Talk
Navigating Research Challenges in Disability Studies: Current Obstacles and Priorities for the Future

Bio
Professor Cordier specialises in conceptualising and evaluating psychosocial interventions for children with behavioural and emotional disabilities. His research sits at the intersection of health and social care, with a strong focus on issues affecting diverse population groups. Across his work, he is committed to advancing the social inclusion of children with disabilities and building a robust evidence base for effective psychosocial interventions. He brings methodological expertise in instrument development, psychometrics, randomised controlled trials, and longitudinal research. A major emphasis of his scholarship is ensuring that individuals from varied backgrounds and social strata can participate fully, remain engaged, stay socially connected, and lead healthy lives. His investigations into service delivery models and intervention techniques aim to identify what works, for whom, and under which circumstances—ultimately informing and improving real-world practice.

Talk
Legalized ‘Assisted Dying’ as a Threat to Disability Rights: Canada’s MAID Regime as a Case Study

Bio
Trudo Lemmens, LicJur, LLM (bioethics), DCL, FCAHS, is professor and Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy at the Henri N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health of the University of Toronto. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Hastings Center. His publications on a variety of health law and human rights issues have appeared in leading law, bioethics, and medical journals and academic volumes. He has published extensively on euthanasia and assisted suicide, including in a recent a co-edited volume Unravelling MAID in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care. He was a member of the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying, an expert witness for the federal Attorney General in the Truchon and Lamb cases, a pro-bono witness for a human rights organization in a South African assisted suicide case, and he has testified before Canadian parliamentary committees mandated to review MAID law, policy, and practice. He has also been consulted as an expert on these issues internationally, including by UK, Irish, and Jersey parliamentary committees. He is currently a member of Ontario’s MAiD Death Review Committee, a multidisciplinary committee which assists the Office of the Chief Coroner with the evaluation of public safety issues in relation to MAID death.