Marc Lafontaine

Science Advisor, Chemical Emergency Management and Toxicovigilance Division, Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada

Marc Lafontaine is a Science Advisor with the Chemical Emergency Management and Toxicovigilance Division (ChEMTD) at Health Canada. ChEMTD’s mission is to provide leadership and coordination for toxic exposure events of public health concern such as chemical mass casualties events resulting from industrial accidents, terrorism, poisoning outbreaks and environmental health disasters. Marc’s professional achievements include leading the publication of the Guidance for the Environmental Public Health Management of Crude Oil Incidents (2018) and contributing to the creation of the Toxicogivilance Canada network, the Canadian Surveillance System for Poison Information (CSSPI) and the Toxicology Laboratory Response Network (Tox-LRN). Marc also leads the emerging Canadian Disaster Research Response (CanDR2) initiative which aims at improving pan-Canadian capacities to timely collect data and execute population health scientific investigations in the response and recovery timeframe of environmental health disasters. Marc holds a Masters Degree in Chemistry from Carleton University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.

All Sessions by Marc Lafontaine

  • Thursday April 2nd


  • 14:00  - 15:00
    The 2016 Alberta wildfires, which destroyed entire neighbourhoods of urban Fort McMurray, and the 2013 Lac-Mégantic, Québec train derailment and explosion illustrate that Canadian communities are not immune to environmental public health (EPH) disasters. Disasters expose the population, responders and volunteers to a range of contaminants and stressors, which may harm physical and mental health. Public health authorities who responded to these and other incidents have repeatedly expressed the need for better integration of scientific assets and methodologies to better inform both emergency response and recovery. EPH disasters typically offer a brief window of time to collect ephemeral exposure data and biospecimens and to start scientific research that could improve both health outcomes and capabilities for future response, yet proactive approaches to enable a rapid response are generally lacking. The pan-Canadian Disaster Research Response Initiative (CanDR2) was created to enhance the integration of EPH expertise and research into disaster response and recovery. This session will highlight the work of the CanDR2 Network, with a particular focus on the development of tools to streamline REB review of disaster response research. Specifically, development of a generic protocol for disaster-related research will be discussed, based on the “RAPIDD” protocol created by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from the US National Institutes of Health. To expedite the review process in the event of an EPH disaster and to minimize delays in starting disaster response research, REBs would be encouraged to pre-approve this protocol, and at the time of a disaster, researchers would simply amend the protocol as appropriate and seek REB approval for the amendment. This session will explore the ethical considerations of this approach (and of disaster response research more broadly) and discuss the practical implications of adopting and implementing this protocol across the country. Keywords: wildfires, disaster response, CANDR2
    Breakout Sessions
    Where
    Mulligan




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Marc Lafontaine
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