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Our Speaker Program

Tuesday 10 April

"A Dental Mystery Worthy of Poirot" 
Dr. John Hardie

   In the summer of 1990 the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) accused Dr. David Acer of infecting Kimberly Bergalis with HIV while treating her in his dental office. Shortly thereafter, the CDC had gathered enough information to charge Dr. Acer with infecting an additional five patients.
   Following two major government investigations the authorities were sure of Dr. Acer’s guilt but had no idea how the infection occurred. Was this, as some have contended, the greatest crime in the annals of medical history? Was it, as others have suggested, a cover up for a government conspiracy and a massive insurance deception? Was David Acer a criminal mastermind or an innocent man found guilty by association?
   The controversies surrounding the case were the focus of a CBS 60 Minute Presentation. Independent investigations criticized government agencies for arriving at premature assumptions based on less than credible evidence, but did they exonerate Dr. Acer?
   Today, 28 years later, what really happened in that Florida dental practice remains a mystery…or is it? John Hardie is no detective Poirot, but he had some involvement with the case and has an interesting tale to tell.
   From 1980 until 1990 Dr. Hardie was Head, Department of Dentistry, Ottawa Civic Hospital. Through a series of unplanned events he became involved in examining some of the evidence in this case. After graduating in Dentistry from Glasgow University, Scotland, John, his wife Mary and four month old daughter Adele emigrated to Victoria BC where John established a private practice.
   However, after a few years he decided – with Mary's support – to change direction by completing a Master’s Degree in general and anatomic pathology and to a career in hospital-based dentistry in Ottawa, Vancouver, Saudi Arabia and Northern Ireland.
   He has a PhD in infection control, Fellowships in Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology from the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists.
   Although retired from practice, Dr. Hardie maintains a thirty plus years interest in the discipline of infection control as it relates to dentistry. He has published almost 200 papers and lectured throughout North America, Europe, the Middle and Far East. In retirement, he serves as Secretary of a Canada Dental Foundation which funds philanthropic missions to developing countries.

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Wednesday 8 May

Students on Ice Foundation
 

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Previous Speakers

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	Bruce Di Labio -- Birds in the Ottawa region	David Smith --  Einstein: his life and works	Greg Matte  --  From Helmets to Hardhats	Charlotte Gray --              The Promise of Canada	Peter  Hamer -- EMR -- Electronic Medical records
	February	March	April	May	June
	Sue Garvey -- Cornerstone Housing for Women	Kate MacNeil  -- The Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre
2016-17	September	October	November	December	January
	Howard Clifford -- The Wild Child, involving youth with nature	Frank Hitchens --         Are we alone in the universe?	Richard Brisson -- The Enigma Machine	Service Clubs -- Dwight Brown, Rotary, Linda Leinan, Lions	Barrie Kirk -- Automated vehicles are here to stay
	February	March	April	May	June
	Dawn and Peter Doyle: Our cruise to Iceland	Rick Baker  --  CARP	Caroline Midgley and  Jeannie Mathews --  Home care options	Randy Boswell -- Digital databases help re-discover our past	Brock Godfrey -- Mass marketing fraud awareness
2015-16	September	October	November	December	January
	Cheryl Cooper: Tall Ships and the War of 1812	Jonathan Moore: The Franklin Expedition ship Erebus discovery	Kanina Dawson: My Afghan war experience	Ian Smillie: Blood diamonds in Africa	Jane Madigan: Service dogs and anxiety disorder
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	Michele Leboldus: Our heritage and the next generation	Robert Hannaberry: "Sooner or Later" housing/ care needs	Gerda Kraft: Making refugees feel welcome	Jim Holmes: Kanata Theatre and the community	Dr. Andrew Frank: Memory loss and Alzheimer's
2014-15	September	October	November	December	January
	Joyce Trafford --           The Carp Fair	Joy Forbes --                 The One-Room Schoolhouse	Miriam Rawson -- Matthew House and the Ottawa Furniture Bank	Don Wiles -- Uranium in my Bones	Matt Craig  -- The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
	February	March	April	May	June
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	Nadine Fowler and Cristina Myers -- The Queensway Carleton Hospital	Barry Risk -- Canada Customs    "The Thinner Blue Line"	Dave Brown -- After 10,000 columns	Guy Thatcher -- Walking the Camino de Saint-Jacques	Terry Currie --              The great Fire of 1870
2012-13	September	October	November	December	January
	Dr. Kent MacDonald -- President Algonquin College	Karen Bell -- Seniors Nutrition	Ronald Cohen -- Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa	Dr.Janet Biggar and Jim Jamer -- Empowering youth in Africa	Dr. Aisha Sherazi -- Women in Islam
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	Ian Farthing -- St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival	Matt Warin -- US Embassy         Trafficking in persons	Peter van Boeschoten -- Ottawa Older Adult Plan	Helen Forsey -- Eugene Forsey and the Senate	J.F. Sauriol --  Computer Security for Seniors
2011-12	September	October	November	December	January
	Max Keeping -- Community Ambassador	Mayor Jim Watson	Guy Parent -- Veterans Ombudsman	Jamie Lunn -- The War Amps of Canada	Allison Knight -- Office of the Information Commissioner
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