October 25 & 26, 2016, Richmond BC
Thank you to all that attended and contributed to the shared knowledge that has resulted in planning and action.
Update 1: Since the closing of this Conference, PAN has been working hard to develop a report on an important and pressing issue that was extensively discussed at the Conference, namely, Canada’s national drug policy and its effects on public health in the context of BC’s ongoing crisis of overdose and overdose deaths.
This Drug Policy Report summarizes the information and perspectives shared via the various conference presentations, roundtable discussions, topic tables and Q&A sessions that took place over the course of the two days of the Conference. Some of the latest changes to drug policy and programming are also noted. Based on the Conference deliberations and taking into account the latest developments, the report highlights potential policy changes and advocacy items for PAN and allied partners to consider as we look to the future.
We look forward to hearing your feedback on this report, and more importantly to working collaboratively with member organizations and allied stakeholders and supporting the provincial response to the overdose crisis.
Update 2: At PAN’s 2016 Executive Directors Summit, one of the two key topics that participants identified as pressing for the session was the concerns regarding the process, outcomes and next steps of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF). Earlier in the fall, PHAC announced the decisions of the funding competition’s Letter of Intent (LOI) process, and those decisions had significant implications for HIV and HCV service delivery in BC. During the Summit, PAN member ED’s and other leadership discussed key messages (initially developed by the PAN Board of Directors at their face-to-face board meeting the day before) for a letter from PAN to the Minister of Health Dr. Philpott. Following the ED Summit, a letter containing these key messages was sent to Dr. Philpott on November 2nd, and PAN received a response letter from the Minister on December 13th. The Health Minister’s response invited a meeting between PAN and the President of PHAC, Dr. Mithani; as well as the Chief Public Health Officer.
A face-to-face meeting between PAN senior staff, Dr. Mithani and two key PHAC regional representatives was subsequently arranged and took place in Vancouver on January 17th, 2017. During this meeting, the concerns held by PAN and its members about the CAF funding process, decisions, and implications on service delivery were discussed. Dr. Mithani acknowledged those concerns. The President also sought feedback on PAN’s recommendations as to how to potentially improve: funding competitions and communications regarding PHAC funding priorities in the future. A key topic of conversation was how to effectively evaluate PHAC funded community-based programs and thereby ensure “maximum impact”. Together, PAN and PHAC committed to working together to maximize the collective impact of community support and services addressing HIV, HCV and other STBBIs.
Moving forward, PAN will continue to follow up with PHAC staff at regional and national levels, as required, to best support various member organizations through the transitional and “top up” funding processes. Along with our member organizations, and allied stakeholders and partners throughout BC and Canada, PAN will also continue to call more funding for the sector (including advocating for dedicated funds for HCV and other STBBIs). If you have any questions regarding PHAC’s HIV/HCV CAF or PAN’s work on this critical issue, please contact PAN’s Executive Director, J. Evin Jones via email [email protected].
This year’s PAN Fall Conference featured:
- Keynote by: Richard Elliott, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network; Donald McPherson, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition; Katie Lacroix, Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users (SOLID); Darcie Bennett, Pivot Legal Society; Jordan Westfall, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs
- Special plenary session on supervised consumption sites & harm reduction
- Updates on: STOP, From Hope to Health, and Healthy Pathways Forward
- Update on the Population Size Estimates Project being led by the BCCDC
- Presentation from Lianping (Mint) Ti, PhD., BC Centre for Excellence on “Treatment as Prevention” for HCV
- Special HCV plenary session
- Forum for People Living with HIV/AIDS aka PHA Forum
- Executive Director Networking Session
- Annual General Meeting
Please click on the links below for important documents related to the conference:
Annual Report
Conference Draft Schedule (subjected to change)
Drug Policy, Harm Reduction & Supervised Consumption Sites Session
- Scaling up Safer Consumption Services and the Respect for Communities Act: Barriers and Opportunities presented by Richard Elliott, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
- Pivot Policy Change, Stigma Reduction and Advocacy Project presented by Darcie Bennett, Pivot Legal Society
- An Injection of Reason: Critical Analysis of the Respect for Communities Act (Q&A), shared by Donald MacPherson, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
- Action = Life: Call for an Immediate Response to National Crisis of Overdose Deaths, shared by Donald MacPherson, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
- Other Related Resources on Peer Engagement Tools:
- Engaging People Who Have Used Illicit Drugs in Qualitative Research
- A Guide for Paying Peer Research Assistants – Challenges and Opportunities
- From One Ally to Another – Practice Guidelines to Better Include People Who Use Drugs at Your Decision-Making Tables
- VANDU (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users) Manifesto for a Drug User Liberation Movement
YouthCO Presentation
- Youth-Led HIV Education by Sarah Chown, YouthCO
PAN 101 Session
- PAN 101 by Janice Duddy & Jaydee Cossar, PAN
- PAN Glossary of Acronyms
Forum for persons living with HIV/AIDS (aka PHA Forum)
Executive Director Networking Session
- 2015 ED Summit Notes
- 2016 Executive Director Networking Session Agenda
- 2016 Executive Director Networking Session – Roundtable Discussion Notes on Fentanyl Crisis
Members’ and Stakeholders’ Survey
- 2015 Members’ and Stakeholders’ Survey Results Presentation by Janice Duddy, PAN
- Note: Ignite Webinar (video) also available at the bottom of this page
PAN Board & Senior Management Presentations
- PAN Organizational Review by Katrina Jensen, PAN Board Co-Chair
- PAN Potential Governance and Membership Structure by Jesse Brown, PAN Board Co-Chair
- Provincial HIV and HCV Collective Impact Network by J. Evin Jones, PAN Executive Director
Annual General Meeting
- 2015 AGM Approved Minutes
- 2016 AGM Draft Agenda
- 2016 Audited Financial Statements
- New PAN Membership Application submitted by Quesnel Shelter and Support Society
- Important Information regarding PAN 2016 Board Elections
- 2016 AGM Draft Minutes
STOP HIV/AIDS & From Hope to Health Updates
Population Size Estimates (PSE)
- Project Summary and Why PSE is important
- PSE for Key Populations at Risk of HIV and HCV in BC Presentation by David Moore, BC Centre for Disease Control & Janice Duddy, PAN
CATIE Presentation
- Blended Learning Initiative by Lara Barker, CATIE
HCV “Treatment as Prevention” Presentation
- Treatment as Prevention: Exporting the HIV Strategy to HCV by Lian (Mint) Ti, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
“Refresh” of Healthy Pathways Forward Presentation
- Refreshing Healthy Pathways Forward: a Strategic and Integrated Approach to Viral Hepatitis in BC by Mikhail Torban, BC Ministry of Health
Evaluation Report from the 2016 Fall Conference
PAN 2016 Fall Conference Evaluation
2016 PAN Ignite Webinars
We have scheduled two teleconference Q & A sessions with all the presenters of the webinars and so we invite you to join us on one of the two dates:
October 19th at 10:00am (Pacific time)
November 23rd at 10:00am (Pacific time)
Dial in information for the calls is:
Toll-free: 1-888-884-4539
Access code: 528 11 44 #
PLDI Peer Evaluators Impact Evaluation Project
Positive Living, Positive Homes
The BC People Living with HIV Stigma Index
Results from the 2015 PAN Members’ & Stakeholders’ Survey
Please contact the event registrat at [email protected] for any questions related to the PAN 2016 Fall Conference, PHA Forum and AGM.
For information on the PAN 2015 and past conferences, please see the Conference Resources page of our website.