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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Agenda

Ontario Tech University (Ontario Tech)
Date: Wednesday, May 10
Time: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Download a print version of The Future of Community Mental Health and Wellness Agenda.

Opening

8 to 9 a.m. 

Registration and continental breakfast

9 to 9:30 a.m.

Introduction and opening 

Moderator: Dr. Douglas Holdway, Interim Vice-President Research, Innovation and International, Ontario Tech

Speaker: Tim McTiernan, PhD, President and Vice-Chancellor, Ontario Tech

Forum one: Mental health of vulnerable populations

9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Moderator: Dr. Wendy Stanyon, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech

Speakers: 

  • Jennine Agnew-Kata, Executive Director, Literacy Network of Durham
  • Daniel Desjardins, Captain, Military Faculty, Royal Military College
  • Inspector Bruce Townley, Inspector of Community Safety, Durham Regional Police Services

10:30 to 11 a.m.

Network break: Mindful yoga

Forum two: Occupational health and well-being

11 a.m. to noon

Moderator: Dr. Bernadette Murphy, Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech 

Speakers: 

  • Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton, Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina, Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment 
  • Dr. Pierre Côté, Canada Research Chair in Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Lead for Ontario Tech's Student Mental Health Awareness Research Team (U-SMART)
  • Dr. Cindy Malachowski, Occupational therapist and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP)

Keynote speech and lunch

Noon to 1:30 p.m. 

Introductions and remarks: Tim McTiernan, PhD, President and Vice-Chancellor, Ontario Tech 

Keynote speaker: Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire 

Forum three: Physical activity and healthy communities

1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Moderators: Dr. Shilpa Dogra and Dr. Caroline Barakat-Haddad, Assistant Professors, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech 

Speakers: 

  • Dr. Catherine Sabiston, Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Mental Health, and Professor, University of Toronto 

  • Dr. Melanie Stuckey, Research Department, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences

  • Tara Zupancic, Founder and Director, Habitus Research

2:30 to 3 p.m.

Network break: Mindful yoga

Forum four: Health technology and quantifying health 

3 to 4 p.m.

Moderator: Dr. Carolyn McGregor, Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics, and Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology, Ontario Tech

Speakers: 

  • Bridgette Atkins, Educational Developer, Ontario Tech 
  • Paul McGary, Director of Mental Health, Lakeridge Health (with expertise on the Big White Wall project)
  • Dr. Diana Petrarca, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Ontario Tech 
  • Dr. Michael Williams-Bell, Professor, Durham College and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech 

Closing

4 to 4:30 p.m.

Introductions and remarks: Dr. Douglas Holdway, Interim Vice-President Research, Innovation and International, Ontario Tech 

Keynote speaker: Neil Pasricha, Author 

4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Reception
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