Final Program

MORNING

• 8:15 | Registration & Breakfast Buffet

• 9:00 | Opening Remarks

  Michael Francis, 2009 Conference Committee Chair
  Sepp Tschierschwitz, Past President, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

  Madeleine Dion Stout
  Vice Chair, Mental Health Commission of Canada
  Madeleine Dion Stout will focus on the commission's new initiatives, notably their 10 year anti-stigma and discrimination-reduction campaign, whose first priorities are youth and health care workers.

  Jim Sinclair
  President, BC Federation of Labour
  How employers and unions can work together to develop workplace programs that engage, educate and support employees and their families.

• 9:30 | Canada's Mental Health Crisis - and How Employers Can Help
  André Picard
  Award-Winning Public Health Writer, Globe & Mail
  Drawing on the Globe and Mail's Breakdown series on mental health, André Picard will examine the "big picture" of workplace mental illness and the family in light of today's uncertain economy.

• 10:30 | Refreshment and Networking Break
  

• 11:00 | Tools for Action > Reaching Families Through Workplaces
  Don Buchanan
  Leader of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange, Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
  In an innovative partnership between business and health care, Don Buchanan will share with latest research from a project using the workplace setting to empower families with knowledge of child and youth mental health.

• 12:00 | Pre-Luncheon Remarks
  Hon. Steven L. Point, OBC, Xwe lī qwel tel, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

• 12:10 | Lunch Buffet

AFTERNOON

• 1:00 | Luncheon Speaker
  Peter Legge
  Chairman and CEO, Canada Wide Media Limited and 2008 recipient of the Order of British Columbia

• 1:30 | Networking Break

• 2:00 | The Juggling Act > Stories and Strategies for Balancing Caregiving, Mental Health and the Workplace
  From juggling the pressure of the "sandwich generation" - family caregivers to both children and aging parents - to dealing with tragic family mental illness, life's challenges can strike at any point in one's career. This is a memorable panel of employees, employers and experts who have faced mental illness in their lives and workplaces. They will share insights on helping employees succeed at work while dealing with the challenges of providing family care.
  • Keli Anderson, FORCE Society for Kids' Mental Health
  • Dr. Connie Coniglio, BC Mental Health and Addiction Services
  • Ginny Dennehy, Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation
  • Bev Gutray, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division
  • Shainul Kassam, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

• 3:30 | Refreshment and Networking Break
  

• 3:45 | On the Record > My Personal Journey with Mental Illness
  Matthew Good
  Recording artist and 2008 Mental Health Voices Award Winner
  In a candid discussion, Matthew Good will share his personal journey with mental illness and discuss how going public can make a difference in increasing awareness and reducing stigma. His 2007 solo album, Hospital Music, referring to his stay in a psychiatric ward, debuted at the top of the Canadian albums chart and is certified gold.

• 4:15 | Closing Remarks
  Shelagh Rogers, Broadcast Journalist and 2008 Recipient of the Canadian Mental Health Association's Media Award and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Transforming Lives Award