Goings On

Speaking, signings, events, author appearances, things to do with No Ordinary Boy

“Partnering in Research: Making a case for critical reflexivity” – keynote presented at Western University’s Faculty of Education Research Partners Day, April 2024

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The following is the transcript for a keynote I gave April 19, 2024 for Western University’s Faculty of Education Research Partners Day.  Western recorded a video of the event.  We’re here at the Faculty of Education’s Research Partner Day – a day to celebrate and showcase the community partnerships Western has fostered, and hear how … Read more

My latest book collaboration project: Ethics in Child Health – Principles and Cases in Neurodisability

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I am so pleased to share this book – it represents a year of my own involvement plus a year or two of defining the project and soliciting chapters (by the other editors, before I came on board). The book is a collection of articles submitted by professionals in neurodisability – physicians, medical specialists, nurses, … Read more

Why Bill C-14 must include the ‘reasonably foreseeable death’ clause

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I was asked to speak in a national forum to oppose proposed Senate amendments to Bill C-14, which outlines legislation for Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) in Canada. I presented the text below as one of nine speakers on the panel, which included James Hicks, National Coordinator, Council of Canadians with Disabilities; Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President, Canadian … Read more

Sue MacRae Lecturer 2016

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On this sunny Saturday, I am working on my speech as the Sue MacRae lecturer for 2016. Hope to see you there! 9th Annual Sue MacRae Lecture on Ethics and Patient-Centred Care May 18 2016, 4:10-5:30 University of Toronto Health Sciences Building Dalla Lana School of Public Health 155 College Street, Room 106 Toronto ON … Read more

Ask Me Anything

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I gave a few talks this year, most of which left me dissatisfied. I think I delivered the ‘material’ okay and the audiences were receptive but each time I felt depleted and mildly embarrassed. I wrote about one of my experiences here. This time was different, thanks to sage advice from Carsten. It happened while … Read more

Barriers to patient and caregiver decision-making – 5 slides, 5 minutes

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I spoke last night at DesignMeets: an event for Toronto’s design community, hosted by my friends at Pivot. I was allowed 5 slides and 5 minutes! “I was what I call an ‘extreme’ caregiver for over 12 years, caring for my son who had multiple severe disabilities. Owen died about 4 years ago – since then, I’ve been writing and speaking about our experiences.

The Future of Care, in 3 minutes or less

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I just came back from the OACCAC‘s* annual conference – I was part of this illustrious panel: Dr. Tim Rutledge (CEO of North York General) Dr. Jonathan Kerr (Family physician and President of the Ontario Association of Family Physicians) Nadine Henningsen (President of the Canadian Home Care Association) Jennifer Johannesen (Patient and Caregiver Advocate) Moderator … Read more

Donna Thomson’s book launch

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My friend and comrade* Donna Thomson launched the softcover of her book, The Four Walls of my Freedom, in Toronto on Friday. She graciously allowed me to interview her for my other site while she was in town (conversationlibrary.org) – there was so much material it may take me weeks to edit?!  Anyway, I had the extra pleasure of attending her book launch the following afternoon, which I offered to film.

Donna spoke on the topics dear to her heart – her family, Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach as it applies to disability and Eva Kittay‘s work on dependency.  And as a special bonus, she was introduced by John Ralston Saul – author, essayist, über-Canadian and president of PEN International.  A lovely event – and a hearty congratulations to Donna for this release of her book!

* She says “disability mom”, I say comrade. Potato potahto.

A video project

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I’m launching a new site today! A sort of adjunct to my blog.  I’ve been sitting on it for a while and figured I should just release it already.  More videos are in the works.  I’ll post here when a new interview goes up.

Hopefully the site speaks for itself:

The Conversation Library »

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I decided to release it today because a) it’s the project that inspired me to write about Bill’s experiences in the previous 2 blog posts and b) it’s high time that Claire’s voice travels far and wide…  here’s a taste – very timely, given recent conversations about advocacy and activism.

A call to action for parents (part 2 of 2 videos)

  • 00:00 discusses the need for new parents to have mentors
  • 11:41 believes parents should align with disability activists

A proposal: abstract submitted to Canadian Bioethics Society conference

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My plan was to storm the health care world when my degree is finished – but I thought, why wait? I have proposed this abstract for the annual Canadian Bioethics Society conference this spring. The theoretical presentation spots are hotly contested and my bioethics colleagues are inarguably more qualified than me–but hey, who knows. My … Read more