Projects

The wide range of project experience of JRH Toxicology is indicated by the following sample of accomplishments.

The role of the President of JRH Toxicology is indicated for each project and to show the strong use of an experienced professional in each of these projects.

Many of the projects, especially in program evaluation, environmental assessment or science policy work consisted of teams of experienced consultants.

A risk assessment review on CCA Pressure Treated Wood and Playground Structures was completed by JRH Toxicology in 2004 for the Canadian Institute for Treated Wood.

 

Project: Program Evaluation: Communicable Disease Control
Client: Communicable Disease Control Division, First Nations and Inuit Branch,
Health Canada
May 30, 2011 – ongoing
Jan 27. 2010 to Dec 14, 2010
Program
Evaluation
Consultant:
John Harrison
  Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement Specialist; coordinated the federal side and co-authored a re-write of a $200K program evaluation initially prepared by an external contractor as well as participated in the development of a performance measurement strategy for the Communicable Diseases Control Division and initiated economic cost-effectiveness analysis studies of the program evaluation.

Functioned as principal evaluation expert for Division and provided advice, briefings and recommendations to senior management. Consulted with and collaborated with various stakeholders regarding program evaluation and performance measurement initiatives. The work included project management of the program evaluation issues as well as compiling and analyzing data and statistically analyzing the data.

Developed current knowledge of the role and mandate of Health Canada, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and the current health issues affecting First Nations and Inuit in Canada. These issues covered the topics of tuberculosis, AIDS, HIV, immunization and communicable diseases such as Varicella.

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Project: Socio-economic Risk Assessment Framework for Aquatic Invasive Species
Client: The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Feb. 2011 - ongoing
Risk Assessment Consultant: John Harrison
 

As a consultant with RIAS Inc., John Harrison completed an extensive international literature review and analysis that was used in an Interim Report for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The purpose of the Interim report was to:

  • Provide a summary of the key literature that is relevant to the creation of a socio-economic risk assessment framework for aquatic invasive species.
  • Use the literature review to identify key variables that should be considered for inclusion in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans socio-economic risk assessment framework.
  • The project included researching, analyzing and evaluating technical issues.

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Project: Risk Assessment of Consumer Products and Chemicals
Client:

Consumer Product Safety Directorate, Health Canada, Feb. 2010 - ongoing

Risk Consultant: John Harrison
 

Working with Risk Sciences International, John Harrison is a senior risk assessment expert in the area of development of Consumer Product Safety surveillance and risk assessment capacity in Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety Directorate (CPSD). CPSD is responsible for setting priorities, conducting surveillance, assessing the risks and making a variety of informed decisions regarding the safety of consumer products under the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan (FCSAP)and the (2011) consumer legislation entitled the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).

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Project: Risk Assessment of Industrial Chemicals
Client: Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, Health Canada,
September to November 2009
Health Consultant: John Harrison
 

This project covered toxicology and science specialist work in screening and reviewing Material Safety Data Sheets and product labels for industrial chemical products. Information and reviewed claims were processed for exemption from the disclosure requirements set out by the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System.

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Project: Performance Measurement Strategy
Client: Infrastructure Canada, October to December 2009
Project Analyst: John Harrison
  A Performance Measurement Strategy was developed for the National Recreational Trails Fund, the Green Infrastructure Fund and the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund of Infrastructure Canada Program.

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Project: Risk Communication in Public Health
Client: Public Health Agency of Canada, Planning and Public Health Integration Branch, September to October 2009
Health Consultant: John Harrison
  As a senior communication officer, Mr. Harrison prepared communication documents on communicable diseases such as influenza.

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Project: Risk Assessment: Review of the State of Air Quality in Canada
Client: McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa, December 2008 to April 2009
Expert Project Analyst: John Harrison
  A critical review document was prepared on the state of air quality in Canada. This document covered the health, exposure, epidemiologic and economic aspects of air pollution in Canada and the originating client was Health Canada.

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Project: Stakeholder Outreach Project on Risk Communication
Client: Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch, Marketed Health Products Directorate, July 2008 to December 2008
Senior Project Analyst: John Harrison
  Working with the Secretariat, Expert Advisory Committee on the Vigilance of Health Products, a detailed outreach project was designed and conducted that included hundreds of stakeholders. A paper was developed from the information collected in the outreach project on areas of risk communication. Research was also conducted in the area of measuring the effectiveness of risk communications. Vigilance is a term that refers to the adverse effects of pharmaceuticals and other health products such as medical devices and natural health products.

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Project: Preparation of a report entitled “Assessment of Information on a Pesticide Analysis Protocol”
Client: Harvard Medical School, Osher Research Center, October 2008 - ongoing
Expert Advisor: John Harrison
  The first project consisted of the preparation of a paper entitled “Assessment of Information on a Pesticide Analysis Protocol from Robert Scholten, Harvard University”. The pesticide protocol under assessment was a specialized multi-residue screening method for determining pesticides in plant material as the Osher Research Center required a suitable analysis system to examine a series of plants from China.  A second paper was written on the topic of Chinese herbal plants and sampling designs. A third paper was prepared on the subject of a pesticide categorization scheme relative to the toxicity of pesticides found on herbal plants.

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Project: Expert Risk Assessment Advice on Regulations and Coordination of International Conference on Risk Assessment
Client: Treasury Board Secretariat, Centre of Regulatory Expertise,
Regulatory Affairs Sector, November 7, 2007 – November 2, 2008
Expert in Risk Assessment: John Harrison
  Provision of expert advice on risk assessment and performance measurement on proposed regulations and coordination of International Conference.

Projects in this assignment covered the major subject areas of risk assessment for proposed regulations and Regulatory Impact Analysis documentation. Coordination of an International Treasury Board Secretariat Conference on Risk Assessment Guidelines held in February 2008 was successfully completed. Other activities included the instruction of Treasury Board Secretariat analysts regarding the critiquing of proposed regulations in relation to risk assessment analysis.

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Project: Fact Sheets on Veterinary Health Topics and Web site Information Architecture
Client: Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch, Veterinary Drugs Directorate, February – March 2008
Scientific Writer: John Harrison
  Projects in this assignment include the revision and updating of five fact sheets on veterinary health topics and the development of a new Information Architecture for the Veterinary Drugs Directorate (VDD) Program web site according to Health Canada’s standards, to recommend new topic areas for the VDD web site.

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Project: Program Evaluation and Management Accountability Frameworks
Client: Health Canada, Office of Accountability and Planning, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECS), September 2007 – February 2008;
April – June 2008
Program Evaluation Analyst: John Harrison
  Projects in this assignment included the planning, organizing and analysis of evaluations and audits of HECS Branch programs and policies, the development of evaluation frameworks and the research and analysis of health policies, programs and issues involving economic and socio-economic studies. Surveys conducted with Branch clients, including the general public and various industries, were developed, implemented and analysed to obtain data on the effectiveness of HECS Branch programs and policies. Program Activity Architecture work was done. Environmental petitions were coordinated, analysed and managed at the HECS Branch level. In addition, the development and analysis of a management accountability framework for HECS Branch grants and contributions processes was managed.

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Project: Overview Documents on Federal Government Science and Technology for the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)
Client: Secretariat to the Independent Expert Panel on Transferring the Management of Federal Non-Regulatory Laboratories, Treasury Board Secretariat (2007)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  For this assignment, he completed projects with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) as a senior analyst involving the preparation of documents on federal government science and technology and the compliation of background data on federal laboratories for the Secretariat to the Independent Expert Panel on Transferring the Management of Federal Non-Regulatory Laboratories.

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Project: Climate Change: Development of Horizontal Management Documents for the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)
Client: Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector,
Treasury Board Secretariat (2007)
TBS Principal Analyst: John Harrison
  Projects in this assignment covered the major subject areas of the Horizontal Management, Accountability and Reporting Framework (HMARF) and the Treasury Board Secretariat Horizontal Management Working Group. The main products from this assignment were the preparation of documents on Horizontal Governance and the Reporting of Horizontal Initiatives with a specific focus on climate change. Other activities included the instruction of Treasury Board Secretariat analysts regarding the critiquing of Treasury Board submissions and Memoranda to Cabinet.

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Project: Plain Language Brochure on Environmental Contaminants in the Canadian North
Client: Northern Contaminants Program, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (2007)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  A Plain Language Brochure was prepared by JRH Toxicology for the Northern Contaminants Program. This Program at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada was created through consultation with the scientific community, Northern Aboriginal organizations, Northern communities and government departments to examine the issue of environmental contaminants in the Artic environment and its people.

Northerners are closely connected to their environment through their traditional ways of living. Many Northern traditions centre on food gathering, sharing and eating. Traditional foods are valuable, because they provide good nutrition, and have spiritual and cultural importance. However, these foods can contain contaminates. A contaminant is a substance that gets into the environment and the food chain and can affect people’s health.

One of the key aspects of the Northern Contaminants Program is to provide information to help Northerners make informed decisions about their food use. This is done, in part, by the production and distribution of brochures, posters, newspaper articles and other communication vehicles to describe what types of contaminants are found in the Canadian north, how these contaminants get into the Arctic, what this means to the health of Northerners and how they can make informed decisions regarding traditional food use and their health.

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Project: Background Document: Health Impact Assessment of Climate Change on Arctic Indigenous Peoples for Health Canada
Client: First Nations and InuitHealth (FNIH) Branch, Health Canada (2007)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  The purpose of the review and assessment document entitled Background Document: Health Impact Assessment of Climate Change on Arctic Indigenous Peoples was to set out background information and to critique existing management documents for the Health Canada, First Nations and InuitHealth (FNIH) Branch. Of particular focus is the concept of a community-based research program to assess the main vulnerabilities and health impacts related to climate change in Northern/Inuit peoples to develop new and innovative human health risk management plans and tools. These approaches would then improve health adaptation to climate changes in the North.

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Project: Preparation of “The Radon Handbook for Canadians”
Client: Institute of Population Health R. Samuel McLaughlin Centre For Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa, (2007)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  The purpose of the development of “The Radon Handbook for Canadians” was to produce a plain language handbook for the Canadian public that would explain the health hazards of radon gas in the home and the means to reduce these hazards. The project included the presentation of the Handbook at an international workshop in Ottawa, Ontario for comments and critique from the workshop participants.

In the outdoors or open air, the amount of radon gas is so little that it does not pose a health risk. However, in confined spaces like basements in homes and underground mines, radon gas can build up to relatively high levels and therefore can become a health hazard. Exposure to high levels of radon has been associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and this depends on the length of time you are exposed to the radon gas.

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Project: Program Evaluation and Audit for the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety (HECS) Branch
Client: Office of Accountability and Planning, Health Canada (2006)
Project Analyst: John Harrison
  The range of projects for this assignment included the planning, organizing and analysis of evaluations of HECS Branch programs and policies, the development of evaluation frameworks and the research and analysis of health policies, programs and issues involving economic and socio-economic studies. Surveys conducted with Branch clients, including the general public and various industries, were developed, implemented and analysed to obtain data on the effectiveness of HECS Branch programs and policies. In addition, the development and analysis of audits such as those for grants and contributions processes were conducted. His work with Health Canada included the HECS Branch coordination of management initiatives such as developing management accountability frameworks for grants and contributions, preparing the HECS Branch evaluation framework for the Corporate Services Branch, Health Canada and coordinating the internet posting of HECS Branch information on contribution funding. He also coordinated Heath Canada Petition responses for the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

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Project: An Ideal Performance Standard for the pesticide endosulfan
Client: Environment Canada, National Guidelines and Standards Office (2006)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  The purpose of this document was to develop an Ideal Performance Standard (IPS) for sediment with the goal of protecting aquatic life affected by agricultural operations. The document addressed endosulfan, a pesticide currently used in the Canadian agricultural industry. The IPS represents the maximum concentration of endosulfan that may be present in sediments singly, not in combination with other pesticides or contaminants, without posing an unacceptable risk to the aquatic biota.

By establishing the degree of desired environmental quality in agricultural areas, the IPS will ultimately provide an environmental objective to which actions at the farm level may be linked. This work will meet Environment Canada’s obligations under the National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative (NAESI) and may support development of future Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines.

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Project: Development of an Issue Document for Legislative Renewal of the Canadian Food and Drugs Act
Client: Veterinary Drugs Directorate, Health Products and Foods Branch,
Health Canada (2005)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  As part of a team, Mr. Harrison participated as an expert in health legislation in developing an Issues document for the Veterinary Drugs Directorate of Health Canada. This document analysed and listed the future legislative needs for veterinary health products. As Health Canada is actively involved in the legislative renewal of a number of the major governance instruments for which it has responsibility, it was necessary to develop this Issues document for the consideration of the regulatory legal drafters.

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Project: Analysis of Existing Health Canada Web Site and Recommendations for Change on Information for the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP)
Client: First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada (2005)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  The purpose of this JRH Toxicology report was to develop a new Information Architecture for the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program web site according to Health Canada’s standards, to recommend new topic areas for the NNADAP web site, recommend documents to be included under the new web site topic areas and provide a product ready (pdf formatted documents) for placement on the NNADAP web site.

A final JRH Toxicology report was prepared which critically analysed the existing NNADAP web site and prepared the new Information Architecture and included thirty-nine pdf papers to be included on the NNADAP web site.

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Project: Environmental Substance Guides (Detailed Fact Sheets) on Toxic Chemicals
Client: National Pollution Release Inventory, Pollution Data Branch,
Environment Canada (2004-2005)
Project Consultant: John Harrison
  Fifteen Substance Guides on a variety of environmental chemicals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, nitrous oxides, ozone and sulphur dioxide were developed through a process that included an international literature search, discussions with experts and a three level committee system, including an interdepartmental committee which reviewed each document. Each document consisted of about fifteen pages and included the chemical toxicity and regulations of the chemical or groups of chemicals and ways and means of reducing exposure to the public. The goal of the project was to produce a set of Substance Guides that would be in plain language, be easily understood by most Canadians and be placed on the Environment Canada web site.

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Project: Environmental Component of the Mid-term Program Evaluation of the Infrastructure Canada Program (ICP)
Client: Consulting and Audit Canada (2005)
Project Leader: John Harrison
  The Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities (INFC) is responsible for the implementation of the $2 billion Infrastructure Canada Program. The main objectives of the ICP were: a) to improve the quality of the environment and to support long term economic growth, b) to improve community infrastructure, and c) to build 21st century infrastructure through the use of the best technologies and new approaches.

The mid-term program evaluation of the Infrastructure Canada Program (ICP) addressed the issues of relevance, design and delivery, success and provided recommendations for improvement. In the interim program evaluation, there were three expert areas and these were a) Green, b) Infrastructure, and c) Communication. The Green or Environmental review component was conducted by John Harrison as an outside expert evaluator.

The ICP was designed as a cost-shared Federal/Provincial/Territorial Program focussed on two priorities:
  1. “Green” municipal infrastructure such as water and wastewater systems, water management, solid waste management and recycling, and more efficient and/or renewable energy, and energy services.
  2. “Other” local infrastructure which included affordable housing, cultural and recreational facilities, tourism infrastructure, rural and remote telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure.
The methodology used included evaluation of material collected from a series of hard copy documents as well as the Infrastructure Canada web site, other pertinent web sites and various documents. The assessment addressed a set of program evaluation questions and indicators selected by Consulting and Audit Canada. These program evaluation questions were taken from a report prepared by Consulting and Audit Canada in May 2005 entitled “Expert Assessment Component; Infrastructure Canada, Mid-Term Evaluation” and the general guidelines to be used in the expert assessments were outlined in this report. The final JRH Toxicology report provided many recommendations for change of the program in a strong and critical summary.

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Project: Preparation of a Policy Discussion Paper for Environment Canada/Health Canada on Defining Health and Environment Linkages in Canada.
Client: Environment Canada (2004)
Senior Associate: John Harrison
  This discussion paper set out the governmental roles and responsibilities regarding health and environment issues in Canada, the current management and co-ordination of health and environment issues at the federal level, international approaches to developing health and environment strategies and discussed the way forward to focus on health and environment linkages at the federal level. The paper recommended a definition of health and environment linkages in Canada.

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Project: Environmental Assessment: Screening and Review of Contaminated Site Proposals from federal Departments
Client: Environmental Health Assessment Division, Safe Environments Programme,
Health Canada (2003)
Co-author: John Harrison
  The report was commissioned by Health Canada to review submissions from federal departments seeking funds for contaminated site assessment and remediation under the Federal Contaminated Sites Accelerated Action Fund. The report ranks and evaluates the submissions for potential human health risks and provides expert advice respecting screening criteria and data submission requirements for the Action Fund. The report describes the methodology and criteria which were developed and used for the review, discusses data gaps encountered and proposes screening criteria for consideration by Health Canada and the other federal agencies involved in the submission screening process.

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Project: Health Policy Approaches to Children’s Environmental Health
Client: Health Canada (2004-2005)
Senior Associate: John Harrison
  Mr. Harrison’s role in the project was as an expert committee member and contributor. The objectives of this project were to identify and evaluate governance instruments from various countries. These legal instruments are designed to protect children’s health from exposures to environmental hazards. The goal was to identify challenges, barriers and facilitators to implement these governance instruments and the effectiveness of their implementation. The policy research was intended to assist policy makers in government by using the experience of other countries to develop and implement legislative and other measures to safeguard children’s health from environmental hazards within the context of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and the proposed Product Safety Act of Health Canada.

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Project: Environmental Assessment of Pressure-Treated Construction Materials used in a Trade Mission in Ottawa, Ontario
Client: International Construction Company, MOSSIB (2004)
Project Manager: John Harrison
  JRH Toxicology provided expert advice concerning the use of a range of pressure-treated construction materials to be used in a large million dollar building renovation and reconstruction. Chemical analyses of the building materials to be used as well as other technical papers and discussions were provided to Mr. Harrison for the analysis. The final report outlined the existing regulations for the building materials, the relevant building code limitations and an environmental assessment of the possible hazards of the chemical compounds as well as provided specific recommendations for remedial action.

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Project: Development of a Business Strategy and Revised Plan for the Indoor Environments Division
Client: Safe Environments Programme, Health Canada (2004)
Project Co-ordinator: John Harrison
  This report was commissioned by Health Canada's Indoor Environments Division (IED) to create an Indoor Air Quality and Health Program within this division. The proposed business strategy for the Indoor Air Quality and Health Program, IED was described as delivering specific outputs pertinent to the Canadian public, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Committee on Health and Environment (CHE), the Healthy Indoors Partnership, non-governmental partners and internal Health Canada groups. The Program also was built within the mandate of IED and focussed on the residential and non-industrial indoor environments as well as vulnerable populations such children and the aged.

The business plan for IED was restructured to incorporate the Indoor Air Quality and Health Program. Strategic advice was given to assist the funding of this new Program as the Applied Research and Analysis Directorate, Health Policy Research Program had funds available for health policy research reviews in areas such as IED.

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Project: Risk from Harm and the Practice of Homeopathy
Client: National United Professional Association of Trained Homeopaths-NUPATH (2005)
Project Co-ordinator: John Harrison
  A report and literature review entitled "Does the practice of homeopathic medicine pose a risk from harm to patients?" was commissioned by NUPATH as the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care had decided to examine the issue of regulating homeopathic practitioners in Ontario. A mandatory aspect of the Ontario Health Professions Act lies in the concept that regulation should not be considered unless there is a significant risk from harm from the profession. The JRH Toxicology report indicated that the practice of homeopathy does not pose a risk from harm. Mr. Harrison was a co-author of the report.

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Project: International Regulation of Natural Health Products, Strategic Policy Documents
Client: Natural Health Products Directorate, Health Canada (2004)
Project Manager: John Harrison
  This series of four JRH Toxicology contracted reports was commissioned by the Natural Health Products Directorate, Health Canada to provide a literature and legislative review document on Natural Health Product Regulations for Canada's primary natural health products (NHP) trading partners, namely, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, USA, United Kingdom, and the European Union. The Canadian NHP definition was used to compare similar classes of products for these other countries. Further, the major components of the Canadian regulatory framework for NHPs that were used for research purposes were the following:
  • Product Licensing including Standards of Evidence,
  • Site Licensing,
  • Good Manufacturing Practices, and
  • Adverse Reaction Reporting.
Strategies for prioritizing policy research needs in the area of international regulations of natural health products were developed. The priority areas for policy research fell into two main categories, namely, the safety of the products being manufactured and sold to Canadians and processes to facilitate trade between countries. The overall aim for trade development should be to look for methods and means of further harmonization with trading partners and to develop mutual recognition agreements with these partners.

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Project: Science Policy Document—Laboratory Quality Systems Project
Client: Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada (2004-2005)
Project Coordinator: John Harrison
  The Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECS) Science Sub-Committee formed a Laboratory Quality Systems Sub-Group in the fall of 2004 to address the priority of HECS laboratory accreditation and quality systems. The project involved participating in and synthesizing the output of a series of Sub-Group meetings. The goal of the work was to produce a report on Laboratory Quality Systems for the HECS Executive Committee. The science policy report by JRH Toxicology outlined a description of the current laboratory quality systems for HECS and identified possible actions required to manage Branch responsibilities related to both the internal and external HECS laboratories.

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Project: Science Policy—Chemical Emergency Contacts for Health Canada
Client: Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECS), Health Canada (2003)
Project Coordinator: John Harrison
  The purpose of the project was to enhance Health Canada’s capacity and state of readiness for response to chemical emergencies. The project developed an approved process for contacting and informing a set of technical experts within HECS. The range of technical expertise ranged from biologists and chemists to engineers and research scientists. These experts contributed specific information regarding their expertise to a database which the Chemical Emergency Response Unit had prepared. The project required a series of presentations to be given to technical staff on this topic and a final report was developed that summarized the results collected regarding the range of technical expertise available.

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Project: Science Policy—An Analysis of Health Canada Laboratory Capacity in relation to a Chemical Emergency
Client: Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECS), Health Canada (2003)
Project Manager: John Harrison
  The main purpose of this department-wide project was to provide an analysis of laboratory capacity within the context of a Health Canada network for chemical emergencies. Within the framework of the national security role for the federal government of Canada and specifically for Health Canada, a report was prepared which analysed the capacity of all of the Health Canada laboratories to deal with the analysis of environmental samples collected from the site of a chemical emergency.

The process for the collection of the information included the development of a questionnaire and list of key chemicals and a series of interviews with laboratory managers to develop the necessary information. The final JRH Toxicology report provided the compilation of all collected information for Health Canada on this topic.

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Project: Development of Result-Based Management and Accountability Frameworks (RMAFs) for the Ecosystem-Health Key Result and its four sub-results
Client: Environment Canada (2003)
Senior Associate: John Harrison
  Ecosystem-Health Key-result is one of the program areas of the Nature Business line of Environment Canada. The objective of the business line is to conserve biological diversity in healthy ecosystems. It leads in building shared sustainability strategies for Canada's wildlife and ecosystems. It contributes to scientific understanding of ecosystem functioning, develops partnerships to improve the health of nationally significant ecosystems, and discharges federal responsibilities for managing wildlife, water and wetland resources. The Ecosystem-Health Key result has four sub-results.

While this is an Environment Canada's program, there are provincial partners involved as partners. The total yearly budget of the Ecosystems Health key result and sub-results was approximately $40 million per year.

The objective of the project was to develop five RMAFs, one for the Key result and four for the sub-results. The RMAFs were developed in accordance with the Treasury Board Guide issued in August 2001 and covered all the standard evaluation issues plus questions on risk management as found in Risk Based Audit Frameworks.

The methodology for this project comprised:
  • document and file reviews,
  • interviews with key individuals,
  • developing profiles of key- and sub-results, logic models, performance indicators and data requirements, and
  • application of risk identification and management to develop of risks to Environment Canada and how to address them.

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Project: Opportunities, Links and Key Areas on the International Horizon—Policy Development for Product Safety
Client: Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECS), Health Canada (2002)
Project Manager: John Harrison
  A report was prepared for the Policy and Program Services Office, Product Safety Programme that outlined the opportunities, links and key areas on the international horizon for the Product Safety Programme. This report was linked to the Needs Analysis that the Policy and Program Services Office had completed earlier. The methodology for the collection of information included interviews of senior managers and a specialized internet search. The specific areas of concern in the Product Safety Programme which were reviewed and analysed in the report included the chemical, mechanical, flammable and radiation domains.

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Project: Evaluation of the National Conference of the Toxic Substances Research Initiative (TSRI) Ottawa, March 5 - 8, 2002
Client: Health Canada and Environment Canada (2002)
Senior Associate: John Harrison
  In March 2002 a national conference was held in Ottawa bringing together TSRI funded researchers and the potential users together to improve the visibility and usefulness of the results of TSRI funded research. JRH Toxicology associates participated, under an earlier contract, in an exercise to compile a list of potential provincial and private sector users of TSRI results. This list together with the list of researchers was used to invite people to the conference. The conference included Round Tables of discussions between researchers and users to assess the usefulness of TSRI results.

The objective of this evaluation of the contribution funding organization was to collect information from the Round Tables and feedback from attendees to gather evidence of the usefulness of the TSRI data and improvements in dissemination methods or the future.

The methodology for this project comprised:
  • design and implementation of feedback survey of attendees of the conference,
  • providing chair persons and recorders of for round tables and instruction for recording the proceedings of the round tables,
  • qualitative analysis of feedback surveys and round tables,
  • preparation of reports of the findings and lessons learned.

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Project: Mid-Term Program Evaluation of the Toxic Substances Research Initiative (TSRI)
Department: Health Canada/Environment Canada, TSRI (2001)
Manager: John Harrison
  The Toxic Substances Research Initiative (TSRI) was a three year multi-departmental research contribution funding program with many federal departments as partners. The Initiative was created to fund research projects on toxic substances where federal, provincial, academic and private sector could conduct collaborative research. The Initiative provided federal researchers access to federal funds for research and opportunity to use academic research resources and facilities and the other way around. A novel funding model was developed.

The major objectives of the mid-term evaluation were to assess:
  • whether the initiative was implemented as planned,
  • whether the initiative reached the targeted audience and invited a large number of researchers,
  • whether processes designed by the TSRI were effective and efficient,
  • whether the project selection process was fair and the resource allocation was as planned, and
  • whether the governance was appropriate.
The budget of the TSRI was $40 Million over three years. Mr. Harrison was the Health Canada manager of the study. He was involved in the approval of the design and amendments of the study along with the direction of the evaluation team in terms of analysing progress reports and managing the process from the Health Canada side with his staff. He analysed the findings of the interim and final report and made recommendations to executive management regarding changes and modifications of the final recommendations.

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Project: Development of a Business Plan for the Bureau of Chemical Hazards, Environmental Health Directorate
Department: Bureau of Chemical Hazards, Health Canada (1997)
Manager: John Harrison, Assistant Director
  Mr. Harrison assisted in the preparation of the Bureau of Chemical Hazards Business Plan in 1996. This Bureau had a $19 million annual budget. The Bureau conducted extensive toxicological and epidemiological research in environmental health and actively searched for funding sources. The evaluation and regulatory side of the Bureau covered risk assessment and risk management of areas such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment regulations, the Canadian Environmental Protection regulations, and the National Drinking Water guidelines.

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Project: Governance—Development of Framework for the proposed Natural Health Products Regulations
Department: Health Canada, Office of Natural Health Products (1999)
Manager: John Harrison
  As the Manager, Office of Natural Health Products, Health Canada in 1999, Mr. Harrison oversaw the initial development of the Office itself and the initial framework for the Natural Health Products Regulations.  He oversaw the Minister's Transition Team who developed a document which set out viable options for the development of a framework for the Canadian natural health products regulations. In this capacity he reported to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Protection Branch.