1st Annual Coalition for Canadian Police Reform Conference
Democracy Counts: Toward Systemic Police Reform for Canada
June 14-16, 2022, Virtual Platform

General Information

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Presenting the 1st Annual Coalition for Canadian Police Reform Conference – This year’s conference will be a digital-first experience on our customized virtual platform with an immersive look and feel that will engage our delegates from start to finish. The conference will offer a platform for 200-500 participants from across Canada who care deeply about our country and our democracy to discuss important issues on policing in Canada.

Presented by Reboot Communications and the Coalition for Canadian Police Reform, this three-day digital-first conference will provide knowledge about the elements of police training our officers require to be better able to maintain the peace in the 21st Century. We anticipate everyone will be engaged in thoughtful discussion about the possibilities to uplift and support our police officers. The conference will be of interest to the public, police officers/executives, academics and public administrators, with interest in police or criminology topics.

Never before have citizens of Canada met together with police executives and academic professors! This is a unique opportunity whereby the diversity of thought and the mixing of minds could generate transformative perspectives. Your participation is key to the success of the event!

We need to analyze the way forward and plan constructively for how change might happen.  How can police officers be uplifted and supported in their work?

Citizens will be part of a conversation about if, how and why policing should become more professional like accounting, lawyering or doctoring.  Citizens will be able to express their perspectives about the knowledge and skills that should be included in police training.

Police officers will learn the perspectives of citizens and how those match up with their own ideas about the people skills every officer needs to practice “peace-keeping” instead of “peace-making”.

Academics will deliver short addresses that fill in the knowledge of how police learn and work today.

Digital First Virtual Experience

Early Bird*
(until May 18th)
Regular
(after May 18th)
Post-Secondary Students**
Virtual Registration $149.00 CAD (plus GST)
$199.00 CAD (plus GST)
$50.00 CAD (plus GST)
Registration Includes:
  • Keynotes, panel discussions & armchair discussions
  • Interactive live streaming Q & A
  • Access to the customized virtual platform (content available on-demand for 30 days after the summit)
  • Networking with other virtual delegates
  • Access to the virtual exhibition hall

*Early bird registration includes a 1-year membership to the Coalition for Canadian Police Reform (valued at $25).
**Discounted registration is available to post-secondary students in an undergraduate degree program. Please register with your student associated email address.

Subsidies:
If you are a new immigrant to Canada or are part of a provincial income subsidy program and are unable to pay the full delegate fees, please email us at info@rebootcommunications.com to inquire about the subsidies that are available.

Social Media


Stay connected and engaged in the conversation leading up to and during the conference by following along on Twitter @CoalitionCPR. Use the event hashtag #CCPR and #CCPR22 in your tweets to add to the existing discussions. We would appreciate you sharing your voice with our other followers.

Speakers

Dr. Taiwo Afolabi

Canada Research Chair in Socially Engaged Theatre, Director, Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), University of Regina

Alain Babineau

Director of Racial Profiling & Public Safety, Red Coalition

Dr. Scott Blandford

Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University

Senator Gwen Boniface

Senate of Canada

Dr. Julie Booke

Associate Professor, Health and Community Studies, Mount Royal University

David Cassels

President, Coalition for Canadian Police Reform

Nicki Casseres

Coordinator of Training and Community Education, Gerstein Crisis Centre

Roger Chaffin

Former Chief of Police, Calgary Police Service

Devon Clunis

Former Inspector General of Policing, Ontario Government; Former Chief of Police, City of Winnipeg

Cal Corley

Chief Executive Officer, Community Safety Knowledge Alliance

Brad Cotton

PhD Candidate, University of Edinburgh

Elder Harley Crowshoe

Indigenous Advisor

Priscilla de Villiers

Executive Director, Victim Justice Network

Lisa Deveau

Former Constable, Ottawa Police Service

Nishan Duraiappah

Chief of Police, Peel Regional Police Service

Dr. Anne Eason

Associate Head, Policing, University of the West of England, Bristol

Kerry Eaton

Director, Coalition for Canadian Police Reform

Dr. Kenneth Harris

Deputy CEO, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Jibril Ibrahim

President, The Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton

Dan Jones

Director, Stan Daniels Healing Lodge

Michael Kempa

Associate Professor of Criminology, University of Ottawa

Rose LeMay

CEO, Indigenous Reconciliation Group

John Lilley

Founding Member, MD FRCPC; Secretary, C-CPR

Dale McFee

Chief of Police, Edmonton Police Service

Dr. Nancy McNaughton

Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Marissa Nakoochee

Indigenous Health Education Coordinator, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta

Wally Oppal

Senior Counsel, Arbitrator and Mediator, Boughton Law Corporation

Marlene Orr

CEO, Native Counselling Services of Alberta

Dr. Tam A. Pozzobon

Assistant Professor, Program Head MA Leadership, School of Leadership Studies, Royal Roads University

Susan Rabichuk

PhD student, Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Allan Rock

President Emeritus and Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Dr. Kelly Sundberg

Associate Professor, Mount Royal University

Dr. Tanya Trussler

Associate Professor, Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies, Mount Royal University

Kerry Watkins

Professor, Protection, Security and Investigation, Humber College

Senator Vernon White

Senate of Canada

Dr. Christina Witt

Lecturer, Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies, Mount Royal University
Print Agenda

*Invited Speaker

Click on the date of the agenda you would like to view. Please note the timezone listed on the agenda.

June 14, 2022

6:45pm - 6:55pm EST

Call to Conference & Territorial Acknowledgement

6:55pm - 7:00pm EST

Opening Prayer

7:00pm - 7:30pm EST

Session 1 - Motivational Opening Keynote

Wally Oppal will address the recent BC Legislative Assembly study; “Transforming Policing and Community Safety in British Columbia”, discuss the report recommendations and community expectations.

7:30pm - 8:30pm EST

Session 2 - Opening Panel: The Path to Police Professionalization

“The Path to Professionalization” examines the need for policing to transition into a true profession, and how the creation of a College of Policing could contribute to that. It will also examine the UK College of Policing and the potential for Canada to implement a similar model.

June 15, 2022

8:45am - 8:55am EST

Welcome Remarks & Territorial Acknowledgement

8:55am - 9:25am EST

Session 3 - Opening Keynote: Standardization - The Path to Our Policing Future

9:25am - 9:40am EST

Session 4 - Welcome Keynote

Professor Rock will address the important role of police in our changing and diverse 21st century democracy.

9:45am - 11:00am EST

Session 5 - Panel: Is There an Opportunity for Systemic Reform of our Canadian Policing?

Listen to the opinions of three experts and hear them resolve their differences.

11:00am - 11:15am EST

Morning Break

11:15am- 12:30pm EST

Session 6 - Armchair Discussion: Are Police a Pillar of Democracy in the Changing Diversity of Canada?

12:30pm - 1:05pm EST

Lunch Break

1:05pm - 2:05pm EST

Session 7 - Keynote: Theatre as a Medium to Develop Curricular Change

Don’t miss this one! Never before has drama informed policing.

2:05pm - 2:20pm EST

Afternoon Break

2:20pm - 3:35pm EST

Session 8 - Panel: How Can Police Training Reflect Community Expectations?

Diverse perspectives will be shared in conversation with policing and mental health professionals about the changing nature of police response, roles and expectations.

What is the role of police training in preparing officers for effective response to people experiencing mental and emotional crises in the community? What would this entail?

3:40pm - 4:30pm EST

Session 9 - Keynote: Trust: What is It? Why is it Important for Police?

The relationships forged between the public and police are an intrinsic part of how community safety is carried out using the model of policing by consent. Imperative to those relationships is trust. How is trust created and destroyed by both sides? How is trust valued and measured? Why are Peel’s Principles so much more than historical phrases etched in brass hanging on a police station wall, and how are they essential to trust and the effectiveness of professional, democratic policing today? In this keynote, I will be discussing aspects of my doctoral thesis investigating these questions in Scotland, United Kingdom, but which are relevant anywhere policing by consent is practised. I will also propose and discuss a model of policing by consent to underscore the importance of trust and meaningful relationships between police and the public and how important they are to effective policing, crime reduction, and community wellness.

4:30pm - 4:35pm EST

Closing Remarks

June 16, 2022

9:00am - 9:05am EST

Administrative Announcements

9:05am - 10:20am EST

Session 10 - Panel: Exploring a Paradigm Shift for Policing in British Columbia

Considering the complexity, importance, and scrutiny of policing today, many have suggested police officers should be licensed, governed, and regulated through a professional college similar to the professional colleges and associations that licence and regulate social workers, nurses, architects, lawyers, physicians, to name a few. Recognizing the need for the paradigm of policing to shift, between 2020 and 2022, researchers at Mount Royal University completed a comprehensive study examining the feasibility of establishing a professional college of policing in British Columbia. Funded by a Crime Reduction Research Grant from the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, the team completed a representative survey of British Columbians to gain their thoughts on police governance, oversight, and operations, as well as a survey of nearly 200 police officers. In addition, identified key stakeholders were asked to contribute their thoughts and critique. Findings of this study clearly showed many see the value of a professional college of policing, though felt that such a college would need to carefully consider how unique issues of malpractice and malfeasance specific to police are addressed.

10:25am - 10:55am EST

Session 11 – Armchair Discussion: What’s the Lived Experience of Policing?

Hear two BIPOC Canadians chat about their experiences with Police.

10:55am - 11:15am EST

Morning Break

11:15am - 12:00pm EST

Session 12 - Armchair Discussion: Does the Model of the Royal College of Physicians Inform a Pathway Towards Achieving True Professional Status for Canadian Policing?

Can police professionalization truly be informed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons model? Listen, Learn and ask Questions.

12:00pm - 1:00pm EST

Lunch Break

1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Session 13 - Panel: Building Trust Between BIPOC Canadians & Police Officers

Hear from three experts! Has colonization destroyed any hope that First Nations people could trust police?

2:00pm - 2:15pm EST

Afternoon Break

2:15pm - 3:15pm EST

Session 14 - Panel: What are the Opportunities and Barriers to Achieving our College of Professional Policing?

Learn from two respected Canadian Senators and a former Police Chief as they discuss the importance of national training and education standards guided by a College of Policing.

3:20pm - 3:50pm EST

Session 15 - Closing Keynote Speaker: Recognising and Responding to Victims as a Priority in Policing

3:50pm - 4:00pm EST

Closing Remarks & Announcements

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