CLE Online

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Nadia Myerthall — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Elder Maria Reed Waabigekek Ikwe (Metis)
Lynda Cassels — Cassels Murray, Victoria
Catherine J. Wong — Saltwater Law, Vancouver

Keynote—All in the Family: Who Counts? (9:15 – 10:00)

barbara findlay, KC — Law Office of barbara findlay KC, Vancouver

BREAK (10:00 – 10:15)

Clinical Perspectives: The Medical Side of a Fertility File (10:15 – 11:10)

• walkthrough of the clinical process and the medical experience of clients
• advances in assisted reproductive technology
• practical considerations for clients from the medical perspective

Dr. Beth Taylor, MD, FRCSC — Olive Fertility Clinic, Vancouver

BREAK (11:10 – 11:25)

Concurrent Sessions (11:25 – 12:25)

SESSION A—Review of Relevant Assisted Reproductive Technology Legislation

• parentage under the Family Law Act
• review of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act and relevant regulations
• birth registration process in BC

Jeannette Aucoin — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Christine Murray — Cassels Murray, Victoria

SESSION B—Crossing Borders: What's Different About an International Fertility File

• when surrogates, intended parents and/or donors are not in Canada
• when are parentage declarations required
• red flags and practice tips for handling cross-border files

Moderator: Michelle Kinney — Michelle Kinney Law, Victoria
Elise Schopper-Brigel — West Coast Family Law, Victoria
Cindy R. Wasser — Hope Springs Fertility Law, Toronto

LUNCH BREAK (12:25 – 1:05)

Advanced Issues in Fertility Law, and All the Questions You Never Thought Would be  Asked (1:05 – 2:45)

• issues arising from the federal regulations
• complex multi-parent scenarios
• ethical issues arising from the practice of fertility law
• opting in or opting out of parentage
  • parents that are not legal parents but want to be
  • families where one spouse does not want to be a parent
• use of reproductive materials in the post-death context

Zara Suleman — Suleman Family Law, North Vancouver
Jasmeet K. Wahid — Kahn Zack Ehrlich Lithwick LLP, Richmond
Catherine J. Wong — Saltwater Law, Vancouver

BREAK (2:45 – 3:00)

Intersections—Estates and Family Law (Separation) (3:00 – 3:55)

• ownership and use of stored reproductive material
• addressing reproductive material in separation agreements
• estate planning considerations
• parentage and succession rights of posthumously conceived children

Lynda Cassels — Cassels Murray, Victoria
Monique Shebbeare — Monique Shebbeare Law Co., Vancouver

Closing Remarks (3:55 – 4:00)

Lynda Cassels — Cassels Murray, Victoria
Catherine J. Wong — Saltwater Law, Vancouver