Submitted by Section Chair, Stacey Grubb
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 3
December 9, 2014
Guest Speakers: Lisa Fong - Partner, Ng Ariss Fong, Kate Parisotto - Associate, Ng Ariss Fong and Julia Hincks - Associate, Ng Ariss Fong
Meeting Title/Topic: Health Law Year in Review
Synopsis: Recent developments in legislation, case law and administrative practice that occurred in 2014 in the area of health law were reviewed and discussed.
April 30, 2015
Guest Speakers: Susan Beach, Stewart McDannold Stuart and Janina M. Kon, Streamline Counsel
Meeting Title/Topic: Privacy Issues in Pandemic Planning - Health Law Section and Freedom of Information & Privacy Law Section Joint Meeting
Synopsis: The CBA Paper, “Pandemics and the Workplace: A Resource for Lawyers.” was reviewed looking at it from a BC perspective in terms of health and emergency legislation and the obligation on employers in the event of a pandemic. There was also a review of privacy compliance issues for employers during a pandemic.
May 12, 2015
Guest Speaker: Alison M. Latimer, Farris, Vaughan, Wills and Murphy LLP and co-counsel for the plaintiffs/ appellants in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General)
Meeting Title/Topic: Physician Assisted Death - What did the SCC decide and where do we go from here?
Synopsis: In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5 in which the Court unanimously struck down the absolute ban on physician-assisted death. This session provided a brief overview of the decision and explored how this test case litigation came together, how the applicable legal doctrines were applied and what we can expect next.
Comments and Observations of the Chair
The Health Law section had difficulty finding speakers and topics this year. Hopefully, this can be improved upon next year.