AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence and Canadian Centre for Elder Law link up to focus on issues related to research and elder law
October 18, 2017
BY Elizabeth Pinsent
Announcement reposted on behalf of and with permission of AGE-WELL.
The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) has been named a new AGE-WELL core facility in elder law.
The announcement was made today in Winnipeg at AGE-WELL’s 3rd Annual Conference. AGE-WELL is a federally-funded pan-Canadian network driving research and innovation in the area of technology and aging.
CCEL, established in 2003 by the British Columbia Law Institute, is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the particular legal issues that affect older Canadians. It’s believed to be the only centre of its kind in the world.
AGE-WELL core facilities promote and trigger national and international interactions for AGE-WELL, and provide physical and/or virtual venues for researchers to meet, collaborate and exchange ideas.
CCEL will provide AGE-WELL researchers, trainees and partners with education and expert help on understanding and navigating the Canadian legal system, including legal issues raised by startups and commercialization. It will also address legal and ethical issues of critical importance when working with older adults, such as informed consent and substitute decision-making.
“CCEL will be a tremendous resource to AGE-WELL on a wide range of issues, including the legal and ethical aspects of developing and using smart-home sensors, robotics and other advanced technologies with older adults,” says Dr. Alex Mihailidis, AGE-WELL scientific director. CCEL’s expertise in gerontology is vital because “some legal issues are going to have very specific nuances based on our target older population,” adds Dr. Mihailidis.
“AGE-WELL is bringing together researchers and partners in a way which I believe positions Canada as a leader in the area of gerontechnology,” says Laura Tamblyn Watts, staff lawyer and senior fellow at CCEL and its former long-time national director.
“As a new core facility, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law not only can provide responsive information and support, but we look forward to working together with AGE-WELL to create new knowledge. The areas we will delve into as AGE-WELL moves forward—such as the legal issues with artificial intelligence, intellectual property and consent for the collection of metadata—these are emerging issues in law that we are excited to explore. We’re delighted to be part of this enterprise.”
Headquartered in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia with a second office in Toronto, the CCEL is now serving as a model of interest for several other countries.
AGE-WELL’s other core facilities include the Impact Centre at the University of Toronto and the iDAPT (Intelligent Design for Adaptation, Participation and Technology) Research Centre at Toronto Rehab-University Health Network. The Impact Centre is an AGE-WELL core facility in entrepreneurship, while iDAPT provides AGE-WELL researchers with access to its simulation environments. For more, see AGE-WELL Core Facilities.
About AGE-WELL
AGE-WELL NCE Inc. is a pan-Canadian network of industry, non-profit organizations, government, care providers, end users and academic partners working together using high-quality research to drive innovation and create technologies and services that benefit older adults and caregivers. Its vision is to harness and build upon the potential of emerging and advanced technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), e-health, information communication technologies (ICTs), and mobile technologies to stimulate technological, social and policy innovation. AGE-WELL is funded through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program. https://www.agewell-nce.ca
About the Canadian Centre for Elder Law
The Canadian Centre for Elder Law is a national non-profit law reform centre dedicated to improving the lives of older adults in their relationship to the law. In July 2003, the B.C. Law Institute formally established the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. The mandate of CCEL includes research, law reform and education relating to legal issues of interest to older adults. Today, the CCEL is recognized for its expertise in elder law issues both in Canada and internationally.
