Howard Sapers to deliver 5th Annual Liz Elliott Memorial Lecture

Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology is pleased to announce that Howard Sapers, the Correctional Investigator for Canada, will deliver the 5th Annual Liz Elliott Memorial Lecture on Monday, November 16, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. in the SFU Theatre (Diamond Family Auditorium) at SFU’s Burnaby campus.

RSVP appreciated but not required.

As Canada’s prison ombudsman, Sapers has advocated for improvements to the country’s correctional system for over a decade. Sapers is charged with making proposals to Parliament to ensure a proper quality of life for prisoners, especially marginalized populations. His recommendations have included better-quality mental health care, preventing deaths in custody, and limiting the use of solitary confinement. Sapers has also voiced concerns about the over-representation of Aboriginal Canadians in our prisons.

“Inviting Howard Sapers to present this year’s lecture gives the community an opportunity to meet a key stakeholder in Canada’s criminal justice system. Sapers is known for making carefully considered recommendations, recommendations that are designed to ensure our prisons function both fairly and humanely,” says Neil Boyd, Director of the School of Criminology.

The lecture, held during Restorative Justice Week, honours former faculty member Liz Elliott, who passed away from cancer in September of 2011. Elliott was a staunch advocate for using restorative justice techniques to improve prisoners’ living conditions and to help them reintegrate into society upon release. Elliott was founding co-director of the Centre for Restorative Justice in the School of Criminology. She was awarded the National Ron Wiebe Restorative Justice Award in 2010.