Category: Blast

Over the next two Mondays, Curious Public at Central Library is hosting community events — including a student debate — on issues surrounding drug policy in Canada.

January 22: Panel Discussion

First, a panel discussion featuring leading experts on drug policy, public health, and intervention strategies. We’ll dig into the complexities and controversies of how we legislate and control drugs of all kinds in Canada. Monday, January 22, 2018, 7:00 pm at Central Library (Second Floor). See full event details.

Tara Bruno is an Associate Professor in Sociology at King’s University College. Her research interests include addictions, mental health, criminology, homelessness, youth and families, and research methods. Tara’s new book, The Drug Paradox: An Introduction to the Sociology of Psychoactive Substances in Canada, will be released in the Summer of 2018.

Christopher Mackie (@Healthmac) is the Medical Officer of Health for Middlesex-London and is the Chief Executive Officer of the Middlesex-London Health Unit. He previously served as the Associate Medical Officer Health for the City of Hamilton for four years. Dr. Mackie has published peer-reviewed papers and abstracts on a number of public health related issues, including vaccination policy, emergency planning, environmental health and child and youth mental health.

Ana Ning is an Associate Professor in Sociology at King’s University College. Her research includes addiction treatment and harm reduction interventions, as well as the integration of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) in mainstream healthcare. She also studies traditional Chinese medicine and issues of evidence-based medicine model.

Robert Solomon is on the Faculty of Law at Western University, where he holds the rank of Distinguished University Professor. He has been engaged in research on alcohol and drug policy, and tort, criminal and health law for over 45 years and has published widely in these areas. He has served as the National Director of Legal Policy for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD Canada) for 20 years and has frequently appeared as an expert before various Parliamentary Committees.

January 29: Public Debate

Second, a public debate featuring students from the UWO Debate Society. Monday, January 29, 2018, 7:00 pm, at Central Library (Second Floor). The motion: the Canadian government has not done its due diligence in responding to the opioid crisis. See full event details.

Questions? Email hello@curiouspublic.com

On behalf of the whole team here at the Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion, we just want to wish you a wonderful holiday with friends and family. We look forward the projects, discussions, collaborations, and partnerships ahead in 2018. (As always, if we here in the CRHESI network can support your work towards equity and inclusion, we’d love to learn more about your efforts. Perhaps we should start off 2018 with a coffee? Please get in touch with us anytime.)

In one week from today, we will gather to ask the burning question of our moment in history: will populist, anti-immigration sentiments take hold of Canadian politics?

Monday, May 29, 7:00pm
(Doors open at 6pm; pre-event concert at 6:30pm)
Wolf Performance Hall, London Public Library
FREE. All welcome. Coffee & refreshments served.
Attend • Panelist Bios • Context

Panelists and speakers include a number of leading, highly respected local and national thinkers:

Erna Paris is a historian and award-winning author of seven works of nonfiction. Her works have been published in fourteen countries and translated into eight languages. Erna’s book, Long Shadows: Truth, Lies, and History, was chosen as one of “The Hundred Most Important Books Ever Written in Canada” by the Literary Review of Canada. Her most recent book is From Tolerance to Tyranny: A Cautionary Tale from Fifteenth-Century Spain. Erna was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2015.

Stephanie Levitz (@stephanielevitz) is a journalist and Parliament Hill reporter at The Canadian Press, where she covers federal politics, immigration and refugee policy. She is currently writing the nationally syndicated Populism Project series, investigating Canadian parallels to the factors in America that led to Trump’s election. Stephanie’s work appears in The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Maclean’s magazine as well as on numerous news websites including CBC.ca and Huffington Post.

Anton Allahar is Professor of Sociology at Western University, where he studies economic development, globalization and democracy, and ethnic and racial relations. Anton was born in Trinidad, West Indies, and completed his PhD in Political & Economic Sociology at the University of Toronto. Among his many published works, he is the author of Richer and Poorer: the Structure of Inequality in Canada and co-author of Lowering Higher Education: the rise of the corporate university and the decline of liberal education.

Victoria Esses is Professor of Psychology at Western University, where she studies prejudice and discrimination in attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. She is also the Director of the Western Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations, which facilitates research that draws on academic knowledge to inform public policy and practice on migration and ethnic relations in Canada and internationally. Her research lab aims to understand and facilitate more productive interactions between groups through laboratory and field research.

Ingrid Mattson (@IngridMattson) is the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College. She is widely published on issues of Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics, and interfaith relations. Her book, The Story of the Qur’an, is an academic best-seller and was chosen by the US National Endowment for the Humanities for inclusion in its “Bridging Cultures” program. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Islamic Society of North America (USA), the first woman to serve in either position.

See event page for complete details: Attend • Panelist Bios • Context

This event is free and open to the whole community. Please share this invitation widely.

Read Will Canada be Different?, a short reflection by CRHESI coordinator James Shelley on some of the variables and factors in this critical discussion.

We are looking for a Research Coordinator to join the CRHESI Mobilizing Narratives for Policy and Social Change project. Mobilizing Narratives is a three-year research grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The Research Coordinator will work closely with the Principal Investigator to achieve the goals of Mobilizing Narratives, and coordinate activities among research project teams. Qualifications required include a Masters degree in a social or health-science discipline, and community-based experience in advocacy and/or mobilization for action related to issues of poverty & inequality; discrimination, violence, and marginalization; working conditions and employment security; and/or legacies of colonialism and contemporary realities. This role is positioned within Western University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Visit Working at Western for a full description of this opportunity. The posting title is Research Coordinator, reference # 10125. Applications are due this May 29, 2017.

Choosing Wisely in Southwestern Ontario: A Knowledge Exchange Forum
Hosted by the SouthWestern Academic Health Network

Friday, May 12, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Parkwood Institute, Mental Health Care Building Auditorium
550 Wellington Road, London, Ontario

“We hope you will consider joining us on Friday, May 12th to participate in our knowledge exchange forum focused on various Choosing Wisely implementation projects. We are pleased to advise that we have secured speakers from North York General Hospital and St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto who will share their project implementation experiences. Our event agenda will also include a panel discussion with representatives from the SWAHN region who will speak to their own Choosing Wisely journey.”

More details available at swahn.ca/61/Choosing_Wisely_Working_Group

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At a Glance

• Choosing Wisely Canada is a campaign to help clinicians and patients engage in conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures.
• The SouthWestern Academic Health Network (SWAHN) brings together professionals, educators and researchers across all health disciplines, including partners in the universities, colleges, hospitals, research organizations, healthcare delivery organizations, clinicians, educators and Local Health Integrated Networks (LHINs) to achieve extensive, sustainable and evidence-based health outcomes for communities and residents of Southwestern Ontario.