

Canadian Bioethics Society
Société canadienne de bioéthique
Strengthening Interdisciplinary and inter-professional networks to pursue excellence in bioethics education, research and policy













CBS Administrator: Marylou Scott-Smith
canadianbioethicssociety@gmail.com
​
Marylou serves as the Administrator for the Canadian Bioethics Society, and supports the Executive Board in its effort to build organizational capacities for the CBS.
​
Board of Directors
President: Bashir Jiwani
Bashir Jiwani, PhD, is Lead Ethicist and Executive Director, Ethics and Diversity Services, at the Fraser Health Authority which serves one of Canada’s largest, fastest growing and most diverse regional populations.
Bashir leads a team that provides decision support in patient care and at the system-level, builds capacity to deal with complex, ethically challenging situations in contexts of diversity, enables access to language resources and builds partnerships for understanding and collaborating with diverse communities.
Bashir currently serves on the Drug Benefit Council for BC, the Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases Committee for BC, the pan-Canadian Advisory Panel on a Framework for a Prescription Drug List and the Core Team for the Aga Khan University Thinking Group on Ethics, Stem Cell Science, and Regenerative Medicine.
Bashir received his BA in Philosophy from McGill University and his MA in Philosophy with a specialty in Bioethics from the University of British Columbia. He received a PhD in Public Health Sciences from the University of Alberta, Canada.
More information about Bashir and his work can be found at incorporatingethics.ca.
​
President -Elect: Cory Labrecque
Cory Andrew Labrecque, PhD, is associate professor of bioethics and theological ethics, and the inaugural chair of educational leadership in the ethics of life at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Université Laval in Quebec City, where he is vice-dean and director of graduate programs in theology.
He previously served as the Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar in bioethics and religious thought, director of Catholic Studies, and director of graduate programs in bioethics at Emory University in Atlanta. Cory earned a BSc in anatomy and cell biology, an MA in religious studies with specialization in bioethics, and a PhD in religious ethics at McGill.
Cory’s teaching and research examine how the Abrahamic religions—with a focus on the Roman Catholic tradition—approach ethical issues in medicine, biotechnology, and the environment. He is especially interested in the context of aging, end-of-life ethics, and understandings of personhood. He is vice-president of the National Committee for Ethics and Ageing (Quebec) and is corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
​
Treasurer: Zachary Walbaum
Zachary has a B.A. (Hons) in Philosophy from Brandon University, a Master of Philosophy (Humanities), and a Master of Health Ethics from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
​
Zachary works full-time as a Clinical Research Coordinator for Interior Health in Kelowna, B.C. Zachary completed a Clinical Ethics Internship with William Osler Health Systems in Brampton, ON. In 2024, Zachary will begin his PhD in Health Sciences at UNBC. His research interests include moral epistemology, personal identity, ageing-related issues, and end-of-life issues.
​
Conference Liaison: Kristina Kékesi-Lafrance
Kristina Kékesi-Lafrance is a clinical ethicist for the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre, which is the most cosmopolitan area of the city. She is a member of the Quebec Bar since 2018 and her academic background includes a Master of Laws and Bioethics from McGill University. She has experience as a lawyer in private practice as well as in academia, as an academic associate for the Centre of Genomics and Policy (McGill University).
She also serves as the legal representative on the Cells, tissues, genetics and qualitative research (CTGQ) REB of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) as well as on the REB-3 (minor and adults incapable of providing consent) of the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University. Her research areas of interest include genomics and assisted reproductive technologies.
​
Communications Officer: Open
​
​
Deputy Communications Officer: Amanda Porter
Amanda Porter is an Assistant Professor and Health Care Ethicist in the Department of Bioethics at Dalhousie University, providing clinical and organizational ethics support to the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK.
Amanda’s collaborative work is intended to build capacity and opportunity for thoughtful handling of ethically challenging situations that arise in everyday practice and decision-making. She holds an MA and PhD in philosophy from Western University.
​
Social Media Officer: Monique Visser
Monique Visser is an early career Ethicist with the Health Ethics Alliance, based out of North York General Hospital and Oak Valley Health. Monique's academic background includes a Master of Bioethics (MBE) from Harvard Medical School and further ethics training by completing the Alberta Health Services two-year clinical ethics fellowship. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) and practiced as a registered nurse in several communities across Canada and in Saudi Arabia. She worked primarily in high acuity acute care settings and completed a graduate certificate in critical care (CCAC).
Her research areas of interest include exploring moral distress and the role of ethics education as part of preventative ethics.