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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

Workshops

Monday, May 11th, 2020

Presenter Bios

  • James Wigmore

    Jim Wigmore has worked as a forensic toxicologist for over 29 years at one of the foremost forensic laboratories in North America- the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, Ontario.  He was testified in over 700 criminal cases throughout Canada and in numerous personal injury civil cases and coroner’s inquests.  He has published over 70 scientific articles in forensic toxicology which have been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Superior Court of South Africa.  He written numerous book chapters as well, and 3 books including one on the medicolegal aspects of cannabis.

    Jim has been interviewed numerous times on the CBC and other media on the issues arising out of the legalization of cannabis in Canada.  He was on the expert panel of Health Canada on public information regarding this drug.  He received the prestigious Derome Award from the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences for his outstanding contributions to the field of forensic science.

  • Dr. Karen Woodall

    Karen Woodall worked as a Forensic Toxicologist at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto for 20 years before joining the University of Toronto as an assistant professor in the department of Forensic Sciences. She teaches numerous courses including the Science of Cannabis and Forensic Psychopharmacology.  She graduated in 1996 from the University of Bradford, UK with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology.  As a forensic toxicologist, she regularly testifies in court as an expert witness in many different types of trials including drug trafficking, homicide, sexual assault and impaired driving cases.  

    Karen is also a member of the Drugs and Driving committee which acts as an advisory body to the Department of Justice with respect to issues of drug impaired driving.   

    Karen’s previous and current research topics have included opioid deaths in the Province of Ontario, the role of drugs in motor vehicle fatalities and oral drug testing equipment.

  • Rob Langille
    Rob retired from the Toxicology Section of the Centre of Forensic Sciences which he joined in 1997. For the past 23 years Rob has testified in over 500 criminal cases and Coroners Inquests and trained over 1000 police officers to be qualified breath technicians with the Breathalyzer 900/900A, the Intoxilyzer 5000C and Intoxilyzer 8000C. Rob was a board member of the CSFS, a member and past Chair of the Alcohol Test Committee. To date, Rob has presented, authored or co-authored over 90 scientific presentations, abstracts, book chapters, case reports and publications, including 35 peer-reviewed articles. Following retirement, Rob has continued work as a private consultant, primarily providing forensic toxicological expertise in civil cases.
  • James V. Palangio
    Crown Counsel
    Drugs and Driving Team Lead
    Ministry of the Attorney General
    Crown Law Office – Criminal

     

    Mr. Palangio graduated from Queen’s University Law School in 1990.  After practicing for several years as an assistant Crown attorney in North Bay and Toronto, he joined the Crown Law Office – Criminal in 2006, where he represents the Crown in appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada, particularly in impaired driving cases.  He is currently leading a team of expert prosecutors from across Ontario responding to the coming-into-force of Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and Ontario’s Cannabis Control Act, 2017.   

    He sits on the federal/provincial/territorial Working Group that developed the Criminal Code amendments that abolished the Carter defence in 2008, and those in Bill C-46.  In February 2018, he testified before The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs during its study of that Bill as an expert in impaired driving law.   

    He is a co-recipient of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Excelsior Award for “excellence in teamwork” (April 2009 and August 2019), the Ontario Crown Attorneys Association (OCAA)’s Doug Lucas Award for “excellence in the pursuit of justice through science” (September 2012), and the OCAA’s Leo McGuigan Award for “extraordinary contributions to the education of Crown prosecutors over the course of a distinguished career” (May 2017).

Afternoon (12:30 to 4:30 p.m.)

Title: Photogrammetry for Crime Scene Documentation

Presenter: Eugene Liscio

Workshop Description: The digital camera is a powerful 3D documentation tool that can be used to document evidence and map crime scenes.  The fact that cameras exist in many mobile devices means that it is an inexpensive tool that almost everyone has at their disposal.  This workshop will provide some background to photogrammetry, how to take photos to properly document evidence and how to process the images using free software.  Participants are encouraged to bring their own cameras and laptops to try some practical exercises mapping smaller pieces of evidence.  Larger, outdoor areas will be demonstrated using a drone and the images subsequently processed as part of the workshop. Attendees should leave the workshop with some basic skills on how to properly photograph and then create their own 3D models of evidence.

Presenter Bio

  • Eugene Liscio, P.Eng.

    Eugene Liscio is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario, Canada and is the owner of ai2-3D, a consulting company that specializes in 3D forensic documentation, analysis and visualizations. Eugene has testified in court in both US and Canada utilizing 3D technologies such as photogrammetry and laser scanning and has also provided interactive 3D crime scene reconstructions to aid the jury. Eugene has been called to aid police agencies in Canada and the US and was retained to assist the Ontario Provincial Police in the shooting at the Canadian Parliament. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, where he teaches a 3D Forensic Reconstruction and Mapping course as part of the Forensic Sciences Program. Eugene is actively engaged in research and mentoring students focusing on 3D documentation and analysis techniques.

Full-Day (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Title: Law School in a Day

Presenters: Dr. Cecilia Hageman, LLM, Caitlin Pakosh, JD, Dr. Karen Woodall, Rhonda Smith, JD, LLM

Workshop Description: TBD

Presenter Bios

  • Dr. Cecilia Hageman, LLM
    Cecilia Hagemen, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor of Forensic Science in the Faculty of Science, is a Criminal Lawyer and Forensic Scientist in the areas of forensic DNA analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis, serology, and body fluid identification. She has served as an expert forensic witness on more than 130 criminal cases for jury and non-jury trials in the Superior Court Justice of Ontario, trials and preliminary inquiries in the Ontario Court of Justice, and inquiries in Coroner’s Court during her career.

    Dr. Hagemen spent 20 years as the Assistant Section Head of Biology in the Centre of Forensic Sciences with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services in Toronto, prepping scientists to perform the role of expert witness and assessing their role in court. First appointed to Ontario Tech University (formerly UOIT) in 2007, Dr. Hageman returned to the field in 2009, and served as a Sessional and Adjunct Professor until 2013 before resuming her position. Forensic Science students have the benefit of her practical, real-world expertise.

    Her own interests in science and law intersected early on and culminated in a Bachelor of Science in Honours Genetics from the Faculty of Science, a Bachelor of Laws from the Faculty of Law, and a Doctorate in Plant Sciences from the Faculty of Science, all at the University of Western Ontario. Subsequently, she received her Bar Admission from the Law Society of Upper Canada, and later earned her Master of Laws in Criminal Law from Osgoode Hall at York University.

    She serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, and is an Associate Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Highly sought after for her forensic expertise, Dr. Hageman has participated in three television productions involving cases from the Centre of Forensic Sciences, and she co-authored the DNA Handbook. Passionate about aiding those wrongly convicted, she assists the student-led Innocence Project at York University, and works with the Toronto-based Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, to overturn unjust convictions.
  • Dr. Karen Woodall

    Karen Woodall worked as a Forensic Toxicologist at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto for 20 years before joining the University of Toronto as an assistant professor in the department of Forensic Sciences. She teaches numerous courses including the Science of Cannabis and Forensic Psychopharmacology.  She graduated in 1996 from the University of Bradford, UK with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology.  As a forensic toxicologist, she regularly testifies in court as an expert witness in many different types of trials including drug trafficking, homicide, sexual assault and impaired driving cases.  

    Karen is also a member of the Drugs and Driving committee which acts as an advisory body to the Department of Justice with respect to issues of drug impaired driving.   

    Karen’s previous and current research topics have included opioid deaths in the Province of Ontario, the role of drugs in motor vehicle fatalities and oral drug testing equipment.

  • Caitlin Pakosh, JD
    TBD.
  • Rhonda Smith, JD, LLM
    TBD.

Tuesday May 12th, 2020

Morning (8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.)

Title: The Three-Headed Hydra- The Forensic Toxicology of Alcohol, Nicotine, and Cannabis

Presenters: James Wigmore, Karen Woodall and Rob Langille

Workshop Description: A historical and scientific comparison of our three most common legal psychoactive drugs and their drug delivery systems will be presented. For example, nicotine and THC can be vaped, but alcohol cannot.  Why?  You can have a nicotine patch but not an alcohol patch.  Why not?  Alcohol has had the greatest effect on our criminal justice system and impaired driving so far, but THC is being found in an increasing number of drivers and causes more psychosis.  Both of these drugs are considered "alcohols".  Nicotine, on the other hand, is a highly addictive alkaloid and its new drug delivery system- vaping- and the popularity of JUULs has caused the unwanted reintroduction of this drug to youth with resultant problems. Can we tame the Three-Headed Hydra?

 

Morning (8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.)

Title: Practical Aspects of Testifying as an Expert Witness

Presenter: John Hugel

Workshop Description: This workshop will consist of a discussion and presentation which will be based on the author’s experience in testifying over 100 times as an expert in Ontario, British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand.  There will be time for questions. The range of topics will include:
  • Why testimony is stressful
  • Being impartial
  • Definitions and nomenclature
  • Roles of court officers
  • Testifying as an expert
  • Fact evidence vs expert evidence
  • Expert report: content & formatting
  • Avoiding problems before a court
  • Mistakes happen - handling them
  • Why you need a court curriculum vitae
  • Prepare, prepare, prepare
  • Rules when testifying
  • Will I ever get on the stand?
  • Practical tips when attending court
  • Answering reasonable questions
  • Answering convoluted questions
  • Answers explaining high tech instruments
  • Be concise
  • Engage with the trier-of-fact
  • Problems while testifying
  • It is okay to say, “I don’t know.”
  • Handling evidence-based challenges
  • Handling obfuscation
  • Cross-examination techniques
  • When it seems to get personal
  • Testimony with and without opposing expert
  • When it is over
  • Read your transcript - it hurts, but do it
  • Examples
  • Questions & answers

Presenter Bio

  • John Hugel
    John Hugel graduated from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.  Since then he has worked for Health Canada in Toronto and Vancouver; the Institute of Environmental Science and Research in Auckland New Zealand; the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission in Sydney Australia; and New South Wales Police in Sydney Australia.  He is now a consultant based in Toronto Canada.  During his 40 year career, he has assisted in more than 400 clandestine drug laboratory investigations and testified more than 100 times in the jurisdictions where he worked.  Accomplishments include writing chapters in two books and several scientific articles; and presenting many times at meetings of forensic drug chemists.  As well, he and the co-authors have been awarded the RCMP Commissioner’s Commendation, the Canadian Meritorious Service Medal and the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for their work on the Drug Yield Calculator which is used in over 50 countries worldwide.  He is a member of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, a member of the Chemical Institute of Canada, a member of the Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society, and a Charter Chemist in the province of Ontario.

Afternoon (12:30 to 4:30 p.m.)

Title: Mass Spectrometry for Forensic Scientists

Presenters: Dr. Naomi Stock, Dr. Karla Newman

Workshop Description: Mass spectrometry is a highly sensitive and versatile tool that is commonly used by forensic scientists; often for the screening and identification of known substances. This course will provide an introduction and overview of mass spectrometry techniques, including liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and inductively coupled plasma –mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As Research Scientists in a University mass spectrometry facility, instructors Dr. Naomi Stock and Dr. Karla Newman will provide valuable hints and tips on how to best prepare samples for mass spectrometry analysis, including simple sample extraction and preservation methods. This course will also examine techniques that may provide additional information for forensic scientists such as mass spectrometry imaging, the use of stable metal isotope analyses, and the untargeted analysis of drug metabolites or degradation products. Anyone who would like to learn about mass spectrometry is welcome to attend.

Presenter Bios

  • Dr. Naomi Stock

    Dr. Naomi Stock is a Senior Research Scientist at the Water Quality Centre, Trent University’s mass spectrometry centre, where she routinely analyzes a variety of samples for environmental contaminants, pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs and personal care products.  Naomi has been teaching mass spectrometry courses at Trent University since 2009.  She received a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Toronto and has a MSc in Chemistry and Toxicology.  Naomi has also worked at several commercial and government laboratories.

  • Dr. Karla Newman

    Dr. Karla Newman is an ICP-MS Research Scientist at the Water Quality Centre, Trent University’s mass spectrometry centre, where she routinely measures trace metal concentrations and metal isotope ratios in a variety of samples.  Karla has been teaching mass spectrometry courses at Trent University since 2012.  She obtained her PhD in plasma source mass spectrometry from the University of Wales at Swansea, UK and also has a MSc in Chemistry.  She previously worked at Nu Instruments Ltd. in the UK for several years designing mass spectrometers.

Please note that all times listed here are approximate, and may be subject to change as we approach the date of the conference.
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