Presented by the UBC School of Social Work and the UN Association of Canada (Vancouver bran ch)
Hear from BC's chief coroner of 13 years\, on knowledge acquired in facing the province's drug toxicity crisis\, as part of the 2024 Richard B. Splane Lecture in Social Policy.
Abstract
In April 2016\, BC’s Provinc ial Health Officer declared a provincial public health emergency due to the rising harms and deaths associated with the province’s illicit drug market . Since that time\, there have been more than 14\,000 deaths in BC due to drug toxicity. As chief coroner\, Lisa Lapointe was responsible for over-se eing the investigations into those deaths and for making recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future. BC has been unique in the data the C oroners Service has gathered and shared with the public about the drug toxi city crisis in the province\, and in the efforts the Service has made to ad vance measures to reduce the dying. Now retired\, the former chief coroner will share what her agency learned about the drug toxicity crisis\, and th e changes necessary to prevent future deaths.
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Refreshments to be served at 4pm
Programme
<
strong>Welcome and Land Acknowledgement by Moderator
Tim Stainton\, Profes
sor\, UBC School of Social Work
Welcome Dean Clare Crowston\, Faculty of Arts
Welcome Dr. Lea Caragata\, Director\, UBC School of Social Work
Background to the Splane
Lecture and Partner Introductions
Patsy George\, Past President\, Unite
d Nations Association in Canada\, Vancouver Branch
Introducti
on to Ms. Lisa Lapointe
Tim Stainton\, Professor of Socia
l Work\, School of Social Work
Keynote Address: British C olumbia’s Toxic Drug Crisis: Advice from the Coroners Service to Stop Dying
Question Period
Moderated by Pr
ofessor Tim Stain
ton
Thank You
Sameer Esmail\, President of UNAC Vancouver<
/p>
Speaker Bio
Lisa Lapointe
A graduate of the University of British Columbia Law School\, Lisa began her public service career in 1 995 as a policy analyst in the area of freedom of information and protectio n of privacy. She then joined the BC Coroners Service where she served as C oroner\, Deputy Regional Coroner and Regional Coroner on Vancouver Island b efore being appointed as B.C.'s Assistant Deputy Chief Coroner in 2003.
In 2006\, Lisa joined the BC Corrections Branch\, serving as Assistant D eputy Warden at Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Victoria b efore moving to a provincial role as Director of Programs and Strategic Ser vices.
In 2008\, Lisa accepted the position of Assistant Deputy Direc tor of the province's Civil Forfeiture Office\, utilizing civil law to dete r crime by removing proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity.
As the province’s chief coroner for thirteen years\, Lisa was responsible for overseeing the independent investigations of 14\,000 deaths reported to th e BC Coroners Service annually\, including all children’s deaths and deaths reviewed at inquest and by Coroners Service Death Review Panels.
Lis a is a mother and grandmother\, and in her free time enjoys running\, cycli ng\, yoga and spending time with her expanding family. She is the chair of the British Columbia Institute of Technology's Forensic Science and Technol ogy Program Advisory Committee and is the former chair of the Canadian Foru m of Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners. In 2013\, Lisa received th e Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in acknowledgement of her dedica tion and expertise to the public service for over 20 years. In 2018\, under Lisa's leadership\, the Coroners Service was awarded the inaugural Premier s Award for Evidence-Based Design for its analysis and timely reporting of data on illicit drug overdose deaths in the midst of a public health emerge ncy.
About
<
strong>Richard Splane\, O.C.\, Ph.D.\, LLD.
Richard Sp lane\, Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia\, began his academic career at McMaster University\, pursuing studies in economics\, h istory and social work at the University of Toronto and social administrati on at the London School of Economics.
In the Second World War\, he se rved in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot in the Bomber Command. Afte r the war\, he joined the Department of National Health and Welfare as an E conomist and became Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister. He was in‐t urn Director‐General of Welfare Assistance and Services\; Director of Unemp loyment Assistance\; and\, Assistant Deputy Minister of Social Allowances a nd Services. He is regarded as the “principal architect” of the Canada Assi stance Plan.
Dr. Splane’s special interest was international welfare. He served as Canada’s representative on the UNICEF Board and was a member of the United Nations’ Expert Group on Social Welfare Policy and Planning. In 1973\, he was recruited by the University of British Columbia\, as a Pro fessor in the School of Social Work\, where he served until his retirement in 1982.
He is author of three books\, Social welfare in Ontario\ , 1791‐1893\; a study of public welfare administration (1 965)\, 75 years of community service to Canada: Canadian Council on Social Development\, 1920‐1995 (1996)\, and George Davidson: soc ial policy and public policy exemplar (2003)\, and contributed numerou s chapters and articles to professional journals and the press. He also col laborated with his wife\, Dr. Verna Huffman Splane on a nursing research pr oject in 55 countries.
In his community\, he served with the Universi ty of British Columbia\, the University Hill United Church and the United W ay of Vancouver\, Friends of SOS Children’s Villages\, as well as the Vanco uver chapters of both the World Federalists and the United Nations Associat ion.
Throughout his career\, Dr. Splane has served in senior roles in his own professional organization and many others in civil society. His wo rk in social policy has been recognized both nationally and internationally with honours from his profession\, government and universities. He was gra nted an Honorary Degree LL.D. by Wilfred Laurier University (1988)\, McMast er University (1990)\, the University of Toronto (2005) and\, with his wife Verna\, the University of British Columbia’s first‐ever joint honorary deg ree (1996).
School of Social Work\, University of British Col umbia
We are the third oldest School of Social Work in Canad a\, dating back to the late 1920s\, when instruction in social work at the University of British Columbia consisted of a two-year diploma course withi n the Dept. of Economics\, Sociology and Political Science. Today our natio nally accredited programmes continue to educate and train social workers fo r the future and to develop high educational standards in all branches of s ocial work. Our School is richly endowed with strength and excellence in te aching\, research\, community service and international development informe d by an ethic of care and commitment to social justice. We continue to prov ide leadership in social work education within BC\, across Canada and inter nationally.
The School places a high value on curiosity and applied r esearch\, community scholarship and service. It recognizes the integrity an d distinctive value of its academic and professional degree programmes\, va lues multidisciplinarity from its base within the Faculty of Arts.
Th e School is committed through its teaching\, research and community service to excellence in the development\, dissemination and application of knowle dge\, values and skills relevant to social work. Faculty\, staff and studen ts are committed to principles of social and economic justice\, equity and respect for the realities of diverse cultures and the strengths of civil so ciety.
United Nations Association in Canada\, Vancouver Branc h
The United Nations Association in Canada works to engage the Canadian public in the work of the United Nations and its agencies. We work closely with the educational communities in every province and territo ry to build their capacity to educate young people from a global perspectiv e. We also work directly with youth\, challenging them to develop the tools and skills necessary to confront some of the world’s most complex problems .
Our projects also aim to define foreign policy priorities for our g overnment. We host seminars and conferences with a variety of stakeholders and produce informative publications on topics such as peace and security\, human rights and sustainable development. Each year the Association awards the Pearson Peace Medal to a Canadian who has made an outstanding contribu tion in the field of international service and understanding.
For mor e information\, please visit: www.unac vancouver.org
This talk will take place on the traditional\ , ancestral\, and occupied territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musquea m peoples.
