What began last spring as a proposal for an academic institute to be located in Kingsville made its way to the residents for a public information session held at the Grovedale Arts & Culture Centre on April 9.
A partnership between the Town of Kingsville, the University of Windsor and Western University Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry was formed last May, with the intent to bring an outdoor forensic laboratory to the area for both research and training purposes.
The proposed Southwestern Institute for Forensic Taphonomy (SWIFT) would bring a laboratory and students together to study the human body’s degradation process after death and would be the first of its kind in Ontario, and only the second one in Canada.
The audience gathered at the session was provided with details of how the field of forensic taphonomy assists in the locating and recovering of victims of medical, criminal, mass disaster and war crime investigations, and how it can bring some sense of resolution to those suffering the loss of a loved one.
If approved, the lab would be led by Dr. Shari Forbes, an expert in the field, and who has established similar laboratories in both Australia and Quebec.
Land for the initiative would be provided by the town and all costs to run the facility would be absorbed by the university. In lieu of payment for the three-acre site, the University of Windsor has agreed to provide three to five scholarships annually for Kingsville students enrolled at the university.
Mayor Dennis Rogers spoke prior to the Q & A about what the proposal would mean to the town. “It was a great thing for the community when we signed the memorandum of understanding with the university. This will build a bridge and allow for a lot of opportunities to come down the pipeline.”
Many questions arose after the presentation from Dr. Forbes, with the initial question being, why Kingsville for this new institute?
“This is one of many projects in the future,” Forbes said. “The idea is that the town and the university want to establish a larger collaboration with different disciplines and ours just happens to be the first. I approached the town as it is an ideal location for our facility. We needed a forested location and there is not a lot of forest in southwestern Ontario. We were looking for a community that wanted something like this, that wants to innovate and collaborate, and that was Kingsville.”
Another question that came from the residents asked how the lab would provide benefit to those living here.
Forbes responded, “I hope that it will provide opportunities for students to stay local. I hope that it will bring economic opportunities for the town as we bring in a lot of students, researchers and law enforcement for this unique type of training. The laboratory in Quebec trained hundreds of police officers and now we will be able to do that here for our Ontario officers.”
Security, odours and light pollution also came up as possible issues with the proposal. Forbes shared that the facility would be surrounded by opaque fencing, monitored at all times by CCTV, accessed by authorized personnel only via electronic entry, and patrolled by the OPP. She said that odours have not been an issue at other sites that she has worked at and work would only be completed in daylight hours thus negating the need for lighting at night.
The real “elephant in the room” question was about the exact location for the proposed institute. Town of Kingsville CAO John Norton assured that, “It will not be in an urban area. The chosen location will not be an issue and shouldn’t affect any of the neighbours.”
The audience was told that the location will not be revealed to protect the privacy of those donors who have bequeathed their remains and to prevent possible tampering on the proposed grounds.
Many residents continued to voice their displeasure with a lack of location disclosure, and were expected to be satisfied with, “It will be 600 metres from the nearest residence and 1,000 metres from the second closest home.”
The institute’s location will be shared with town council only prior to their April 20 regular meeting when they will decide if SWIFT becomes a reality in Kingsville. If approved, Dr. Forbes estimated that the lab would be up and running within a year.
