RESILIENCE: An International Conference on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
Day 2
VIDEOS & SUMMARIES
ASL AVAILABLE
Date: May 8, 2026
INTRODUCTION & WELCOME:
Rohini Peris, President & CEO, the Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
Michel Gaudet, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
Robert Lattanzio, LLB, Lawyer & Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Center
Sheridan Baker, PhD, publishing specialist with the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), MDPI
Video
Opening Remarks, Women’s College Hospital
Riina Bray, BASc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc, Medical Director, Environmental Health Clinic, Women’s College Hospital
The role of clinical leadership in advancing awareness, care, and advocacy for people living with MCS.
Video Summary
Opening Remarks, Parliamentary Secretary
Leslie Church, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour, for Seniors, and for Children and Youth, and to the Minister of Jobs and Families (Persons with Disabilities)
Remarks on the federal government’s role in employment, skills, and social policy development for people with disabilities.
Video Summary
Director General, Office des personnes handicapées du Québec (OPHQ)
Daniel Jean, Director General, Office des personnes handicapées du Québec (OPHQ)
Nearly 40 years of management experience across community and government programs serving people with disabilities.
Video Summary
Chemicals Risk Assessment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP)
Nazem El Husseini, PhD, Scientific Evaluator, Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau (ESRAB), Health Canada
The general process of chemicals risk assessment under CEPA and the CMP, recent legislative changes, and examples relevant to respiratory sensitivity.
Video Summary
Advancing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) Internationally: A Collective Journey of Inclusion and Progress
Collaborative video featuring leaders and experts working in MCS worldwide
Key global milestones and developments from 2025, showcasing collective progress and a shared commitment to international collaboration and inclusion.
Video Summary
International Perspective (Video): Lived Experience, Public Service, and Advancing Recognition in Mexico
Norma Alejandra Quilantán Castañón, MSc, public servant, Mexico’s electoral system; Human Rights Promoter, INREDDHHI
Advocacy for raising awareness of environmental exposures on health, particularly in the workplace, in a country where MCS remains largely unrecognized.
Video Summary
Winning Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) Appeals: Lessons from WSIAT Decisions 953/21 & 954/21
Bruce Zevallos, Paralegal at RCR Legal Services Professional Corporation
Two tribunal decisions show how MCS-related workplace illness claims can be recognized without definitive diagnostic tests, using exposure history and timing of symptoms.
Video Summary
Leveraging Educational Tools to Reduce Chemical Exposures in Indoor Environments
Caroline Barakat, PhD, Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University
Evidence-informed educational toolkits designed to support safer consumer choices and modest behaviour change around everyday chemical exposure.
Video Summary
Why Not Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)? The Chemical Soup of our Modern World
Brenda J. Buck, PhD, Professor of Medical Geology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas
The scale of natural and human-made chemicals in today’s environment, and the economic, regulatory, and legal forces shaping current exposure conditions.
Video Summary
Nutrition, Food Intolerances, and Symptom Management in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
Jennifer Armstrong, MD, Founder and Medical Director at the Ottawa Environmental Health Clinic
Co-occurring food intolerances in MCS, common dietary triggers, and practical elimination and rotation diets for safe, sustainable management.
Video Summary
From Evidence to Action: Advancing Research, Accessibility, and Community Empowerment in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
Rohini Peris, President & CEO, Environmental Health Association of Canada, and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
Current ASEQ-EHAQ research initiatives on MCS, plain-language resources bridging science and real-world application, and upcoming community participation.
Video Summary
Civil Society Panel: Advancing Inclusion, Rights, and Systems Change
Topics: Disability rights, healthcare access, community organizing, systems reform
* Rohini Peris, President and CEO of the Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
* Michel Gaudet, Executive Director, Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
* Ginger Major, Person with lived experience of MCS
* Valerie Leitch, Person with lived experience of MCS
* Shelley Petit, Chair of the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities
* Paul-Claude Bérubé, LLB, Executive Director of COPHAN
* Robert Lattanzio, LLB, Lawyer & Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Center
* Anne Lévesque, co-chair of the Council on Canadians with Disability’s Disability Justice Litigation Initiative
* Bill Adair, Director of Community Development for Accessibrand
* Pierre Essoh, Executive Director of the Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society (NDMS)
* Maureen Haan, President and CEO of the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW)
* Jonathan Lai, Executive Director of Autism Alliance of Canada
* Julia McEathron, National Coordinator of the Indigenous Disability Canada (IDC) / B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS)
* Freda Uwa, National Executive Director of Independent Living Canada
Recognition Ceremony & Closing of RESILIENCE 2026
Bill Adair, Maureen Haan, Valerie Leitch, Ginger Major, Shelley Petit
Robert Lattanzio, LLB, Lawyer & Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Center
Michel Gaudet, Executive Director, Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
Rohini Peris, President & CEO, Environmental Health Association of Canada and the Environmental Health Association of Québec
Honouring Bill Adair, Maureen Haan, Valerie Leitch, Ginger Major, and Shelley Petit for their advocacy, followed by closing reflections and the conclusion of RESILIENCE 2026.
Video Summary