ABSTRACT
In May 1994, the author reached the Ontario government employee mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. Although mandatory retirement is sometimes controversial, for him it was a good thing; otherwise, he would have probably stayed on at the Centre of Forensic Sciences until he was carried out the door. The author had done none of the things that one is supposed to do in preparation for retirement—new hobbies, community interests, volunteer commitments, and so forth. On that first Monday morning of retirement, he received a phone call from the chief of police in Vancouver asking if he would assist him by making a review of the capabilities of the Vancouver City Analyst Laboratory (CAL). Although the CAL was in the Department of Health, it had for many years also provided forensic science support to the Vancouver Police Department.
