POTSDAM -- North Country Matters, the local public affairs video magazine, kicked off its new Fall season with a conversation about social justice issues in the North Country.

Paul Siskind and the Rev. James Galasinski from Canton’s Unitarian Universalist Church talk about the church’s new Social Justice Initiative and the Creating Bully-Free Workplaces Conference coming up in on Sept. 30, in Canton. They also discuss the New York Healthy Workplace Advocates who are working to help pass the Healthy Workplace Bill to combat harassment in the workplace.

The NCM show, “Achieving Social Justice,” is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Wyyi4eeb4A8

The Creating Bully-Free Workplaces conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 30, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Canton. All conference activities are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested: http://www.uucantonny.org/1st-social-justice-initiative-conference/.

Workshop sessions at the conference will discuss aspects such as the legal issues involved and the harm done to workers’ health and productivity. Particular focus will be given to work environments important to the North Country, including health care, education, agriculture and corrections. The workshops will provide workers, managers, and employers with general understanding of the issues, strategies for preventing harassment from occurring and ways to address it when situations arise.

North Country Matters is a local public affairs video magazine now in its 13th year. The NCM civic partners working to educate North Country residents about critical public policy issues facing our region include AAUW-St. Lawrence County, the League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County, and the Potsdam Public Library. The shows are filmed in theFred W. Cleveland Computer Center at the Potsdam Library.

New shows this fall will include Conversations with Candidates, back to School, the Solar Home Tour and Aging in Place, among others.

Be sure to checkout the NCM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NorthCountryMatters/ for additional information about the show.

The shows are always available on YouTube. Check the websites for AAUW-St. Lawrence County (http://stlawrence.aauw-nys.org/) and the League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County (http://slc-leaguewv.org/) for specific program links as they become available. And be sure to “like” the NCM Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/NorthCountryMatters/ for up-to-date news on new shows.