In Memoriam

Dr. C. James Frankish

The Public Health Association of British Columbia was saddened to learn of the passing of our longtime friend, member, and PHABC Merit Award winner Dr. James Frankish.

Dr. Frankish had a passion and commitment to the promotion of public health. His distinguished career extended across three universities: the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria and lastly the University of British Columbia where he was Professor Emeritus at the School of Population and Public Health. He was an active mentor and educator to generations of public health professionals, having worked with students and colleagues from more than 34 disciplines. He was known to be a prolific researcher playing significant roles in more than 120 research projects.

As well as being a long serving member of PHABC, Dr. Frankish was also a well known community builder. He was also involved as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Lookout Emergency Aid Society, worked with the Impact on Communities Coalition for the 2010 Olympics, led projects on “high risk youth”, trained street youth as “Lay Health Ambassadors”; and served as the President of the Board of the Vancouver Crisis Centre. Most recently he was asked to serve on Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Addiction for the City of Vancouver. Throughout his career he has practiced a philosophy of collaboration and partnerships with communities and community organizations, participation of people from vulnerable population groups, and participation of students in community-service learning – all to apply research knowledge to resolve important issues, such as homelessness.

His knowledge and commitment to issues in vulnerable communities had been recognized by the Canadian Government and various national organizations.  He was sought after for both his professional public health and local community knowledge to join high-level Committees and Boards, such as the Advisory Committee of the National Collaborating Centre on Determinants of Health, the Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research and the Board of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. He made significant contributions to the important work of all these bodies to improve the public health of people throughout British Columbia and across Canada.

The Public Health Association of British Columbia extends its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Dr. James Frankish. His loss will be felt not only by those within our community, but across British Columbia, Canada and the public health academic world he loved so much.

Joël Lightbound, The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has responded to the petition to the House of Commons to End Violence in Canada.

You can read the entire response here: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3218

Public Health Summer Institute 2021

Fake or Fact? Promoting Digital Health Literacy in an Era of New Media and Misinformation

June 24th & 25th, 2021     8:45am – 2:00pm PT

ONLINE EVENT – TICKETS $50.00+tax

Registration is on now: Click Here to Register

Agenda Released!

We thought we’d give you a little teaser of what to expect for this year’s Public Health Summer Institute, “Fake or Fact? Promoting Digital Health Literacy in an Era of New Media and Misinformation” before the weekend. So we’re excited to release our agenda for the two-day event!

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

This summer institute, happening Thursday June 24th and Friday June 25th, is designed to address current public health issues and support the ongoing needs of the public health workforce through capacity building continuing education. Participants attending the institute will spend the two days learning about the socio-economic and cultural forces that encourage the spread of health disinformation and their implications for population health – including digital health literacy, health equity, and health literacy, and what positive health impacts and other co-benefits can be developed when accurate health information is disseminated efficiently.

We’ve got an all-star lineup of speakers for the two-day event and an interactive agenda that should leave you well positioned to promote accurate heath information and combat misinformation online in your personal and professional lives. Visit to learn more about the summer institute, Click Here

If you haven’t read the think piece yet, what are you waiting for?! The document provides a common understanding of the goals of the summer institute and contains a ton of further reading resources for those particularly interested in different aspects of digital health literacy. To check it out, Click Here

Registration is still on for the institute and is only $50 plus Eventbrite fees for the two-day event. If you are worried about missing some of the sessions due to other work commitments, don’t be! We will be recording the sessions to be released to registrants afterwards. Plus, if you register from BC, Saskatchewan or Yukon you also get a complimentary 1-year membership to your region’s public health association. Talk about a win-win situation! To register today, follow the link below:

phsi2021.eventbrite.ca

Are you interested in the summer institute but unable to cover the registration fee? Please contact Christina at ops.manager@phabc.org to learn about current volunteer opportunities.

A groundbreaking joint report from the Office of the Provincial Health Officer and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer is now available.

Titled First Nations Population Health and Wellness Agenda (PHWA), it is the fruit of a unique and multi-year partnership between the province and the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), providing an eagle-eye view of the health and wellness of First Nations people living throughout BC.

“The PHWA is much more than just a health status report,” explains Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shannon McDonald. “It is an act of self-determination. First Nations are controlling our own data and telling our own story in a way that reflects our strengths and resilience.”

Read the report HERE.