trial at 32 head and neck treatment centres in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK, in patients aged 18 years or older with HPV-positive low-risk oropharyngeal cancer (non-smokers or lifetime smokers with a smoking history of <10 pack-years). Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1: 1) to receive, in addition to radiotherapy (70 Gy in 35 fractions), either intravenous cisplatin (100 mg/m(2) on days 1, 22, and 43 of radiotherapy) or intravenous cetuximab (400 mg/m(2) loading dose followed by seven weekly infusions of 250 mg/m(2)). The primary outcome was overall severe (grade 3-5) toxicity events at 24 months from the end of treatment. The primary outcome was assessed by intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN33522080. Findings Between Nov 12, 2012, and Oct 1, 2016, 334 patients were recruited (166 in the cisplatin group and 168 in the cetuximab group). Overall (acute and late) severe (grade 3-5) toxicity did not differ significantly between treatment groups at 24 months (mean number of events per patient 4.8 [95% CI 4.2-5.4] with cisplatin vs 4.8 [4.2-5.4] with cetuximab; p=0.98). At 24 months, overall all-grade toxicity did not differ significantly either (mean number of events per patient 29.2 [95% CI 27.3-31.0] with cisplatin vs 30.1 [28.3-31.9] with cetuximab; p=0.49). However, there was a significant difference between cisplatin and cetuximab in 2-year overall survival (97.5% vs 89.4%, hazard ratio 5.0 [95% CI 1.7-14.7]; p=0.001) and 2-year recurrence (6.0% vs 16.1%, 3.4 [1.6-7.2]; p=0.0007). Interpretation Compared with the standard cisplatin regimen, cetuximab showed no benefit in terms of reduced toxicity, but instead showed significant detriment in terms of tumour control. Cisplatin and radiotherapy should be used as the standard of care for HPV-positive low-risk patients who are able to tolerate cisplatin. Funding Cancer Research UK. Copyright (c) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license

Blurred Vision: The Calgary Union Stockyard Issue, 1913–1914

Calgary's historic association with the ranching industry and the increased volume of livestock from mixed farms led municipal leaders to explore the possibility of establishing a union stockyard in the city in 1913–1914. The measures taken to realize this ambition proved futile for several reasons. City leaders could not match their vision with coherence or direction. The result was inadequate consultation with stakeholders, internecine rivalries, and an almost comical sequence of policy changes in which the city's role in the proposed stockyards stance went from coordinator to partner to sole owner. City Council's well-meaning but ill-informed campaign reflected the random approach to civic policy-making that characterized municipal governments of the period.L’association historique de Calgary avec l’industrie d’élevage, de même que l’augmentation du bétail provenant de fermes mixtes ont amené les administrateurs municipaux à explorer la possibilité d’établir une union de parcs à bétail (union stockyards) dans la ville en 1913-1914. Les mesures prises pour réaliser ce projet ambitieux se sont montrées vaines pour plusieurs raisons. Les élus municipaux ne pouvaient faire coïncider cohérence ou direction avec leur vision. Il en est résulté une consultation inadéquate avec les parties intéressées, des rivalités internes et une succession presque comique de changements politiques au cours desquels le rôle de la ville, vis-à-vis de la proposition de parcs à bétail, est passé de coordinateur à partenaire, puis à propriétaire unique. La campagne bien intentionnée mais mal informée du conseil municipal reflète son approche aléatoire en matière d’élaboration des politiques communautaires qui caractérisait les administrations municipales de l’époque

The Boosters in Boosterism: Some Calgary Examples

Through an examination of four Calgary boosters in the pre-1914 period, this article argues that boosterism in the prairie west was largely institutional. The rhetoric of progress was proclaimed loudest in publications produced by business organizations and political bodies. The expansionary policies of prairie cities were pursued by large railway companies or by city councils that were hardly dominated by single individuals. The ethic rather than the individual was dominant and in this respect the latter operated most effectively through representative institutions.En examinant quatre boosters de Calgary d’avant 1914, cet article veut montrer que le boosterisme dans l’ouest des plaines fut en grande partie institutionnel. La rhétorique du progrès se faisait le plus entendre dans des publications d’organisations d’affaires et de corps politiques. C’étaient les grandes sociétés de chemins de fer ou des conseils municipaux, qui n’étaient guère dominés par des individus isolés, qui poursuivaient la politique expansionniste des villes des plaines. C’était la doctrine, et non la personne, qui dominait, et ainsi celle-ci pouvait s’exprimer de la façon la plus efficace à travers les institutions représentatives

Lassoed and Branded: The Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and the City of Calgary, 1889-1976

There is a complex relationship between the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (Stampede) and the City of Calgary, On the one hand, the Stampede depends on the municipal government for its very existence. On the other, its arm's-length structure and success in attracting power and influence lend an independence more typical of a private corporation. Since both agree on the value of the Stampede to the City, relations between the two have been far more co-operative than strained. However, in the two instances of public controversy over decisions made by both, the City has allowed the Stampede to take the burden of blame, with the result that the public's image of the Stampede has blurred while its aura of independence has been enhanced.La relation entre le Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (Stampede) et la ville de Calgary est pour le moins complexe. D’une part, le Stampede n’existerait pas sans le gouvernement municipal. D’autre part, sa structure propre et le fait qu’il réussisse à attirer des éléments de pouvoir et d’influence lui confèrent une indépendance typique des entreprises privées. Puisque les deux parties s’entendent sur l’importance du Stampede pour la ville, les relations qu’elles entretiennent sont davantage coopératives que contraintes. Toutefois, dans les deux épisodes de controverse publique sur des décisions prises par les deux parties, la ville a laissé le Stampede encourir le blâme. Il en est résulté que l’image publique du Stampede s’est estompée alors que son aura d’indépendance a pris du relief

Icon, Brand, Myth: The Calgary Stampede

An investigation of the meanings and iconography of the Stampede: an invented tradition that takes over the city of Calgary for 10 days every July. Since 1923, archetypal “Cowboys and Indians” are seen again at the chuckwagon races, on the midway, and throughout Calgary. Each essay in this collection examines a facet of the experience—from the images on advertising posters to the ritual of the annual parade. This study of the Calgary Stampede as a social phenomenon reveals the history and sociology of the city of Calgary and the social construc-tion of identity for western Canada as a whole