Conference Mission:

Conference Themes:
Presentations have been divided into three categories:
     - Prevention, Intervention, Postvention and Life Promotion
     - Research, Policy or Practice
     - Specific population focus, or intersectional analysis

Prevention, Intervention and Postvention (Hope, Help, and Healing) are the three areas of focus when working in the area of suicide. They can be understood as the before, during and after experiences of thoughts of suicide, attempts or death. 

PREVENTION is the umbrella in working toward reducing deaths by suicide; increasing awareness, eliminating stigma, knowing what to do in the event that you or someone you know experiences thoughts or behaviours associated with suicide. It’s having the skills, awareness, before someone is in crisis. Prevention efforts are bolstered by what is learned in the postvention process when we ask, “What are the policies, services, messages and supports needed to save lives?”

INTERVENTION includes coping and intervening in the event that you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thinking or behaviours.

POSTVENTION includes the skills and strategies for taking care of yourself or helping another person heal after the experience of suicide thoughts, attempts or death.

About the Conference:

During this two-day event, the conference will mobilize any and all individuals who share a common interest in promoting life and preventing suicide. As the premiere suicide prevention knowledge exchange event in Canada, this conference will bring together multiple voices, learning from and sharing with one another, including researchers, front-line clinicians, survivors of suicide loss, survivors of suicide attempts and family and friends who have been affected by suicide. With a focus on informed-based best practices and research, we will provide a forum for diverse perspectives on the current state of information and future directions in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

Presentation formats include:
      - Panels
      - Workshops
      - Roundtables
      - Posters/Storyboards
      - Artwork
      - Paper Presentations
      - Think Tank Sessions 

Keynote addresses and selected presentations will offer simultaneous translation in French or English, otherwise presentations will be in English.

Keynote Speakers:

Brian L. Mishara
Brian Mishara is Director of the Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide, Ethical Issues and End-of-Life Practices (CRISE) and Professor of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in Montreal, Canada. He is Vice-chairperson of the Trustees of Befrienders Worldwide, an international organization of helplines. He published seven books in English and five in French, include research on new technologies and suicide prevention, the effectiveness of suicide prevention programmes, how children understand suicide, theories of suicidality, ethical issues, euthanasia and assisted suicide, and evaluations of helpline effectiveness. He was a founder of Suicide Action Montreal, the Montreal suicide prevention centre, a past president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. He also consults and conducts suicide prevention training internationally.

Chief Eugene Hart
Eugene Hart was born and raised in the Innu community of Sheshatshiu. During his 16 year career with Innu Education, Eugene held a number of key positions that gave him the ability to facilitate a better relationship between the education system and community members. For a period of time Eugene held a management position at the Charles J. Treatment Centre, then was a community service worker with CYFS. It was this experience that gave him a full view of how the system of social services interacts with the community of Sheshatshiu and how the people interact and view it. This experience has shaped his knowledge and has made him advocate on parents behalf for reunification and stressing the need for a greater understanding of community and culture when applying these programs. It was in this spirit that gave Eugene the inspiration to engage the community directly by establishing the Voices of our Children Committee in 2004. This committee was established to work within the community to address and prevent youth suicide. Eugene made his first foray into politics for a position on the Innu Nation Board where he was first elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2014. Wanting to do a better job for the community Eugene decided to run for Chief of Sheshathshiu. During Eugene’s tenure as Chief he’s had many successes, but the one he is most proud of is the advocacy work he and his council have been able to accomplish on behalf of the children taken out of the community and put in care. This advocacy has led to a transition program that will allow for the children to stay in the community and allow them to stay in touch with their language, culture and their education. Eugene is happily married to his wife Valerie and they have been raising their 3 children (one of which is a foster child) with a focus to be proud of their aboriginal heritage while stressing the importance of health and education in their lives.

Simon Hatcher
Dr. Simon Hatcher is currently a Full Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Ottawa. He moved there from Auckland in May 2012. He trained in psychiatry in the UK and then worked for 18 years in Auckland, New Zealand as a clinical academic running a Liaison Psychiatry in a general hospital and at The Department of Psychological Medicine at The University of Auckland. His main research interests include suicide, self-harm, psychotherapies, psychiatry in the general hospital setting and e-therapies. He has been the principal investigator in several large trials of non-pharmacological interventions in people who present to hospital with intentional self-harm. Currently he is the principal investigator on a cluster randomized trial of blended therapy for suicidal men in Ontario. This is an attempt to blend together face to face therapy with technology to create a therapy that is more than the sum of its parts. The research lab he heads Hatching Ideas Hub focuses on clinical trials in underserved populations. He has worked with Maori as partners in research investigating belonging and treatment in suicidal Maori. Clinically he works in the downtown homeless shelters in Ottawa and the Liaison Psychiatry service at The Ottawa General Hospital. He is the Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry.

Sister Elizabeth Davis
Sister Elizabeth Davis is the leader of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has worked in health care administration with responsibility for the provision of mental health services in acute care, chronic care and long term-care. She is also Co-Chair of the Board of The Gathering Place, a community centre providing service to persons who are homeless or without adequate social support.

About the Pre-conference:
PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONEL:  Engaging with the Challenges of Suicidal Behaviours

The prevention of death by suicide is extremely valuable for maintaining a healthy population. Among our public safety personnel (e.g., correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police) and others who strive to keep the population safe and healthy, there is growing interest in understanding the breadth and depth of challenges they face, particularly with respect to suicidal behaviours (i.e., thoughts, planning, actions). The multifaceted workshop will begin by showcasing the recent growth in the published research on public safety personnel and suicidal behaviours, as well as pending opportunities for further work – particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Presenters will speak to research and recommendations that can be derived for public safety personnel from work done with the Canadian military and veterans, and therein provide insight into recognizing when people are struggling. In the afternoon, a modular training session focused on managing suicidal behaviours and creating awareness among public safety personnel will be offered to workshop participants. The training will be based on the latest version of the Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) from the Department of National Defence.

October 31st ---
9:30 – Lunch: Presentations
Lunch – 4:00: R2MR training

VIEW PROGRAM > 

**The last minute modifications will be handed out at the registration desk

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This 29th edition of the CASP National Annual Conference is made possible by the support of local co-host organisations and financial partners. Please visit their information booths and exchange your expertise!

Meet the 2018 Conference Co-hosts:

The John Howard Society of Newfoundland & Labrador

A community-based organization comprising of, and governed by, individuals whose goal is to understand and respond to crime and its consequences. Their mission is to facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders and safer communities through effective, just and humane responses to the causes and consequences of crime.

CMHA Newfoundland and Labrador

A provincial division of the nation-wide leader and champion for mental health. Our mission is to facilitate access to the resources people require to maintain and improve mental health and community integration, build resilience, and support recovery from mental illness.

Thank you to our Conference Financial Partners:

Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Health and Community Services

Mental Health Commission of Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador Association
of Public and Private Employees

Delegate Fees:

Registration fees are non-refundable but are transferable.

Applicable delegate fees must have been prepaid to complete your registration. You may pay now online once you have completed your registration form. Our site uses the PayPal system.

You can also mail us your payment by cheque, by selecting "Invoice Me". Be sure to send no later than October 15th: P.O. Box 53082, RPO Rideau Centre, Ottawa ON K1N 1C5.

Student pricing available with proof of student status (ex: ID card) or proof of sponsorship from an organisation (ex: letter indicating lived experience of participant).

Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland - 115 Cavendish, St. John's

We would like to respectfully acknowledge the territory in which the conference is being held, as the ancestral unceded homelands of the Beothuk and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral unceded homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk.

Conference delegates are offered a special rate of $179.00 per room (single/double).

Please use the hotels in-house reservation office by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-709-726-4980 and dialing "0" to ask to speak with reservations. Mention being part of the CASP 2018 group

Reservations through the central Marriott website will not be given the group discount.

Travel:

Three airlines service St. John’s International Airport (YYT):
West Jet >
Air Canada >
Porter >

The Sheraton Newfoundland does not provide shuttle transportation to or from the airport. However, taxi services are available at an average cost of $25.

St. John's Landmarks Group Outing:

If you are attending as a guest or not attending any conference presentations on November 1st, please join us for a group outing around St. John's guided by McCarthy's Party. Click on the link below, select Suicide Prevention Conference Tour, then Book.

Register -- Nov.1 9:30AM -- 2:00PM