Risks and Crises

Robert van der Meer is Professor of Management Science at the University of Strathclyde. Over the last decade, Robert’s research has focused on health economics, healthcare analytics and healthcare operations management, funded by the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Cancer Research UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK and others.

Robert has a PhD in Operational Research from the University of Strathclyde, an MSc in Economics (with specialisation in Mathematical Economics) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Cand. Econ. degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Amsterdam.

Dr. Jennifer Payne is a PhD-trained epidemiologist, who started out her career in work-related health in Toronto.  Since moving to Nova Scotia, she has worked in chronic disease and cancer screening surveillance with the provincial government and both health authorities.  She currently splits her time between the Nova Scotia Breast Screening Program, working in surveillance and policy, and the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Dalhousie University, where she is an Associate Professor and Associate Head - Research.  Her interests include breast imaging services utilization and data governance.

Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed is the Associate Dean of Serving and Engaging Society for Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine, and Chair of the Board of Engage Nova Scotia. She is a public health specialist physician with 17 years experience, having served as the former Medical Officer of Health for the Halifax area and Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia. She also sits as chair or member of several national population health councils and boards and is a passionate advocate for high-quality public health services in Canada.

Bruce Campbell is adjunct professor, York University, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change; Senior Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University, Centre for Free Expression; and former Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

A former Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [1994-2015), Bruce Campbell was awarded a Law Foundation of Ontario Community Leadership in Justice Fellowship and spent 2016 as a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

He is the author of The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal Justice Denied, James Lorimer, 2018; in French, Enquête sur la catastophe de Lac-Mégantic: Quand les pouvoirs publiques déraillent, Éditions Fides 2019. 

His latest book is, “Corporate Rules: The real world of business regulation in Canada: How government regulators are failing the public interest,” [edited volume], James Lorimer & Co., April 2022.

He was on the advisory committee for the 2021 Auditor General investigation on rail safety.

Vernon Theriault at age 63 has lived most of his life in Pictou County. He has also lived most of his life with dyslexia, which led him to leave school in Grade 10 and enter the workforce, doing whatever jobs he could find that did not require reading and writing. When the Westray Mine opened in 1991 offering top wages and 20 years of work, he saw the chance of a lifetime. After two months underground, he saw the dangerous working conditions and tried to get his former job back at a local tire shop, but the position was filled. With a family to support and bills to pay, he kept going underground at Westray, each day fearing the working conditions, hoping to get through one more shift. He was scheduled to work the day shift on May 9, 1992, and was home asleep when, at 5:18 am, an explosion ripped through the mine. Twenty-six miners were underground.

For five days, Vernon worked as part of the rescue crew. After the search was called off, bodies of 11 miners had been recovered. A monument and memorial park in New Glasgow enshrines the location, miles below, where the remains of 15 miners are still underground. But the search was just beginning for Vernon. He wanted answers as to how a disaster like Westray could happen when regulations were in place to monitor and alleviate the dangers. He wanted accountability from those responsible for workers’ safety. And he wanted help for the growing mental pressures he was feeling from the trauma of what he felt, saw, and experienced at Westray before and after the explosion. He couldn’t sleep, was increasingly angry, and was locked in battles with Workers’ Compensation for acknowledgement that he was in need of treatment. After five years, he received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress and under a counsellor’s care, Vernon began channelling his anger and pain into the ‘Westray Bill’, a federal law that would hold company owners and stakeholders criminally responsible for workplace deaths due to negligence or disregard of safety regulations. With the support of the United Steel Workers Union, Vernon lobbied federal government officials for a decade. The Westray Bill was passed into law in 2004.

In the years since, Vernon’s dedication to sharing the Westray story remains strong to ensure there is never ‘another Westray’. He ran for the NDP in Pictou Centre in the 2021 provincial election, and plans to run again when the next election is called. His first book, Westray: My Journey from Darkness to Light was released by Nimbus Publishing in 2018. Still struggling with dyslexia, Vernon wrote the book with the steadfast help of his cousin, Marjorie Coady. Where there is a will, there is a way has been Vernon’s mantra his entire life. He continues his fight to hold companies and governments accountable to the same mantra, those who hold the safety of workers in their hands. The Westray Inquiry was a public acknowledgment that the fatal disaster was caused by a reckless disregard for miners’ safety through mine mismanagement and poor oversight by government regulators. It was and remains a black mark on Canadian history. Vernon continues his fight, personally, professionally, and collectively with those who share his belief that change can come if we look past our limitations to pursue what we believe is right.

Vernon received the Medal of Bravery in Stellarton in 1994. He lives in New Glasgow with Marilyn, his wife of 44 years. They have three children and several grandchildren.

Jennifer Spinney is a sociocultural anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the Disaster & Emergency Management. Spinney is interested in the discursive and relational nature of sense-making, risk perception, prioritization and the communication of risk, as well as the social structures and processes that influence protective action options, decision-making, and mental health outcomes, through all phases of disaster, from warning and hazard exposure to disaster recovery. Her research emphasizes the various connections between groups of people living and working at the intersections of environment and society, particularly extreme weather hazards and disasters, such as tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and heat.

Darrell Dexter, former Premier of Nova Scotia, is an Honorary Distinguished Fellow with the MacEachen Institute at Dalhousie University and Vice Chair with Global Public Affairs, which he joined in 2015. Darrell is a senior member of the Global team, working with the firm’s public affairs experts across the country.

Darrell assumed the leadership of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NDP) in 2001 and led it to form the first-ever provincial NDP government in Atlantic Canada, becoming the 27th Premier of Nova Scotia. As Premier, he earned praise for launching a renewable energy strategy, advancing a progressive social policy, controlling spending and reducing small business taxes. Darrell oversaw ambitious new environmental policies and was presented with a Climate Leadership in Canada award at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. As Chair of the Council of the Federation from 2012-13, Darrell worked on key initiatives such as leading an economic trade mission to China, establishing the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and improving the flow of inter-provincial trade.

A lawyer by training, Darrell also worked as a journalist and served in the Canadian Armed Forces before launching his career in public service, spending 15 years in the Nova Scotia Legislature as an MLA. In the course of his work as an elected official, party leader, Leader of Nova Scotia’s Official Opposition, and Premier, Darrell was engaged in critical issues and discussions related to energy and resource development, transportation, healthcare, the environment, infrastructure and the economy.

Since leaving public life, Darrell has been active with various organizations on democracy-building and governance projects. He led two international election observer missions to Tunisia in 2014.

Darrell holds a Bachelor of Education from Dalhousie University, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King’s College and subsequently earned his law degree from Dalhousie University in 1987.