Conference Program

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Evening Reception

Monday, June 2
7:00pm - 9:00pm

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

Registration & Breakfast

Tuesday, June 3
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

8:30 AM - 8:35 AM

Welcome

Tuesday, June 3
8:30 AM - 8:35 AM

       

8:35 AM - 8:40 AM

Opening remarks

Tuesday, June 3
8:35 AM - 8:40 AM

Plenary Speakers

Alison Cocking,  BSc. PT, M.Ed.
Managing Director
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners
Scott Maxwell
Chief Executive Officer
Wounded Warriors Canada

8:40 AM - 8:50 AM

Opening remarks

Tuesday, June 3
8:40 AM - 8:50 AM

Plenary Speakers

Dr. Paul Robert Thomas Atkinson, BSc (Hons), MB BCh BAO, MA (Cantab), FRCEM, FRCPC
Chief Medical Consultant, WorksafeNB          

   

 

8:50 AM - 9:05 AM

Message from the Government of New Brunswick

Tuesday, June 3
8:50 AM - 9:05 AM

Hon. Robert McKee, K.C.
Minister of Justice
   

9:05 AM - 10:00 AM

Setting the Tone

Monday, June 2
9:05 AM - 10:00 AM

Plenary Speakers

Angela Gevaudan
WWC Ambassador
Greater Sudbury, Ontario
   

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Refreshment Break

Tuesday, June 3
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Morning Workshop #1
Structure, Predictability, and Follow Through: Setting the Conditions for Work with Trauma Exposed Professionals (TExP)

Tuesday, June 3
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Dr. Tim Black, PhD, R. Psych.
National Clinical Director
Wounded Warriors Canada
   

Dr. Black will introduce the Wounded Warriors Canada overarching approach to trauma recovery for Trauma Exposed Professionals (TExP), used in WWC trauma treatment programs across Canada. He will provide the underlying rationale for taking a structured and predictable approach to treatment for clinicians working with military, veteran, police, firefighter, paramedic, corrections, health care and other TExP focusing on cultural competencies that provide TExP clients with “familiar territory” for starting, engaging, and completing their work as well as helpful tips for avoiding early client disengagement.

Morning Workshop #2
Supporting a Family of Families: Integrating Resources for First Responder and Public Safety Families

Tuesday, June 3
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Heidi Cramm, PhD, OT Reg (Ont)
Research Lead, Families Matter Research Group & Garnet Families Network
Queen’s University
   

What about the Families?

Garnet Families aims to connect first responder, public safety, and defence families with resources to navigate the almost unavoidable challenges that service careers bring to a family’s day-to-day and overall wellbeing. We are broadening the conversation beyond an exclusive focus on facing risk to include the unique and complicated phenomenon of lifestyle dimensions, such as the consequences of having to move–or not being able to, the impacts of complicated identities, and the difficulty of managing competing and conflicting work and family demands, that many Garnet Families experience, all at once. We aim to name these lifestyle dimensions and provide proactive support in managing them by using an approach that considers the various life stages of the family. Garnet Families Network is an open community for connection and sharing of resources like PSPNET Families, a free, online wellbeing hub that offers information, strategies, and a wellbeing course. All its resources have been tailored for PSP families. The Garnet Families Partnership is a formal collaboration funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) through to 2031. The partnership brings together researchers and their trainees, families, universities, research and knowledge mobilization hubs, government collaborators, employers and labour associations, service providers, and philanthropic organizations across Canada and internationally to collectively set priorities for research, create knowledge, and enhance our research capacity to optimize individual and collective family wellbeing.

Morning Workshop #3
Understanding Moral Injury: Insights from Research, Clinical Practice, and Lived Experience

Tuesday, June 3
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Dr. Sara Rodrigues, PhD
Applied Research
Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families
Dr. Stephanie Houle, PhD, C.Psych
Associate Scientist
MacDonald Franklin OSI Research and Innovation Centre

Moral injury is an emerging construct, broadly understood as the psychological impact of experiences that violate one’s moral code. Initially studied in the military and Veteran context, its relevance extends to related occupations such as those in public safety. Critical discourse is ongoing as to how best to define moral injury, how to study it, how it affects those who experience it, and how to address it in clinical practice. This workshop presentation will provide an overview of the moral injury construct and present current perspectives from clinical practice, research, and lived experience. Presenters will cover the current evidence, areas of debate, and implications for supports for public safety personnel.

Morning Workshop #4
Resilience Through Sustained Crisis

Tuesday, June 3
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Dustine Rodier
Superintendent
RCMP
   

The aftermath of the mass casualty and the effects on the Division.

11:45 AM - 12:45 PM

Lunch

Tuesday, June 3
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM

12:45 PM - 1:30 PM

Plenary Session
Evidence-based Innovations for Supporting the Mental Health of Public Safety Personnel

Tuesday, June 3
12:45 PM - 1:30 PM

Dr. Nick Carleton, Ph.D., R.D. Psych.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Regina
   

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Keynote Address

Tuesday, June 3
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

The Hon. Peter MacKay
Vice-Chairman
Wounded Warriors Canada
   

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Refreshment Break

Tuesday, June 3
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Afternoon Workshop #1
Correctional culture in Canada: Exploring consistencies and complexities across 14 correctional service systems

Tuesday, June 3
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli, PhD
Professor and Research Chair: Safety, Security, and Wellness
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Reflecting on findings from two major research projects – the Correctional Worker Mental Health and Well-being Study (MHWS) and the Canadian Correctional Workers’ Well-being, Organizations, Roles, and Knowledge Study (CCWORK) – I explore the state of safety, security, and wellness in correctional culture and climate in Canada with recognition of how all that constitutes trauma informs both culture and climate. I address how linchpin factors (e.g., outcomes from short staffing, retention and recruitment challenges, resources, investigations, gossip) found across federal, provincial, and/or territorial correctional organizations shape health and cultural outcomes for people working in correctional services. The MHWS – one dataset – includes a survey of anyone working in any role in each provincial and territorial correctional service, thus 13 surveys that shared questions. I then reflect on a second dataset, CCWORK, where we study correctional officers longitudinally, tracking their experiences with changing health as informed by the work, policies, and their environment. From these two datasets, I talk about correctional worker mental health, well-being, and organizational considerations that are shared to some degree across all correctional services in Canada. These two projects, I argue, can build on international understandings of correctional culture and climate by applying a trauma informed lens while also considering the symbiotic relationship between prison culture, climate, wellness, and mental health disorder prevalence among staff. I end by proposing areas of focus for correctional organizations (e.g., supportive environments, less gossip, more teamwork/teamliness) to cultivate a positive correctional culture and climate and potentially reduce compromised health and other related issues.

Afternoon Workshop #2
Transforming access to proactive mental heath and resilience supports: Introducing Ontario's Warrior Health Program

Tuesday, June 3
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Matt Pegg Matthew Pegg
Chief Operating Officer
Warrior Health
       

 

Afternoon Workshop #3
Measurement Based Care in the Canada’s leading Guardian’s inpatient program – application, learnings, and patient outcomes

Tuesday, June 3
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Toni Harrington, MSW, MSc., DSc(c)
Assistant Vice President Mental Health Innovation
Homewood Health Inc.
Shannon Remers, MSc
Senior Director Research, Quality and Outcomes
Homewood Health Inc.

Measurement-Based Care (MBC) is a data-driven approach that enhances clinical decision-making by integrating validated assessment tools into mental health and addiction treatment. The session will highlight the importance of incorporating MBC into healthcare settings, particularly for populations such as first responders, veterans, and healthcare workers. A case study of Homewood Health’s MBC implementation within its Guardians’ Program will be presented, showcasing how a user-friendly interface seamlessly integrates assessments at intake, progress points, discharge, and follow-up; preliminary benchmark data from Homewood Health Guardians’ program will be shared. Through interactive discussions and real-world applications, attendees will gain practical insights into overcoming barriers to MBC implementation and leveraging technology to support clinical decision-making.

Afternoon Workshop #4
Making Research Matters: Bridging the Gap Between the Academic and Operational Worlds

Tuesday, June 3
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Dr. Tim Black, PhD, R. Psych.
National Clinical Director
Wounded Warriors Canada
Dr. Nick Carleton, Ph.D., R.D. Psych.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Regina
Dr. Nadia Aleem
Psychiatrist, MD, MHSc CCFP, FRCP
Mental Health Lead
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners

Join us for a workshop focused on building connections through formative, in-depth discussions on how to make research that matters in the operational worlds of Trauma Exposed Professionals (TExP) and their families (TExF). This is part of a national strategy building initiative with input from across multiple First Responders’ Mental Health conferences and with a focus today on the unique context of Atlantic Canada.

Delegates are invited to attend to learn, share, and contribute to the roundtable discussions focused on the challenges and barriers in addressing the gap between academic research and real-world relevance for operational communities. This conversation will set the stage for future discussions on strategies and solutions to bridge this gap. This unique event will be facilitated by Drs. Nadia Aleem, Tim Black and Nick Carleton as we co-create building connections and bridges between these two worlds.

4:15 PM - 4:50 PM

Plenary Panel Session
Forging Ahead: An open and transparent discussion of the challenges and opportunities in the evolving first responder landscape

Tuesday, June 3
4:15 PM - 4:50 PM

Plenary Speakers

Mike Sears
Captain
Halifax Professional Firefighters I.A.F.F. L268
Pat Bouchard
Director, Atlantic/Central Region
National Police Federation
  Duane Squiers
NB Police Association

4:50 PM - 5:00 PM

Closing Remarks

Wednesday, April 2
4:50 PM - 5:00 PM