Program Schedule
Preliminary program launch: mid-AugustProgram is subject to change.
All times are Eastern Standard Time.
Monday, October 4
10:30 - 11:30
OPENING CEREMONIES
Emcee Heidi Illingworth (Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime)Opening Prayer
Elder Verna McGregorWelcome & Opening Remarks
Emcee Heidi IllingworthWelcome and Opening Remarks
Jan Fox (Board Co-Chair, Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention)
Dave Dickson (Board Co-Chair, Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention)
Matthew Swarney (Director of Government Affairs, Motorola Solutions)
Mayor Rebecca Alty (City of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories)
Chief Morin (Enoch Cree Nation, Treaty No. 6 Territory)
11:30 - 12:45
OPENING KEYNOTE
Senator Patti LaBoucane-BensonWe are all called to action: history, historic trauma and healing in the context of community safety.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson will discuss Canadian history, how our laws have deeply affected Indigenous people, as well as a framework for inclusive collective healing in the context of community safety.
Moderator: Heidi Illingworth
13:15 - 14:15
NETWORKING
14:30 - 16:00
PARALLEL SESSIONS
Session 1: Beyond Rainbows: LGBTQ2 Canadians and Community Safety Needs and Concerns
Moderator:
Kristopher Wells
Canadian Research Chair, (Tier II) for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, MacEwan University
Panelists:
Elizabeth Saewyc, Professor and Director of Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, Dalhousie University
Jacqueline Gahagan, Associate Vice-President, Research Mount Saint Vincent University
This interactive panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Wells, will focus on providing those responsible or interested in community safety and crime prevention in local communities with perspectives on LGBTQ2 experiences, needs, issues and trends related to community well-being, safety, and inclusion.
Sexual and gender minorities are becoming increasingly visible in Canadian society. With this visibility also comes increase risk for violence, victimization, and hate crimes. Many municipalities across Canada have taken important steps to promote inclusion and community safety for LGBTQ2 individuals such as support for local pride festivals/events, painting rainbow crosswalks, raising pride flags, and more recently, passage of conversion therapy prohibition bylaws and policies. This panel will explore the following themes and questions:
- How can we best promote community safety and inclusion for LGBTQ2 individuals across the lifespan? What needs are similar and/or different for youth and seniors?
- Whose voices are heard? Which are silenced? Why is it important to pay attention to diversity and intersectionality in policy development and community building?
- What tangible actions and strategies can communities undertake to show allyship and challenge systemic homo/bi/transphobia?
- What can we learn from other cities who have become leaders for LGBTQ2 inclusion?
Session 2: Trauma Informed Post Pandemic Recovery for Communities
Presenter:
Patrick Rivard, Director of Canadian Operations, North American Center of Threat Assessment and Trauma Response (NACTATR)
In the aftermath of the longest and most prolonged traumatic event in our modern history, participants will understand the deep connection that exists between violence and trauma. Understanding the “inseparable connection between violence and trauma” will be shared from the perspective of individual, family and community functioning. As a co-author to the Whole Community Response to Post Pandemic Mental Health, Pat will be sharing the importance of community mobilization during a pandemic.
Tuesday, October 5
11:00 - 12:30
PARALLEL SESSIONS
Session 4: Inspire: Eliminating Violence Against Children
Presenters:
Mark Bellis, Professor of Public Health at Bangor University and Director of Policy and International Health, Public Health Wales
Alex Butchart, Coordinator, Prevention of Violence, World Health Organization
Brent Decker, Chief Program Officer, Cure Violence
Because violence against children (defined as people under 18 years of age) strongly increases the risk of subsequent involvement in violence as adults, preventing violence against children plays a key role in reducing violence across the life span. The INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children technical package is therefore relevant to preventing violence among people of all ages. Each letter of the word INSPIRE stands for one of the strategies, which include the implementation and enforcement of laws; changing norms and values to make violence unacceptable; creating safe physical environments for children; providing support to parents and caregivers; strengthening income and economic security; improving response and support services for victims; and providing children with education and life skills.
Following a brief introduction to INSPIRE, this session will explore the effects of COVID-19 on risk factors for violence (including increasing inequalities and social polarization) and the prevalence of violence. The session will then focus upon lessons learned from the Cure Violence programme, which is a model programme within the INSPIRE safe environments strategy. Multiple quasi-experimental evaluations conducted in Chicago, Baltimore, Brooklyn and New York City, among others, found that Cure Violence is associated with fewer shootings, killings and retaliatory killings in communities where it has been fully implemented, with 20–70% reductions in violence. The Cure Violence model conceptualizes violence as an epidemic disease with three main components to stop it: 1) interrupting transmission in the community; 2) preventing its spread in the community; and 3) changing community norms or conditions that sustain transmission.
Session 3: Eradicating Violence: Essentials That Do Not Leave People Behind
Moderator:
Irvin Waller, Author and Emeritus Professor
Panelists:
Lib Peck, Director, Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit
Denise Andrea Campbell, Executive Director Social Development Finance and Administration, City of Toronto
Ariane de Palacio, Director of Research, Innovation, and International Relations, International Centre for the Prevention of Crime
This panel discussion, moderated by Irvin Waller, will focus on providing those responsible or interested in community safety and crime prevention in local communities with perspectives on how to tackle violence at the local level using evidence-based approaches while applying a diversity, equity and anti-racism/oppression lens.
COVID has taught us the importance of prevention as well as decision making based on evidence. It has also taught us to learn from successes and failures from other countries. Street and gender-based violence is disproportionately concentrated in locations that are racialized and poor. Those individuals perpetrating violence are most often men. The victims of gender-based violence are almost always women. The evidence shows that the most effective and cost-effective way to reduce violence is prevention. This panel aims to address the following questions:
- What are the evidence-based solutions that we must use more in Canada?
- How can those solutions be implemented?
- What can we learn from cities that succeeded in making the changes needed to succeed?
- Can we learn from cities like London, UK, that are adopting the public health model to the prevention of violence?
13:00 - 14:00
CMNCP Annual General Meeting
14:30 - 16:00
PARALLEL SESSIONS
Session 5: Rethinking Homelessness: Planning Beyond the Hierarchies of Need
Moderator:
Jorden Babando,
Director of Research and Evaluation, The Homeless Hub
Panelists
Jessica Braimoh, Assistant Professor, York University
Sarah Schulman, Lead Partner, InWithForward
Hayley Irving, REACH Staff, REACH Edmonton
This panel discussion, moderated by Jessica Braimoh, will focus on rethinking how to address homelessness at the local level through community responses by recognizing that people need housing, income, accessible food but they also need respect, purpose, and connections. This session explores the works of Homelessness Hub, Soloss, and InWithForward. While COVID-19 continues to bring loss of work, social connection, and personal security, it also increasingly creates social polarization, increased visibility of homelessness and hostility toward those struggling with homelessness. This session aims to explore the following:
- Narratives about causes of homelessness, people who experience homelessness, and risks posed to public safety by those experiencing homelessness.
- Community-based care for disenfranchised grief and loss through peer-to-peer support and the co-creation of personal and neighbourhood healing rituals.
- Fostering healing and building connection, reducing poverty and social isolations, and amplifying agency and power among people experience homelessness
Session 6: Addressing Social Polarization and Hate Crimes at the Local Level
Moderator:
Ghayda Hassan, Clinical Psychologist and Professor, L'Université du Québec à Montréal
Panelists:
John McCoy, Executive Director, Organization for the Prevention of Violence
Tariq Tyan, Islam Unravelled
Yusuf Sirag, Islam Unravelled
Abhi Ahluwali, Founder and CEO, Unlearn
Lakhdeep Dhaliwal, VP Equity Education, Unlearn
COVID-19 has increased social polarization, discrimination, and hate motivated crimes in communities across Canada. We are already seeing an increase in violence incidents targeted towards marginalized communities. This panel discussion, moderated by Ghayda Hassan, aims to focus on how communities and local governments can address social polarization. The session explores the works of John McCoy on homegrown violent extremism, Tariq Tyab and Yusuf Siraj from the anti-racism organization Islam Unravelled, on online and offline anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia in Canada, Abhi Ahulwalia and Lakhdeep Dhaliwal from Unlearn as well as Ghayda Hassan’s own work around intercommunity relations and violence extremism within the field of clinical cultural psychology.
Wednesday, October 6
11:00 - 12:30
PARALLEL SESSIONS
Session 7: Getting to the Roots of the Problem: Addressing the Systemic Nature of Community Safety Issues and Concerns
Moderator:
Aina-Nia Grant, Director, Community Resources Section Social Development, Finance and Administration City of Toronto
Panelists:
Conrad Prince, Director of the National Reconciliation Program, Save the Children
Robert Wright, Social Worker and Executive Director, The People’s Counselling Clinic
Lori Campbell, Vice-President of Indigenous Engagement, University of Regina
Whether it is the increase in COVID-19 cases or the rollout of the vaccine, the current COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many of systemic barriers faced by marginalized communities in Canada. This panel reflects on how systems of oppression such as White supremacy, imperialism, and colonialism affect crime and community safety and wellbeing.
This session will feature the works and perspectives of Conrad Prince, the director of the National Reconciliation Program whose work focuses on systemic discrimination and inequality impacting Indigenous child rights; Robert Wright, a social worker and sociologist whose vast array of work includes challenging Anti-Blackness within the justice system and promoting cultural competency in the workplace; and Lori Campbell, the associate vice-president of Indigenous Engagement at the University of Regina who is working to create systemic changes in the institution’s policies and procedures.
Session 8: Rural Crime Prevention
Moderators:
Jean Bota, Councilor Division #2, Red Deer County
Jan Fox, Executive Director, REACH Edmonton
Panelists:
Heather Leslie, Chief Administrative Officer, Beiseker
Jeanine Webber, Executive Director-Academic, Red River College
Paul Edginton, General Manager of Community & Protective Services, City of Wetaskiwin
The types of crime that are committed in rural communities often differ from urban centers, however research on crime prevention and community safety have largely focused on urban centers leaving gaps in research and practice in rural areas. Further, the specific needs and unique challenges experienced by rural communities have exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this session is to explore previous projects relating to rural crime prevention and address how rural communities can increase capacity to meet the community safety and wellbeing needs of its people. The session will cover:
- Insights from Beiseker including how to organize community advisory committees and who to involve
- Addressing homelessness and mental health in rural communities
- Connections between post-secondary students involvement with rural Community Safety Frameworks as a collaboration concept
12:30 - 13:25
NETWORKING
13:30 - 15:30
KEYNOTE PANEL
Moderated by Heidi Illingworth
Featuring panelists:
Nishan Duraiappah, Chief of Police, Peel Region (ON)
Annette Trimbee, President, MacEawn University (AB)
15:30 - 16:00
WRAP UP & CLOSING REMARKS
Emcee Heidi IllingworthClosing Remarks
Cindy Blackstock (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada)Motorola Solutions (Sponsor)
Jan Fox (Board Co-Chair, Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention)
Dave Dickson (Board Co-Chair, Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention)
Disclaimer
- The term ‘Moderator’ is used generically to include facilitators and those conducting various sessions.
- Abbreviations: Times shown as ‘EST’ reflect Eastern Standard Time.
- The CMNCP 2021 Program Committee reserves the right to make any changes.
