We are delighted to announce that Maureen McTeer's most recent book, FERTILITY: 40 Years of Change has been published by Irwin Law. This book explores key medical, research, and legal developments in assisted human reproduction since the birth of the first IVF baby in 1978. With keen insight, Maureen analyses how Canada has responded to the many legal and societal opportunities this foundational reproductive technology has created, such as new types of human relationships; the treatment of infertility; human embryo research; and the revolutionary possibilities for society raised by the combination of reproductive and genetic technologies, as we create, manipulate, and alter human life in the laboratory.

More information >‍

In recent years, some people with visual impairments have regained some degree of sight with the help of “bionic eyes”. But now the company behind the implants has stopped supporting the technology. Hear how that’s left some people in the dark, from Eliza Strickland, Senior Editor at the tech publication IEEE Spectrum, and CHLPE’s Professor Jennifer Chandler. On CBC's The Current:
‍Audio >

‍See also Their Bionic Eyes Are Now Obsolete and Unsupported, in IEEE Spectrum>

Raywat Deonandan is co-investigator on a new grant-funded project led by Angel Foster: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Abortion Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Study Dedicated to Service Delivery and Utilization. The project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) over a two-year period. You can see Angel Foster along with Melissa Upreti, Joanna Erdman, and CHLPE's Daphne Gilbert in last week's webinar, Rights to Abortion: 2022 and Beyond.
‍Video >

Recent outrage by some members of Parliament about an alleged secret collection of Canadians’ data by the Public Health Agency of Canada illustrates how misguided many are about the various kinds of personal data – and how they should and should not be used. Michael Wolfson writes in the Globe & Mail...
‍Full text >

‍See also Canadians’ health data are in a shambles…
Full text >

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association one in five Canadians is currently living with mental illness. By age 40, half of Canadians have suffered—or are suffering—some form of it. Between 2009 and 2019, there was a 60% increase in emergency department room visits and hospitalizations among adolescents. Only one in five young Canadians gets the treatment needed. The Mental Health Commission of Canada estimates that mental health problems and illnesses cost Canada about $50 billion per year. We can and must do better. Yasmin Khaliq writes in the Ottawa Citizen...

Full text >

When vaccine passports or certificates launched in Ontario it was a development welcomed by some and strongly opposed by others. The launch raised a myriad of legal, ethical, privacy, and policy issues as jurisdictions around the world grapple with the continued global pandemic and the unusual requirements of demonstrating vaccination in order to enter some public or private spaces. On September 27 CHLPE's Colleen Flood, Bryan Thomas, and Kumanan Wilson were joined by Vivek Krishnamurthy, Director of uOttawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), as well as Marie-Eve Sylvestre, Dean of Civil Law. Catch up on the full video of the webinar and discussion here.
Video >

Also hear Colleen Flood on the Law Bytes Podcast, hosted by Professor Michael Geist.
Listen >