Program
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Lister Conference Centre
University of Alberta ~ Edmonton, Alberta
8:00 a.m. Registration and coffee
8:30 a.m. Welcome and overview of day
Forum co-chairs:
Tracey Bailey, Executive Director, Health Law Institute
Fay Orr, Mental Health Patient Advocate
8:45 a.m. Opening greetings
Honourable Verlyn Olson, Q.C., Alberta Minister of Justice and Attorney General
9:00 a.m. Keynote speaker
Moderator
Tracey Bailey, Executive Director, Health Law Institute, University of Alberta
Speaker
Fred Horne, MLA, Edmonton Rutherford, parliamentary assistant to Minister of Health and Wellness
One of the biggest challenges in mental health advocacy is helping individuals find the services they need when they need them. Fred Horne has long been a strong proponent for accessible and effective mental health services. In his role last year as co-chair of the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health, he heard from Albertans throughout the province about the key challenges facing the mental health system. Now in his new role as Parliamentary Assistant, Fred will share his insights and perspectives on the work underway in government and Alberta Health Services to develop a new addictions and mental health strategy for the province. Fred will discuss the need to break down silos, not only between addictions and mental health services, but also among various government ministries in an effort to take a more comprehensive and integrated approach to assisting Albertans living with mental illness. He will also speak about the importance government places on the work of addictions and mental health professionals. He will speak to the need for ongoing communication between them and government as we explore new and better ways of doing things.
10:00 a.m. Health break
10:30 a.m. Alberta’s Mental Health Act: Are recent amendments doing the job?
When Alberta’s Mental Health Act was amended a couple of years ago the hope was the changes would improve access to hospital care for the seriously ill and provide individuals with the support they need to manage their illness while living in the community. In this session, participants will learn if expectations are being met as they hear a variety of perspectives on the initial experiences and issues arising from implementation of the amendments. The focus will be on the introduction of community treatment orders (CTOs) and the expansion of admission criteria. Panel members will provide a statistical overview of the uptake on CTOs, a client profile and insight into some of the feedback and questions coming from clients, psychiatrists and police in the field. As well, a Review Panel chair will share her assessment as to whether CTOs are achieving their intended objectives, including observations on the impact of consent versus non-consent on the successful outcome of such orders.
Moderator:
Silvia Vajushi - Executive Director, Community Health, Alberta Health and Wellness
Panel Discussion:
Aggy King-Smith, Acting Director, Community Treatment Initiatives, Alberta Health Services
Dr. Doug Watson, Medical Lead, Community Treatment Orders, Alberta Health Services
Joan Metz, Chair, Calgary and South Mental Health Review Panel
Jamie Terhorst, Care Manager with Crisis and Access services, Edmonton Policy Services, Edmonton Police Service
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Shining light on the shadows: a pan-Canadian update on mental health advocacy
As result of the seminal Out of the Shadows at Last Senate report in 2006, the Mental Health Commission of Canada was created and given a bold 10-year mission to combat stigma and promote recovery and well-being for all Canadian living with mental illness. Dr. Patrick Baillie will update participants as to what the Commission has been up to lately. He will share preliminary results from a longitudinal study underway in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec into what happens to individuals deemed Not Criminally Responsible on account of a Mental Disorder (NCRMD). He will provide insights into regional differences in the quality and quantity of training provided to police for dealing with clients with mental illness. His talk will include interesting results from a recent survey into consumer interactions with police, as well as an update on the Commission’s homeless initiatives in five Canadian cities. He will also speak about the Commission’s Canada-wide review of legislation to determine compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Patrick Baillie, Psychologist, Forensic Assessment and Outpatient Services, Alberta Health Services, consulting psychologist, Calgary Police Services, and member of the Mental Health and Law Advisory Committee, Mental Health Commission of Canada
1:45 p.m. Preventing homelessness: breaking down the silos in discharge planning
A key to recovery from mental illness is having a safe, supportive place to live. In this session, participants will hear a highly personal account of one woman’s experience of homelessness and her transition into subsidized housing in Toronto and current work with the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s At-Home project. The following panel discussion will look at Alberta’s own Housing First initiative as well as efforts by government and key stakeholders to prevent individuals from being discharged into homelessness from the health and corrections systems. Participants will learn about efforts to break down silos among various departments and agencies, with a view to creating a better system for discharge planning for those with mental illness.
Moderator:
Fay Orr, Mental Health Patient Advocate
Panel Discussion:
Jijian Voronka, consumer research consultant to At-Home Project for Mental Health Commission of Canada and PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies at OISE/University of Toronto
Barry Bezuko, Director, Homeless Cross Ministry Initiatives
Julian Daly, Executive Director, Boyle Street, Community Services
Jelle Van Ens, Boyle Street, Community Services
Supt. David Veitch, Edmonton Police Services
3:00 p.m. Health break
3:15 p.m. Mental health and the justice system
A few years ago, former Senator Michael Kirby shook Canadians with his observation that we have made “prisons the asylums of the 21st century.” Statistics show that at least 30 per cent of the prison population suffers from mental illness. In this session, participants will learn about efforts underway to improve the interaction between individuals with a mental illness and the justice system. Panelists will provide an update on the Alberta government’s Safe Communities initiative, the Integrated Justice Services Project, and initiatives within Edmonton Police Services. A senior administrator from Alberta Health services will share her perspective on the unique challenges that face mental health patients interfacing with Corrections in rural Alberta.
Moderator:
Kurt Sandstrom, Assistant Deputy Minister, Safe Communities and Strategic Policy, Ju
stice and Attorney General
Panel Discussion:
Susan Gloster, Executive Director, Addiction and Mental Health, South Zone, Alberta Health Services
Margaret Shim, Manager, Addiction and Mental Health, Alberta Health and Wellness
Allan Lefever, Deputy Chief Judge, Provincial Court of Alberta
Insp. Ed Keller, Edmonton Police Services
4:15 p.m. Closing comments
