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  • OPEN ACCESS
    Beyond the COVID-19 crisis: building on lost opportunities in the history of public health
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 614 - 639
    The influenza pandemic of 1918–1920, which killed 50 000 Canadians, spurred the creation of a federal department of public health. But in the intervening century, public health at all levels has remained, as Marc Lalonde put it in 1988, the “poor cousin” in the health care system (Lalonde 1988, p. 77). Punctuated by sporadic investment during infectious disease crises, such as polio in the early 1950s, public health is less of a priority as the cost of tertiary health interventions rises. While public health potentially involves a broad range of interventions, this paper focuses on the history of public health interventions around infectious disease. COVID-19 has forced us to relearn the importance of maintaining basic infectious/communicable disease control capacity and revealed the cost of our failure to do so. It has also drawn our attention to the intersection between social inequality, racism, and colonialism and vulnerability to disease. In addition to investing in our capacity to contain disease outbreaks as they occur, we must plan now for how to achieve greater health equity in the future by addressing underlying economic and social conditions and providing meaningful access to preventive care for all. This is how we build a truly resilient society. Governments at all levels have recognized the importance of social factors in shaping health and illness for decades. But greater health equity will result only from genuine action on this knowledge. Action will arise from public advocacy in support of prevention, and a new level of engagement and collaboration between affected individuals and communities, public health experts, and governments.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Place and transformative learning in climate change focused community science
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1773 - 1794
    Community science involves the co-creation of scientific pursuits, learning, and outcomes and is presented as a transformative practice for community engagement and environmental governance. Emphasizing critical reflection, this study adopts Mezirow’s conception of transformative learning to theorize the transformative capacity of community science. Findings from interviews with participants in a community science program reveal critical reflection, although instances acknowledging attitudes and beliefs without challenging personal assumptions were more common. Program elements most likely to prompt participants to identify beliefs, values, and assumptions include data collection and interaction in team dynamics, whereas data collection in a novel environment was most likely to prompt participants to challenge their beliefs, values, and assumptions. A review of 71 climate change focused programs further demonstrates the extent that program designs support transformative learning. Key features of the community science landscape like the broad inclusion of stated learning objectives offer a constructive starting point for deepening transformative capacity, while the dominance of contributory program designs stands as a likely roadblock. Overall, this study contributes by applying a developed field to theorize transformation in relation to community science and by highlighting where facilitators should focus program design efforts to better promote transformation toward environmental sustainability.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Seeking shelter: homelessness and COVID-19
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 925 - 958
    Those experiencing homelessness in Canada are impacted inequitably by COVID-19 due to their increased exposure, vulnerability of environment and medical comorbidities, and their lack of access to preventive care and treatment in the context of the pandemic. In shelter environments one is unable to effectively physically distance, maintain hygiene, obtain a test, or isolate. As a result, unique strategies are required for this population to protect them and those who serve them. Recommendations are provided to reduce or prevent further negative consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic for people experiencing homelessness. These recommendations were informed by a systematic review of the literature, as well as a jurisdictional scan. Where evidence did not exist, expert consensus from key providers and those experiencing homelessness throughout Canada was included. These recommendations recognize the need for short-term interventions to mitigate the immediate risk to this community, including coordination of response, appropriate precautions and protective equipment, reducing congestion, cohorting, testing, case and contact management strategies, dealing with outbreaks, isolation centres, and immunization. Longer-term recommendations are also provided with a view to ending homelessness by addressing the root causes of homelessness and by the provision of adequate subsidized and supportive housing through a Housing First strategy. It is imperative that meaningful changes take place now in how we serve those experiencing homelessness and how we mitigate specific vulnerabilities. These recommendations call for intersectoral, collaborative engagement to work for solutions targeted towards protecting the most vulnerable within our community through both immediate actions and long-term planning to eliminate homelessness.
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    The limits of our knowledge: tracking the size and scope of police involvement with persons with mental illness
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 424 - 448
    Significant public discourse has focused recently on police–civilian interactions involving with persons with mental illness (PMI). Despite increasing public attention, and growing demands for policy change, little is actually known about the myriad of ways in which Canadian police encounter PMI in the context of routine police work. To assist policymakers in developing evidence-informed policy, this paper attempts to shed light on present difficulties associated with addressing fundamental questions, such as the prevalence of mental health related issues in police calls for service. To do this, we attempt to map the size and scope of police calls for service involving PMI, drawing on both the available scientific data and the limited knowledge to be gleaned from available police reports. Our focus is on two broad categories of police interactions with citizens: public safety concerns (wellness checks, suicide threats, missing persons, mental health apprehensions) and crime prevention and response (encountering PMI as victims–complainants and (or) as potential suspects). We also explore the challenges policy-makers face in relying on police data and the importance of overcoming weaknesses in data collection and sharing in relation to the policing of uniquely vulnerable groups. This paper concludes with some key recommendations for addressing gaps highlighted.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Investing in a better future: higher education and post-COVID Canada
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 871 - 911
    Post-secondary education (PSE) is a vital part of civil society and any modern economy. When broadly accessible, it can enable socioeconomic mobility, improve health outcomes, advance social cohesion, and support a highly skilled workforce. It yields public benefits not only in improved well-being and economic prosperity, but also in reduced costs in health care and social services. Canada also relies heavily on the PSE sector for research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PSE has supported research related to the pandemic response and other critical areas, including providing expert advice to support public health and government decision-making, while maintaining educational programs and continuing to contribute to local and regional economies. But the pandemic effort has stretched already strained PSE resources and people even further: for decades, declining public investment has driven increases in tuition and decreases in faculty complement, undermining Canada’s research capacity and increasing student debt as well as destabilizing the sector through a growing reliance on volatile international education markets. Given the challenges before us, including climate change, reconciliation, and the pandemic, it is imperative that we better draw on the full range of experience, knowledge, and creativity in Canada and beyond through an inclusive, stable, and globally engaged PSE. Supporting PSE’s recovery will be key to Canada’s ongoing pandemic response and recovery. The recommendations in this report are guided by a single goal—to make the post-secondary sector a more effective partner and support in building a more equitable, sustainable, and evidence-driven future for Canada, through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    The state of Canada’s biosecurity efforts to protect biodiversity from species invasions
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1922 - 1954
    Invasive alien species (IAS) pose threats to native biodiversity globally and are linked to numerous negative biodiversity impacts throughout Canada. Considering the Canadian federal government’s commitments to environmental stewardship (e.g., the Convention on Biological Diversity), the successful management of IAS requires an understanding of how federal infrastructure, strategies, and decisions have contributed to previous outcomes. Here, we present an analysis of current efforts by the federal government to prevent IAS establishment in Canadian ecosystems and the unique challenges associated with Canadian IAS management. We then examine historical and current case studies of IAS in Canada with variable outcomes. By drawing comparisons with IAS management in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, we discuss how the Canadian government may refine its policies and practices to enable more effective responses to IAS threats. We conclude by considering how future interacting stressors (e.g., climate change) will shape how we address IAS threats, and list six lessons for successful management. Most importantly, Canada must regard biodiversity impacts from IAS with as much urgency as direct economic impacts that have historically garnered more attention. Although we focus on Canada, our findings may also be useful in other jurisdictions facing similar challenges with IAS management.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Having it all: hybridizing conventional and community science monitoring for enhanced data quality and cost savings
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 2028 - 2041
    Large-scale monitoring is used to track population trends for many ecologically and economically important wildlife species. Often, population monitoring involves professional staff travelling to collect data (i.e., conventional monitoring) or in efforts to reduce monitoring costs, by engaging volunteers (i.e., community science). Although many studies have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of conventional vs. community science monitoring, few have made direct, quantitative comparisons between these two approaches. We compared data quality and financial costs between contemporaneous and overlapping conventional and community science programs for monitoring a major forest pest, the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferanae Clem.). Although community science trapping sites were clumped around urban areas, abundance estimates from the programs were strongly spatially correlated. However, annual program expenditures were nearly four times lower in the community science versus the conventional program. We modelled a hypothetical hybrid model of the two programs, which provided full spatial coverage and potentially the same data, but at half the cost of the conventional program and with the added opportunity for public engagement. Our study provides a unique quantitative analysis of merits and costs of conventional versus community science monitoring. Our study offers insights on how to assess wildlife monitoring programs where multiple approaches exist.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Supporting Canada’s COVID-19 resilience and recovery through robust immigration policy and programs
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 686 - 759
    Canada has been seen globally as a leader in immigration and integration policies and programs and as an attractive and welcoming country for immigrants, refugees, temporary foreign workers, and international students. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed some of the strengths of Canada’s immigration system, as well as some of the fault lines that have been developing over the last few years. In this article we provide an overview of Canada’s immigration system prior to the pandemic, discuss the system’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities revealed by the pandemic, and explore a post-COVID-19 immigration vision. Over the next three years, the Government of Canada intends to bring over 1.2 million new permanent residents to Canada. In addition, Canada will continue to accept many international students, refugee claimants, and temporary foreign workers for temporary residence here. The importance of immigration for Canada will continue to grow and be an integral component of the country’s post-COVID-19 recovery. To succeed, it is essential to take stock, to re-evaluate Canada’s immigration and integration policies and programs, and to expand Canada’s global leadership in this area. The authors offer insights and over 80 recommendations to reinvigorate and optimize Canada’s immigration program over the next decade and beyond.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    The need for a federal Basic Income feature within any coherent post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 394 - 402
    COVID-19 has shone a harsh light on the extent of poverty in Canada. When normal economic activity was interrupted by the exigencies of public health driven lockdowns, the shutdown disproportionately affected people who, before the pandemic, were living on incomes beneath the poverty line or dependent upon low-paying hourly remunerated jobs, usually part time and without appropriate benefits. Those living beneath the poverty line in Canada, three million of welfare poor and working poor, include a disproportionately large population of Black and Indigenous people and people of colour. This paper addresses the challenge of inclusive economic recovery. In particular, we propose that the federal government introduce a Basic Income guarantee for all residents of Canada as part of a comprehensive social safety net that includes access to housing, child care, mental and physical health care, disability supports, education, and the many other public services essential to life in a high-income country. Residents with no other income would receive the full benefit that would be sufficient to ensure that no one lives in poverty, while those with low incomes would receive a reduced amount.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Fundamental limitations of contact tracing for COVID-19
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1993 - 2001
    Contact tracing has played a central role in COVID-19 control in many jurisdictions and is often used in conjunction with other measures such as travel restrictions and social distancing mandates. Contact tracing is made ineffective, however, by delays in testing, calling, and isolating. Even if delays are minimized, contact tracing triggered by testing of symptomatic individuals can only prevent a fraction of onward transmissions from contacts. Without other measures in place, contact tracing alone is insufficient to prevent exponential growth in the number of cases in a population with little immunity. Even when used effectively with other measures, occasional bursts in call loads can overwhelm contact tracing systems and lead to a loss of control. We propose embracing approaches to COVID-19 contact tracing that broadly test individuals without symptoms, in whatever way is economically feasible—either with fast and cheap tests that can be deployed widely, with pooled testing, or with screening of judiciously chosen groups of high-risk individuals. These considerations are important both in regions where widespread vaccination has been deployed and in those where few residents have been immunized.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    A scoping review of the digital agricultural revolution and ecosystem services: implications for Canadian policy and research agendas
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1955 - 1985
    The application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, cellular agriculture, and big data analytics to food systems has been described as a digital agricultural revolution with the potential to increase food security and reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. Yet, the scientific evidence informing how these technologies may impact or enhance ecosystem services has not been comprehensively reviewed. In this scoping review, we examine how digital agricultural technologies may enhance agriculture’s support of ecosystem services. Keyword searches in academic databases resulted in 2337 records, of which 74 records met review criteria and were coded. We identify three clusters of digital agricultural technologies including those that make farm management more precise, increase connectivity, and create novel foods. We then examine modelling and empirical evidence gaps in research linking these technologies to ecosystem services. Finally, we overview barriers to implementing digital agricultural technologies for better ecosystem services management in the Canadian context including economic and political systems; lack of policies on data management, governance, and cybersecurity; and limited training and human resources that prevents producers from fully utilizing these technologies.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Let’s do better: public representations of COVID-19 science
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 403 - 423
    COVID science is being both done and circulated at a furious pace. While it is inspiring to see the research community responding so vigorously to the pandemic crisis, all this activity has also created a churning sea of bad data, conflicting results, and exaggerated headlines. With representations of science becoming increasingly polarized, twisted, and hyped, there is growing concern that the relevant science is being represented to the public in a manner that may cause confusion, inappropriate expectations, and the erosion of public trust. Here we explore some of the key issues associated with the representations of science in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these issues are not new. But the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the biomedical research process and amplified the adverse ramifications of poor public communication. We need to do better. As such, we conclude with 10 recommendations aimed at key actors involved in the communication of COVID-19 science, including government, funders, universities, publishers, media, and the research communities.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Correctional services during and beyond COVID-19
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 490 - 516
    Correctional services, both institutional and within the community, are impacted by COVID-19. In the current paper, we focus on the current situation and examine the tensions around how COVID-19 has introduced new challenges while also exacerbating strains on the correctional system. Here, we make recommendations that are directly aimed at how correctional systems manage COVID-19 and address the nature and structure of correctional systems that should be continued after the pandemic. In addition, we highlight and make recommendations for the needs of those who remain incarcerated in general, and for Indigenous people in particular, as well as for those who are serving their sentences in the community. Further, we make recommendations for those working in closed-custody institutions and employed to support the re-entry experiences of formerly incarcerated persons. We are at a critical juncture—where reflection and change are possible—and we put forth recommendations toward supporting those working and living in correctional services as a way forward during the pandemic and beyond.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    COVID-19 epidemiology in Canada from January to December 2020: the pre-vaccine era
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 760 - 822
    This paper summarizes COVID-19 disease epidemiology in Canada in the pre-vaccine era—from January through to December 2020. Canadian case numbers, risk factors, disease presentations (including severe and critical disease), and outcomes are described. Differences between provinces and territories in geography, population size and density, health demographics, and pandemic impact are highlighted. Key concepts in public health response and mitigation are reviewed, including masking, physical distancing, hand washing, and the promotion of outdoor interactions. Adequate investment in public health infrastructure is stressed, and regional differences in screening and testing strategies are highlighted. The spread of COVID-19 in Canadian workplaces, long-term care homes, and schools is described and lessons learned emphasized. The impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations in Canada—including Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities and newcomers, people who use drugs, people who are homeless, people who are incarcerated, and people with disabilities—is described. Sex and gender disparities are also highlighted. Author recommendations include strategies to reduce transmission (such as test–trace–isolate), the establishment of nationally standardized definitions and public reporting, the protection of high risk and vulnerable populations, and the development of a national strategy on vaccine allocation.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Assessing gage: an online tool for improving gender visibility in STEMM
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1601 - 1609
    Women continue to be underrepresented and less visible in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). 500 Women Scientists created and launched in January 2018 a global (>140 countries to date), online, open-access directory of women in STEMM fields. This directory—recently renamed gage—now also includes gender diverse persons (i.e., additional underrepresented genders) in STEMM fields. The purpose of the directory is to make these scientists’ expertise easier to locate and access for conference organizers, journalists, policy makers, educators, and others. Here, we undertake an assessment of the directory using surveys, Google Analytics, and focus groups to understand its efficacy and direction to date and identify future improvements we pledge to undertake. Through this assessment—conducted externally and in accordance with privacy protocols by Concolor Research—we identified who and how people are using our directory, why people signed up to be a resource, and areas for improvement. Through such assessment, we can learn how to enhance the directory’s efficacy and our broader efforts to boost the visibility of underrepresented people in STEMM.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Royal society of Canada COVID-19 report: Enhancing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Canada
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1184 - 1246
    COVID-19 vaccine acceptance exists on a continuum from a minority who strongly oppose vaccination, to the “moveable middle” heterogeneous group with varying uncertainty levels about acceptance or hesitancy, to the majority who state willingness to be vaccinated. Intention for vaccine acceptance varies over time. COVID-19 vaccination decisions are influenced by many factors including knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs; social networks; communication environment; COVID-19 community rate; cultural and religious influences; ease of access; and the organization of health and community services and policies.Reflecting vaccine acceptance complexity, the Royal Society of Canada Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance developed a framework with four major factor domains that influence vaccine acceptance (people, communities, health care workers; immunization knowledge; health care and public health systems including federal/provincial/territorial/indigenous factors)—each influencing the others and all influenced by education, infection control, extent of collaborations, and communications about COVID-19 immunization. The Working Group then developed 37 interrelated recommendations to support COVID vaccine acceptance nested under four categories of responsibility: 1. People and Communities, 2. Health Care Workers, 3. Health Care System and Local Public Health Units, and 4. Federal/Provincial/Territorial/Indigenous. To optimize outcomes, all must be engaged to ensure co-development and broad ownership.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Time to be counted: COVID-19 and intellectual and developmental disabilities—an RSC Policy Briefing
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 1337 - 1389
    The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives and well-being of all people globally, with consequences being observed across all domains from physical and mental health, to education and employment outcomes, to access to community supports and services. However, the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated public health restrictions on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has largely been overlooked. Not only do people with IDD have a greater risk of severe complications and death from the virus as shown in large-scale studies, but they also face significant short- and long-term consequences of COVID-related public health measures on their mental health and well-being. At a time when this vulnerable population is already feeling undervalued, ignored, and forgotten, it is imperative that the risks facing adults and children with IDD—as well as their families and caregivers—are recognized, valued, and addressed through a disability-inclusive approach to Canada’s pandemic policy response planning. This requires both a mainstreaming of disability inclusion into all COVID-19 response and recovery policies as well as disability-specific policies to address the unique barriers and challenges encountered by people with IDD during the pandemic. The recommendations in this policy briefing aim to achieve a more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable Canada for people with IDD both during and after the pandemic—an approach that will result in benefits for all of society.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Community-based Indigenous knowledge
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 837 - 838
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Dialogical teaching of research integrity: an overview of selected methods
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 2138 - 2154
    This communication discusses the dialogical methods of teaching research integrity and ethics as a part of the positive integrity trend focused on supporting ethical behaviour. The aim of this paper is to offer a brief overview of the selected dialogical strategies based on cases that can be successfully implemented in teaching ethical research and when sharing experiences on good scientific practice. We describe such methods as: storytelling, rotatory role playing, and the fishbowl debate, along with the “Dilemma Game” tool, “ConscienceApp” performance, and a flipped classroom idea. These theoretical considerations are based on research conducted as part of a European project under the Horizon 2020 programme.
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    Correction: Hydroponic fodder and greenhouse gas emissions: a potential avenue for climate mitigation strategy and policy development
    FACETS • Vol. 6 • pp. 870