Canadian Security Magazine

ASIS marks 25th Best Practices event with diverse line-up

By Staff   

Features Photo Gallery analytics asis best practices asis toronto cannabis cannabis legalization hyperloop sexual assault sexual violence tim mccreight trillium health partners

ASIS Toronto held its 25th annual Best Practices event on April 19, showcasing a broad variety of topics from Canada’s cannabis industry to the role of security professionals in sexual harassment investigations. The event, which was attended by approximately 200 people, was held at the historic One King West facility in Toronto.

Hyperloop transportation
The day began with a presentation from Ryan Janzen, co-founder and CTO of Transpod, a ground-breaking transportation technology that is designed to move people and cargo between cities at speeds in excess of 1,000 kph.

Enterprise Security Risk Management
Tim McCreight, president of Risk Rebels and regular Canadian Security magazine columnist followed Janzen with a close look at how the principles of Enterprise Security Risk Management can impact the security profession. He spoke particularly about how risk should be assumed by an entire organization, rather than its security department alone, and how an effective security department can also be an effective business partner. “This collaborative approach is something we need to strive for and attain in each one of our organizations,” he said.

McCreight  also urged security professionals to be direct with executives and ask about their risk appetite. “As security professionals, we need to do this more.”

The Emerging Cannabis Industry
John Prentice, president and CEO of Ample Organics, a licensed producer of marijuana, led the attendees through the massive change underway in Canada with the impending legalization of recreational cannabis as well as the established industry around medical marijuana products. The security requirements around the growth of marijuana are extremely stringent, covering all aspects including perimeter, access control, surveillance, intrusion detection, response plan.

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Video Analytics: Analysis and Application
John Minster, TD Bank, a leading expert in security design and integration tackled the misunderstood topic of video analytics and what they can and can’t do. Their true abilities have been skewed by representations in popular media, leading to confusion in the market.

Responding to #MeToo
A panel session comprising experts from the legal profession and health care examined how security’s role has shifted in response to growing awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace.

Christine O’Donohue, partner, Miller Thompson LLP, offered case study examples of harassment follow-ups that were botched by company investigators. In one case, an employee came forward with a complaint against a manager who had repeatedly assaulted her. Further compounding the issue, she was treated as a “problem” to be managed, and the ensuing investigation was “pretty flawed.” O’Donohue stressed the importance of thorough investigations that include a written summary of any findings, communicating the gist of the complaint to the accused, and confidentiality.

Dr. Katy Kamkar, clinical psychologist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, described the emotional toll harassment can take on an individual, including depression, anxiety as well as feelings of guilt, shame and embarrassment. “Regardless of who we are and what we do, this is affecting us all either directly or indirectly. We all feel the impact,” she said.

The session closed with a presentation from Jennifer Keeler a member of the Trillium Health Partners Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence team. Keeler reviewed some of the tell-tale signs of mental health issues in the workplace including an increase in the amount of sick days taken, not going to meetings, etc. This type of behaviour may be misinterpreted as a workplace performance problem rather than symptomatic of a more troubling issue. It is the duty of the employer is to investigate root causes before reaching any conclusions.

Keeler said that of every 1,000 sexual assaults in Canada, 33 are reported to police, six are prosecuted and only three lead to conviction. Mississauga-based Trillium is home to a facility called Chantel’s Place, which opened in 1998 in partnership with Peel Regional Police. Separate from the hospital’s emergency health-care facilities, Chantel’s Place is a secure area that provides aid to survivors of sexual assault.


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