MONTREAL HEALTH ETHICS CONFERENCE SERIES
The Montreal Health Ethics Conference Series is an annual series of bilingual conferences /webinars that aim to bring together multiple public agents regarding different subjects in health ethics. The series’ objective, supported by many academic institutions located in Montreal, is to promote interdisciplinary reflection as well as foster new ways of thought that better assemble the larger public.
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ABOUT THE SERIES
The Montreal Health Ethics Conference Series aims to bring clinicians, academics, patients, politicians, public figures, students and community members together to think about and discuss issues in health ethics. It has hosted over a hundred of scholars from local and international institutions since 2007.
2025 THEME: Ethical Issues Related to Women’s Health and Well-being
2025 Edition: Ethical Issues Related to Women’s Health and Well-being
February 6, 2025 - La peur au ventre : Extraits du documentaire et discussion
Speaker: Léa Clermont-Dion, Postdoctoral Researcher, Art Education – Concordia University; Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance; UNESCO Chair in the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Radicalization; Director – Women Make Movies – Webby Awards Laureate
Online
📌 More information to come. Stay tuned!
February 20, 2025 - Tabous liés à la santé des femmes
Speaker: Lydya Assayag
Mode: To be confirmed
📌 More information to come. Stay tuned!
March 13, 2025 - Consequences of the End of Roe: Lessons from the Turnaway Study
Speaker: Dr. Diana Greene Foster
Modality: Online
This talk discusses the consequences of the end of a federally protected right to abortion in the United States. It describes the options open to those who want an abortion and live in one of the 21 states that has severely restricted or banned abortion and the trends in travel, telemedicine, self-managed abortion and carrying unwanted pregnancies to term. The consequences of carrying unwanted pregnancies to term has been documented through Diana Greene Foster’s Turnaway Study which examined the health, economic and life course consequences of receiving versus being denied a wanted abortion for women and children prior to the Dobbs decision.
10 avril 2025 - Violences obstétricales et gynécologiques (PANEL)
Speakers: Dr. Sylvie Lévesque and Dr. Suzy Basile
Mode: Online
📌 More information to come. Stay tuned!
May 22, 2025 - Biomedical science and women’s health: The case of sex and gender in type 1 diabetes and physical activity
Speaker: Dr. Jane Yardley
Mode: Hybrid
Biomedical science has long shied away from studying the impact of male and female physiology on basic disease mechanisms and the effects of various treatments. Such is the case of type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects both males and females roughly equally. In particular, regular physical activity is essential to health and longevity for people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Unfortunately, for people living with T1D, fear of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) and fear of losing agency over diabetes management are major obstacles to being active. Existing physical activity guidelines suggestion insulin adjustments and carbohydrate intake strategies to minimize glycemic variations. Unfortunately, the data used to inform this advice originates from studies dominated by young, fit, male participants. They often fail to account for sex-related differences in metabolism, potential fluctuations or changes in insulin sensitivity due to the menstrual cycle or menopause, or gender-related goals and preferences around physical activity. As such, they may increase glycemic variability, and act as an additional barrier to activity. This presentation outlines recent and ongoing efforts to improve the precision of these guidelines for women by providing data on a greater range of participants. It will thus speak to, using the example of type 1 diabetes and physical activity, some of the broader issues affecting the study of sex and gender in biomedical research.
June 12, 2025 - Les femmes en situation de handicap
Speaker: October 16, 2025 - L’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes : Regard sur 50 ans d’évolution au Québec
Speaker: Louise Cordeau
Mode: Hybrid
Le Conseil du statut de la femme (CSF) est créé en 1973, avec pour mission de « donner son avis au ministre sur toute question que celui-ci lui soumet relativement aux sujets qui concernent l’égalité et le respect des droits et du statut de la femme ». Cinq ans plus tard, il rend public un avis intitulé Pour les Québécoises : égalité et indépendance, dans lequel il fait le point sur la condition des femmes au Québec et formule plus de 300 recommandations au gouvernement en vue de favoriser l’égalité entre les sexes.
En 2023, à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de sa création, le CSF revisitait le portrait de situation brossé en 1978 dans son bilan L’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes : Regard sur 50 ans d’évolution au Québec. Lors de cette conférence, la présidente du CSF, Me Louise Cordeau, C. Q., discutera des avancées des Québécoises depuis 50 ans et de leurs préoccupations actuelles, appuyant son analyse sur cet ouvrage.
November 13, 2025 - L’évolution des politiques en matière santé et de bien-être des femmes au Québec (PANEL)
Speakers: Louise Harel and Michele Stanton-Jean
Mode: Hybrid
📌 More information to come. Stay tuned!
2024 THEME: ETHICS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES IN HEALTHCARE
S'épanouir par de bons soins en gériatrie, Félix Pageau, MD, FRCPC, Université Laval
Collaboration intersectorielle et accès aux soins des personnes LGBTQI+ migrantes, Ahmed Hamila, PhD, Université de Montréal
LGBTQ+ health care praxis: Building more equitable and just futures today, Zena Sharman, Writer, speaker, strategist and LGBTQ+ health advocate
Une culture de santé globale et d’équilibre pour nos travailleurs de la santé, JACYNTHE BOISVERT ET ANNE-VALÉRIE FOURNIER
Le management des risques éthiques : un projet concret pour favoriser le développement d’une culture sensible à l’éthique dans votre organisation, Yves Boisvert, Prof et chercheur, ÉNAP
Transition de soins, culture organisationnelle et le projet participatif Parachute, panel IRCM & CHU Sainte-Justine
Apprentissage organisationnel en santé et services sociaux : approche et mécanismes, Audrey L’Espérance, PhD
2023 SERIES: TOWARDS PARTICIPATORY, INCLUSIVE, ECO-SOCIAL HEALTH: HOW TO INNOVATE AND CREATE BRIDGES BETWEEN DEMOCRACY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR HEALTH CARE ENVIRONMENTS?
More than ever, the links between health and the environment are known and constitute a burning issue for citizens. But their power to act on their social and natural environment depends closely on the existence of democratic institutions that make room for the voice of individuals and groups. It is to address these questions that, in this new series of conferences, we will address the links between, on the one hand, democracy and its institutions and, on the other hand, the development of sustainable health. Together, we will discuss marginalization and inclusion in the context of women’s health, the links between sustainable health and prevention, access to green spaces and spaces for civic discourse and their impact on health, democratic reform of health systems, and numerous innovative experiments aimed at democratizing health and creating citizen spaces.
Because thinking about health means working to improve it for everyone.
Réduire les inégalités sociales de santé : Quels leviers avons-nous pour agir ?, Janie Houle, PhD
Mettre sur pied des laboratoires vivants en santé au Québec : expériences et réflexions, Bénédicte D'Anjou
Quand la santé durable rejoint santé participative, inclusive et éco-sociale : moyens d’action des agences subventionnaires, Carole Jabet, PhD, FRQ-S
Dépistage préventif pour les patients sans médecin de famille, Bernadette Thibaudeau
Vers la justice épistémique dans la recherche avec les personnes autistes., Amandine Catala, PhD
Green Bioethics: Sustainable Health Care, Cristina Richie, PhD
Adaptation, inclusion et partenariat, Annie-Danielle Grenier, autrice, conférencière et patiente partenaire
Le droit d’initiative en matière de consultation publique de la Ville de Montréal : action collective et démocratie directe , Laurence Bherer, PhD
Un système de santé adaptatif et inclusif ? Le cas d’un réseau intersectoriel de proximité au service des personnes réfugiées en Estrie, Lara Maillet, PhD
La prévention, la voie de la pérennité, Pierre Lavoie, cofondateur du Grand défi Pierre Lavoie, athlète et conférencier.
La réforme de la santé en Suède : quelles leçons pour le Québec ? Stéphane Paquin, ENAP; GERIQ
2022 series: Information and Health: Still the crux of the matter?
After decades of promoting patient rights and organizational transparency, is information still the crux of the matter in healthcare? It is clear that many barriers to an optimal flow of information: the opacity of information on the functioning of the health system, the overabundance of contradictory information on mental and physical health, the emergence of telehealth platforms, and the role of the media in providing accurate information on health in times of pandemic. The Montreal Health Ethics Conference Series will call on various stakeholders from political, scientific, and government circles, as well as patients to determine whether information and its accessibility are still a fundamental health issue. We will try together to understand why and for whom this issue persists and discuss the possible solutions and promising practices
Panel d'ouverture: Gestion de l’information en santé en contexte de pandémie, Valérie Borde, Philippe Mercure, Dr. André Veillette
Les aspects légaux de l’information en santé, Me Geneviève Piché, avocate spécialiste, droits en santé
Innovations et information en santé : Dialogue avec Dre Michèle de Guise
Panel: Sport, information et santé mentale, Dr. Christiane Ayotte, Sylvie Bernier, Enrico Ciccone, Dre Suzanne Leclerc
Les données cliniques 'en vie réelle': Pourquoi est-ce à la fois si nécessaire, difficile et risqué?, Dr. Aude Motulsky
Panel: Maladies mal comprises, soins de qualité et information en santé, Charli Arcouette, Dr. Emilia Liana Falcone, Dr. Amir Khadir, Jérémie Meier-Sénéchal
Les prises de risque d’une pédagogie de l’éducation thérapeutique du patient, Dr Rémi Gagnayre
Une analyse politique des barrières à l’accès aux données pour la recherche en santé, Damien Contandriopoulos
What is brain death? The imperative to communicate honestly and transparently with the public, Dr. Robert Truog
L’information est-elle toujours le nerf de la guerre? - Retour sur la Série de conférences 2022
2021 series: Wellness, health and human flourishing
More than ever, the question of well-being is at the heart of our lives and our concerns, but what role do we really give it in our personal and professional lives and more broadly in our society? Does the dream of a good life guide our health and social choices? Is this ideal accessible to all? How does our health care system respond to different visions of health and wellness? What place does this ideal take in our social, economic and political life? This series of lectures will highlight the perspectives of leading international experts reflecting on ethical issues related to wellness. The series will also focus on a number of critical interventions that will lead us to reflect on an inclusive vision of wellness and health, particularly for Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and marginalized people.