Message from the conference Co-Chairs

On behalf of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, this year’s conference Co-Chairs, Dr. Jennifer Gibson and Dr. Michael Szego, look forward to welcoming you to the 2021 CBS-SCB Annual Conference.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s conference will be held virtually. We hope this will allow even more people to participate as conference fees have been significantly reduced and there are no travel costs.

The theme is intended to capture issues and concerns both created by and exacerbated by the pandemic. These may include the roots of social and health inequity that perpetuate racism and oppression, the governmental responses to the pandemic, and those issues that may be endemic to the field of bioethics itself.

We anticipate there will be many important and challenging discussions and learnings.

About this year’s conference

Following the feedback from CBS-SCB members and others who responded to our survey questions about the conference, we are pleased to announce that the theme of the 2021 Canadian Bioethics Society Annual Conference will be “Behind the Mask: Ethical Issues Revealed by COVID-19 in Canada and Beyond.”

The virtual event will be held from 26-28 May with the daily schedule contained within a window of time that makes it possible to join from all over Canada during reasonable local hours.

The theme is intended to capture issues and concerns both created by and exacerbated by the pandemic. These may include the roots of social and health inequity that perpetuate racism and oppression, the governmental responses to the pandemic, and those issues that may be endemic to the field of bioethics itself.

We welcome submissions addressing a broad range of topics, ranging from local to global, individuals to populations, theoretical to practical, and from practice to policy. We also welcome discussions focusing on the next best steps for bioethics as a field of study, inquiry and practice.

Under the broad theme, any of the following might be explored:

• Racial in/justices and their manifestation in the context of health and healthcare as a result of ongoing systemic racism and structural oppression, and the implicit biases that persist and result in prejudice and discrimination
• The disproportionate impacts of the coronavirus and policies and practices mounted in reaction to it on different communities and groups
• The inadequacies of the response from the field of bioethics, both presently and historically, in matters of equitable access to healthcare for all
• The need for a sustained effort to address equity concerns that are finally getting some attention due to the pandemic
• The bioethical issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses to it (e.g., data and AI, priority setting, health policy, research, new technologies, social media)

Who should attend the conference

This conference will be a success if we engage a range of conversations and collaborations between bioethicists, scientists, subject matter experts, anti-racism/anti-oppression advocates, and those affected by or influencing the work of all of the above. As the CBS 2021 Local Organizing Committee, we would like to extend an invitation to all consumers of healthcare, those affected by structural oppression, and those connected to healthcare ethics to attend and share a space conducive to respectful dialogue, learning and debate.

To see more details or to register for the conference, please visit the Canadian Bioethics Society.