Hand in Hand Across Quebec
We have been successful in obtaining a Federal Government grant for a project titled, Hand in Hand Across Quebec to further support our community through online participation and sharing, and we look forward to creating, planning and working with you!
This program allows our senior, and other, members to coordinate, plan, and lead a workshop on one of their hobbies, skills, or interests. The program will be virtual to ensure safety during the pandemic, and accessibility for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). The goal behind this project is to address issues such as isolation that people with MCS are often confronted with. These workshops will create a safe space for people with MCS to share their experiences and interests, and feel part of a community. For seniors, and others, who do not have MCS, these workshops will be an opportunity to learn what MCS is and better understand the disability through conversations with people who experience it.
To ensure that all will feel comfortable and capable of attending and/or running these workshops, we will be sure to create access to online webinars on how to use platforms like Zoom.
To also ensure that all people interested have access to these workshops and necessary materials to deliver or run a workshop, we will be providing financial assistance to participants. At ASEQ-EHAQ we believe in inclusivity for all, including people with lower socio-economic status that otherwise might not have access to such workshops.
Upcoming Events:
Your Hour of Selfcare Practice
January 9, 2023, Monday, at 7 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqcequrDsuE9V_FDHa6-DY6KISlKxkCVYT
Yoga teacher: Bhaskar Goswami, senior yoga and meditation teacher.
Gentle chair-based movements, calming breathwork, guided meditation, and group discussion.
The intention of this practice is to cultivate an easeful body and a calm mind. This is to support and complement the healing and recovery process. The practice is suitable for all levels, and no previous experience is required. It is recommended not to eat a heavy meal before the class and to have your video camera.
The live virtual Zoom classes will be for 1 hour. The class will be offered mainly in English. The participants are invited to communicate in English or French.
The class will begin on time. Kindly be present at least 5 minutes before to ensure comfort before the class begins.
Thursday, January 12, from 1 to 4 pm EST
French only: Webinar: Empowering Community and Removal of Barriers (ECRoB) Project on MCS
As part of a national project on education and awareness of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), the Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec – Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) is hosting two webinars on MCS during the month of January. These webinars will cover the biological, social, and legal aspects of this disability.
You are welcome to invite anyone else to attend this webinar (e.g., representatives from other groups, family, or friends). Please let us know in advance if LSQ interpretation is required.
You can attend both, or just one webinar. The content is the same for both webinars.
Pre-Registration is required to attend the webinar.
Webinar: Empowering Community and Removal of Barriers (ECRoB) Project on MCS (1st webinar)
Time: Jan 12, 2023, 1:00 PM EST
Zoom Meeting Link (Pre-registration required)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83277388788?pwd=dDFMSEdvZkdDS3F4dWNoVXcvNHV5Zz09
Meeting ID: 832 7738 8788
Passcode: 925631
One tap mobile
+16473744685, 83277388788# Canada
+16475580588, 83277388788# Canada
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kqjtEkN9s
Tuesday, January 17, 2023, from 1 to 4 pm EST
English only: Webinar: Empowering Community and Removal of Barriers (ECRoB) Project on MCS
As part of a national project on education and awareness of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), the Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec – Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) is hosting a webinar in English only, on MCS, on January 17, 2023. This webinar will cover the biological, social, and legal aspects of this disability.
You are welcome to invite anyone else to attend this webinar (e.g., representatives from other groups, family, or friends). Please let us know in advance if ASL interpretation is required.
A training webinar was held on December 16, 2022. The content is the same for both webinars
Pre-Registration is required to attend the webinar.
Training Webinar on MCS for ECRoB Partners and ASEQ-EHAQ Team_2nd training
Time: Jan 17, 2023, 1:00 PM EST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82764629322?pwd=N25QS01jbTh6U0FKNFZHaExRSFRsdz09
Meeting ID: 827 6462 9322
Passcode: 560767
Mobile
+17789072071, 82764629322# Canada
+17806660144, 82764629322# Canada
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keg566jItw
January 18, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Information session by the Canadian Revenue Agency on filing income tax for persons with disabilities
Jan 18 2023, Wednesday at 6:00 pm
Registration in advance is required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEud-6trDkjG9FhUd3RaaGCXKt3W1Dp1Bj5
Get ready to do your taxes! ASEQ-EHAQ is holding a virtual information session along with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the MCS community. As responsible citizens, it is imperative that we pay taxes. Your tax contributions are fundamental to funding a range of initiatives, including Canada’s public health and education systems, as well as the construction of roads and bridges.
The event will include topics on Disability Tax Credit (DTC), Canadian caregiver credit (CCC), Home accessibility expenses, Disability supports deduction, Child disability benefit (CDB), Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), Medical Expenses, Tools and Online Service, Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program and Be Scam Smart.
To make the most of this time together, we’d welcome your questions ahead of time at office@aseq-ehaq.ca
January 19, 2023, 6:00 PM
Canada Revenue Agency Information Session on Tax Filing for Persons with Disabilities (In French only)
January 19, 2023, Thursday at 6:00 pm
Advance registration is required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqcuuhrjssHNzZD74qvwJnH5IydgBsumH1
Get ready to do your taxes! ASEQ-EHAQ is hosting a virtual information session with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the MCS community. As responsible citizens, it is imperative that we pay taxes. Your tax contributions are fundamental to funding a range of initiatives including Canada’s public health and education systems, as well as road and bridge construction.
The event will include topics on the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), Canadian Caregiver Credit (CCS), Home Accessibility Expenses, Disability Supports Deduction, Child Disability Benefit (CDB), Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), Medical Expenses, Online Tools and Service, Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program and Be Smart About Scams
To make the most of this time of sharing, we would welcome your questions in advance at bureau@aseq-ehaq.ca
Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 1 to 4 pm EST
French only: Webinar: Empowering Community and Removal of Barriers (ECRoB) Project on MCS
As part of a national project on education and awareness of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), the Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec – Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) is hosting two webinars on MCS during the month of January. These webinars will cover the biological, social, and legal aspects of this disability.
You are welcome to invite anyone else to attend this webinar (e.g., representatives from other groups, family, or friends). Please let us know in advance if LSQ interpretation is required.
You can attend both, or just one webinar. The content is the same for both webinars
Pre-Registration is required to attend the webinar.
Time: Jan 24, 2023, 1:00 PM EST
Join Zoom Meeting (Pre-registration required)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87464917762
Meeting ID: 874 6491 7762
One tap mobile
+17789072071,87464917762# Canada
+17806660144, 87464917762# Canada
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcsYkj9WkB
Workshop on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
As part of a national project on education and awareness of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), the Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec – Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) is hosting a workshop on MCS. This workshop will cover the biological, social and legal aspects of this disability.
In Canada, over one million people have a diagnosis of MCS, with 72% being women and close to 50% over the age of 55 (Statistics Canada, 2020). Similar data also shows that the prevalence is increasing.
Despite the continued denial by some people, we can now clearly see the devastating effects of climate change caused by pollution. Medical science is telling us that pollution can also contribute to the development of multiple chronic diseases, one of which is becoming sensitized to common chemicals. This condition is increasing in prevalence, yet society’s lack of understanding and acceptance has resulted in many people suffering discrimination, stigma, and isolation. Listen to the webinar on MCS and help make our planet a better and safer place for future generations!
Speakers, see AGENDA
When: December 16, 2022, from 9 am to noon EST
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-2uqzMvHdOTFl3tYyIB88ZOyGuHN9VA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Online Party for the Holidays
December 16, Friday, at 7:00 pm
Registration in advance is required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrduyhqzgiHtzz5X88jTuq7V2045oEXp_l
The ASEQ-EHAQ online party for the holidays is here and you are invited to join us in this celebration. On this occasion, we are leaving the floor to our guests to share any talent, music, poetry, etc., and in addition, if everyone could share one good thing that happened on a personal level this year. Let us all be empowered by positive messages, and carry this feeling forward, as we get ready to step into the new year.
Wear your favorite holiday sweater and bring a snack!
The event will be bilingual, participants are welcome to communicate both in French or English.
Your Hour of Selfcare Practice
November 8, Tuesday, at 7 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpc-GpqD4rHtKScxeROfi3LQIK7AaT9vik
Yoga teacher: Bhaskar Goswami, senior yoga and meditation teacher.
Gentle chair-based movements, calming breathwork, guided meditation, and group discussion.
The intention of this practice is to cultivate an easeful body and a calm mind. This is to support and complement the healing and recovery process. The practice is suitable for all levels and no previous experience is required. It is recommended to not eat a heavy meal before the class and to have your video camera.
The live virtual Zoom classes will be for 1 hour. The class will be offered mainly in English. The participants are invited to communicate in English or French.
The class will begin on time. Kindly be present at least 5 minutes before to ensure comfort before the class begins.
Natural & Integrative Approaches to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Speaker: Dr Tracy Freeman
November 1, Tuesday at 7 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwofuyvrTMrHdN1xC_LjRyKjQK5HlMzJdR4
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
You are invited to listen to a presentation by Dr. Tracy Freeman on the natural and integrative approaches to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Addressing Mould, Radon and how to improve Air Quality through Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) removal in an MCS dwelling
Speaker: Jon Eakes
October 17, Monday at 7 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMoceuurDIjGNPPMVm9UYF0uv-PlBH-pRWj
Mould: Removal and Prevention
Radon: What is it, Detection, and Control
Cleaning the air of VOCs: Filters and VOC neutralizers
Mould spores, dead or alive, are bad for everyone but seriously exacerbate symptoms for people experiencing MCS. What causes mould is often relatively simple and can just as often be easily stopped. Mould left unattended can creep into inaccessible places leading to both house structural and health problems that are not easy to solve. Understanding mould is the key to not living with mould. Just as understanding Radon is the key to easy solutions to identifying and blocking this colourless, odorous, radioactive, cancer-causing gas that seeps into many of our homes from the soil below.
Also learn about how filters and air cleansing machines do different things to help you achieve good air quality and clean out bothersome VOCs you have not succeeded in removing or blocking.
Materials in an MCS friendly habitation
September 12, Monday, at 7 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvcuuhpjgpHdPfHcU9mampwuA_K34w_YA_
Speaker: Jon Eakes
We build houses to protect us from the elements and give us a safe haven. It is said that “you are what you eat” and in the same sense, your house can be the source of your MCS problems. Do you know what your house is made of? More importantly, can you identify what is the source of your personal MCS triggers and make a plan to replace or encapsulate offending materials? Awareness of offending materials and the availability of non-offending substitutes that work for you personally, is the first step to building a MCS friendly habitation.
Your Hour of Selfcare Practice
September 1, Thursday, at 2 pm
Zoom link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkdOCgrTwsHdA-0rcpGQ2lc50KCxsdWyGh
Yoga teacher: Bhaskar Goswami, senior yoga and meditation teacher.
Gentle chair-based movements, calming breathwork, guided meditation, and group discussion.
The intention of this practice is to cultivate an easeful body and a calm mind. This is to support and complement the healing and recovery process. The practice is suitable for all levels and no previous experience is required. It is recommended to not eat a heavy meal before the class and to have your video camera.
The live virtual Zoom classes will be for 1 hour. The class will be offered mainly in English. The participants are invited to communicate in English or French.
The class will begin on time. Kindly be present at least 5 minutes before to ensure comfort before the class begins.
Open House at ASEQ-EHAQ
August 26, 2022
2:30 – 3:30 pm in French
3:30 to 4:30 in English
Zoom link, registration not required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87476735966
Every last Friday of the month, the zoom portal at ASEQ-EHAQ is open from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, to meet you, discuss any matters of interest, or just to chat. We at ASEQ-EHAQ rely on you, our membership, to let us know about the issues that matter to you, or the programs and projects that we need to have in place. These discussions are rich and useful and have already been key in creating obtaining soon to be announced projects for our MCS community. So, who knows what our meetings may lead to? Come find out! Let’s create together! Join us Friday August 26!
August 17, 2022, 7:00 PM EST
The path to diagnosis: Round Table
This event is an opportunity for members experiencing multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) to share their story from when they first started experiencing symptoms to the time that they received a diagnosis. The event will be recorded, but only the audio will be saved, and participants will remain anonymous unless they wish to be identified. This event will help to advocate for MCS by showing the challenges that exist on the path to diagnosis of MCS. Even if you have not received a diagnosis yet, you are welcome to attend and share anything you are comfortable sharing.
Register here for the English event on August 17 at 7:00 PM EST:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkcumvqDspHtO3qSXmbGZyrFApRygcaPnA
*The French event will take place August 15 at 7:00 PM EST. If you would like to register for the French event, click here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ud-qrqTMrEtycFGNI__IvtHAMqV_WhdcP
July 21, 2022 7 PM
Question-and-Answer with Dr. John Molot
After such a great talk for the 12th of May, and so much interest in the Question-and-Answer session, we are happy to announce that we will be hosting another event with Dr. Molot to get the rest of your questions answered. Any questions you had from the talk itself, or other questions that have occurred to you since then, you are welcome to share at the event!
Each person will be able to share questions in the chat, or ask them live, but to make sure everyone has a chance, we will be allowing each attendee 45 seconds to ask their question. We will keep track of your questions using the raised hand feature on Zoom, to make sure everyone has a chance to participate.
This will be a bilingual event so feel free to ask your questions in French or English!
Whether or not you attended the last event you are more than welcome to attend this one, so don’t forget to register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItdOCvrjotGtBeaYh9QPEVWZHCJWhs0X1j
July 11, 2022 7 PM
Creating the MCS friendly habitation – The overview
Our houses are built with and encapsulate all kinds of chemicals from natural wood resins to petrol-chemical concoctions to make the panels, adhesives, sealants and finishes that affect the health of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities — but we need these things to create our shelters. People who suffer from MCS react differently to different environmental triggers, which complicates trying to create a MCS friendly habitation for any given individual. Tonight, we will chart a course, an overview, for the construction, renovation and maintenance of MCS friendly habitations.
Register now:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItdOCvqTktHNA_Ff5oxwVAf3VxztzDsR5c
June 29, 2022 7 PM
How to be an advocate
Our next event is coming up soon after National Accessibility Week, and there will be a chance to explore how you can be an advocate for accessibility in Canada. This event is for people with disabilities and allies too. We will explore how to contact your representatives most effectively, and tools you can use when pursuing accommodation.
This event will be bilingual and everyone is welcome!
Register now:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqc-2qrj0iHdWsHdWxKao0MPxCiEBpMRex
June 20, 7PM
Gardening Workshop
This workshop will be presented by one of our wonderful members. The presentation will discuss her experiences with gardening, things she has learned, and she will show some photos and share resources in order to learn how to grow your own food.
Register now:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvf-ivrDotH9FE9XtA0Yl3qkBhVWvT03vO
June 16, 11:30 AM
Canary in a coalmine: The expansion of medical assistance in dying/euthanasia in Canada
On June 16, as a part of the United Nations (UN) annual Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ASEQ-EHAQ will be participating in an event and panel discussion.
Zoom link: You must register in advance using this link:
shorturl.at/juzAZ
Learn more here:
https://madmimi.com/p/e3bb141
May 30, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Speaker: Dr Domenica Tambasco
Title: Practical tips to reduce exposures for people experiencing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Date: May 30, 2022
Time: 7:00 to 8:00 pm
Dr. Tambasco will present practical tips on how to prepare, prevent and manage commonly encountered exposures in four domains: home, work, community, and travel and transportation.
Register for the May 30 event here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlcO-upj8qHdPXQzVwVIh7DaRNemHTLQnD
May 12, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. John Molot
Title: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Top 10 Myths with Dr. John Molot
Date: May 12, 2022
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
The presentation is called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Top 10 Myths. It is a lay person’s version of a presentation Dr Molot gave to the Faculty of Occupational Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Yale University.
Dr. Molot reviews the evidence-based biological mechanisms to explain MCS and debunks the 10 most common arguments used against the condition by those who deny accommodation for the disability, third party insurance claims, proper health care and social support.
Learn more about Dr John Molot.
Register for the May 12 event here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd-2tqTsuHNwEjUtMgBiq268baHKE3Wk7
Also featured for May 12, at 10:00 pm
Niagara Falls will be illuminated Yellow & Green at 10:00 p.m. for a fifteen (15) minute duration.
To watch this event, click here
May 6, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. Ellie Stein
Title: MCS and Anxiety: Dispelling the Myth with Dr. Ellie Stein
Date: Friday, May 6, 2022
Time: 7:00 to 8:00 pm
From her 20 years + experience as a psychiatrist treating patients with MCS, Dr Stein will explain why, although some people with MCS (as with any medical condition) can have mental health symptoms, MCS is not a psychiatric disorder. When patients with MCS are misdiagnosed as having a mental health disorder, their physical symptoms are dismissed and they are offered incorrect treatment.
Learn more about Dr. Ellie Stein
Register for the May 6 event here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpcO6trj0qE9xhZOH_kaTC_ptS6xOYjZI6