Addressing Mental Health and Addiction in Canada’s Federal Offenders
2014, Health, Equity + Justice
Howard Sapers, the Correctional Investigator of Canada, spoke to the challenges and costs of managing mental illness in federal penitentiaries, noting that mental health and addiction issues plague many who are in conflict with the law. Treating addiction as a health issue in the community can prevent deeper and often more harmful involvement with the criminal justice system. Drawing on his office’s investigative reports, Mr. Sapers addressed problems associated with continuing to rely on prisons and security-driven responses to manage offenders with mental health and addiction issues. He referenced the efforts and recommendations from a variety of sources that demonstrate how prevention, harm reduction and treatment approaches are often more effective and less costly than relying on increased incarceration. Mr. Sapers is a recipient of the 2013 SFU Outstanding Alumni Award for Public Service.
7:00 p.m. (PT)
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C.
We respectfully acknowledge that this event takes place on the Unceded, Traditional, Ancestral Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm First Nations.
Howard Sapers
Howard Sapers was appointed Correctional Investigator of Canada in 2004. Previously, Mr. Sapers has been the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Alberta, an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Director of the National Crime Prevention Centre Investment Fund and Vice Chairperson (Prairie Region) of the Parole Board Canada. Currently, Mr. Sapers serves as a North American Region member of the International Ombudsman Institute Board of Directors and a member of the Board of Directors for the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman. Mr. Sapers is a member of the Centre for Public Legal Education (Alberta) Board of Directors.Mr. Sapers represents the community of small federal departments and agencies on the Government of Canada Small Department Audit Committee and is the Chairman of the Department of National Defence/Canadian Forces Ombudsman Advisory Committee. Mr. Sapers is an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology and a 2013 SFU Outstanding Alumni Award Recipient for Public Service.
Mae Burrows
Mae Burrows is a bridge builder among environmental and health groups, workers, NGOs and government on a range of issues. These include protecting salmon habitat, eliminating toxins from the workplace and community, and developing living wage policies. She received SFU’s Outstanding Alumni Award and in 2013, a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, YWCA Woman of Distinction Award and United Way Labour Appreciation Award. Her current interest is improving the health of people struggling with addictions and mental health issues and supporting their families. She is president of the family-support and advocacy organization From Grief to Action.
