Expert Advisory Committee on Supervised Injection Site Research

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

• Mandate
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Member Biographies

Mandate

In September 2006, the Minister of Health indicated that more information is required on "how supervised injection sites affect crime, prevention and treatment". An Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) on Supervised Injection Site Research has been established to assist with the research process to obtain this additional information.

Specifically, the EAC will provide Health Canada with evidence-based scientific advice on research and analysis required to develop and implement a research plan on supervised injection sites. The EAC is comprised of experts in the areas of addictions, criminology, program evaluation, and public health.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Key roles and responsibilities of the EAC include:

• Developing detailed research questions to be answered;
• Reviewing and assessing research proposals and advising Health Canada on the selection of successful bidders who will conduct specific research studies;
• Providing comments and feedback to improve the quality of reports prepared by researchers; and
• Providing a written synthesis report to Health Canada on the major findings from all research reports.

Member Biographies

Dr. Bryce Larke, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Yukon Health and Social Services

Area of Expertise: Public Health

Dr. Larke is the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Yukon. He is a physician and clinical virologist. Prior to his appointment in Yukon, Dr. Larke was a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, with a cross appointment as a professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. He was the first Director of the provincial AIDS program in Alberta in 1988 and was the provincial medical consultant on HIV/AIDS and hepatitis throughout the 1990s. Dr. Larke also served as the provincial co-chair of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Committee on AIDS for several years.

Dr. Alan Ogborne, London, Ontario

Area of Expertise: Program Evaluation

Dr. Ogborne holds a PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics and was previously a senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. On retiring from the Centre he formed his own consulting group (Alan Ogborne and Associates) and has been a consultant to a variety of large and small agencies including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization, Health Canada, and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications in professional journals and written many reports for governments and other agencies.

Dr. Darryl Plecas, Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University College of the Fraser Valley

Area of Expertise: Criminology

Dr. Plecas has conducted a number of studies in the area of crime reduction, most recently in the area of Marihuana Grow Operations. In 2005 he received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Public Safety for the project "Eliminating Marihuana Grow Operations: An Alternative Approach". That same year, he was appointed the RCMP University Research Chair on Crime Reduction. Dr. Plecas was recently named by the Federal Minister of Health to the Board of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

Dr. Jürgen Rehm, Senior Scientist and Section Co-Head, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto

Area of Expertise: Addictions

Dr. Rehm is an addiction specialist and a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) cross-appointed to the University of Toronto and the World Health Organization. In 2003, Dr. Rehm was appointed as the inaugural joint University/CAMH Chair in Addictions Policy. He has been involved in a number of national and international studies exploring the impacts of substance abuse and addictions, most notably, the recent "Cost of Substance Abuse in Canada" report and the WHO Comparative Risk Assessment for alcohol.

Dr. Irvin Waller, Professor of Criminology, and Director of the new Institute for the Prevention of Crime, University of Ottawa

Area of Expertise: Crime Reduction , Victim Rights Advocacy

Dr. Waller is the founding director of the Institute for the Prevention of Crime at the University of Ottawa and author of Less Law, More Order: The Truth about Reducing Crime. Ministers of Justice world-wide have sought his advice on how to reduce crime and protect victims. He is the founding CEO of the International Centre for Prevention of Crime affiliated with the United Nations. He is also the author of the Soros Foundation manual on victim rights, and has won prizes internationally for his contributions to UN norms and policy.