To support the Chemicals Management Plan under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), Health Canada sought expert peer consultation for a draft screening assessment report (DSAR) evaluating 47 inorganic substances identified as priorities. The client required independent scientific and technical expertise to assess whether the report’s conclusions—particularly regarding health effects, exposure pathways, and risk characterizations—were sound, complete, and defensible.

In response to public and ministerial concerns about the timeliness and adequacy of information shared during a major prescription drug recall, Health Canada commissioned an independent review to assess its response to the event. The situation involved a recall of the oral contraceptive Alysena, issued due to packaging issues that altered the intended dosing sequence and raised questions about potential unintended health risks.

The original mandate aimed to find a new direction for the world renowned International Herald Tribune just as both the World Wide Web was in its infancy, and the newspaper faced increased competition from international and regional editions of established newspapers and magazines such as The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times.

Following the planned closure of the Blood Safety Contribution Program (BSCP), support was needed to help define the structure, elements, and functions of a renewed national recipient hemovigilance system for Canada. The work centred on preparing the transfusion medicine community, federal and provincial/territorial partners, blood operators, and patient representatives to develop recommendations for a future system that could maintain national coordination, support blood and patient safety, and preserve trust in Canada’s blood system.

A large number of domestic and foreign animal diseases with zoonotic health impacts to humans must be managed carefully to prevent disease transmission and spread. Risk management decisions often involve the comparison of different types of risk and the cost-effectiveness of different control measures for reducing risk. This requires that different types of risk be assessed in a consistent manner to allow cross-comparisons. The use of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) as a measure of the burden of human disease from domestic and foreign animal pathogens was completed for several zoonoses in Canada.

To support national public health goals, RSI was tasked with developing a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) model to estimate the human health risks associated with the consumption of chicken in New Zealand. The core objective was to quantify the relationship between Campylobacter contamination on poultry carcasses at the point of chilling and the subsequent incidence of foodborne illness among consumers.

In support of ongoing efforts to modernize Canada's food inspection system, a request was issued for scientific and analytical expertise to enhance two critical risk-based decision tools: the Establishment-based Risk Assessment (ERA) and Importer Risk Assessment (IRA) models. These models are used to allocate inspection resources across food establishments, importers, hatcheries, feed mills, and renderers in a structured and scientifically defensible manner.