Presented by the Canadian Association of Midwives and CAM Learns.
Join midwives from across Canada for our two-day live virtual symposium dedicated to learning, connection, and advancing equitable sexual and reproductive health care.
🗓️ November 4th & 5th, 2026
⏱️ 12:00 – 4:30 pm ET
📍 Virtual Event
🎟️ FREE for CAM members
🌐 Live interpretation between English and French
This year’s symposium brings together the work of the Contraception and Abortion Research Team Access (CART) and Reproductive Health Equity for All (RHEA) projects. Through engaging, expert-led sessions, participants will explore practical approaches to improving access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health care, with a particular focus on underserved communities.
*Times shown are in Eastern Time*
Schedule Day One (November 4th, 2026)
Tom Dearhouse is an Indigenous Elder, traditional support counselor, and community leader of Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) and Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) ancestry. He has spent more than 25 years working to support the health, healing, and cultural renewal of Indigenous communities across Canada.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
HIROC (Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada) is our Presenting Partner for Knowvember. They are a not-for-profit, subscriber-owned healthcare liability insurance organization and risk-management provider for the Canadian healthcare sector, including Canadian midwives.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
This presentation responds to questions such as:
- How, as a midwife, can I describe the benefits of gender-inclusive care for all?
- How can I have conversations about gender-affirming care with peers?
- How can I begin to adopt gender-inclusive practices?
Jen Goldberg (they/she) is a critical 2SLGBTQAI+ reproductive health and midwifery scholar and lecturer in the Midwifery Education Program at McMaster University. Their research program takes a critical, interdisciplinary approach to investigating 2SLGBTQAI reproductive and perinatal health, drawing from public health, critical theory, midwifery, science and technology studies, and critical qualitative methodologies.
O.G. Thorne (they/them) is a fat, disabled, white, nonbinary settler living on Algonquin Anishinaabe land known as “Ottawa”. They are a trans researcher and community organizer specializing in gender-inclusive care, trans healthcare and children’s human rights. At the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre, they have helped develop national, evidence-based recommendations for gender-inclusive language in reproductive and sexual healthcare.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
This presentation explores IUD access through the lens of informed choice, consent, pain management and continuity of care, including practical ways midwives can address barriers to contraception. Together, we address questions such as:
- What barriers limit access to IUDs, even when the method is available?
- How can we support contraceptive choices that are free, informed and reversible?
- What can midwives do to better support patients and make IUD insertion more respectful and satisfactory?
Rachida Amrane, SF was part of the first cohort of internationally trained midwives to enter the bridging program at UQTR. Before settling in Quebec, she practised midwifery across sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, France and Belgium. She has worked at a Montreal birth centre for several years. Her international experience has shaped her commitment to accessible, high-quality reproductive healthcare that respects the choices and needs of women and families.
🌐Presented in French with live interpretation to English
This session challenges “cookie-cutter” approaches to care and considers:
- How can contraceptive counselling better respond to the diverse experiences, needs and priorities of the people we serve?
Shani Robertson, BSc (Hons), BHSc (Dist), MPH, RM, is a Public Health Consultant, Registered Midwife, and that “kid in class who always asked the tough questions.” Born in Barbados and trained in Canada, Shani has worked extensively with diverse communities, focusing on HIV/AIDS, LGBTQIA+ health, adolescent perinatal care, and the health of the Global Majority. She brings extensive experience developing and evaluating public health and perinatal programs that improve outcomes for equity-deserving communities. Her work is guided by a simple conviction: “People actually depend on the work that we do — so let’s make their lives better.”
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
This presentation explores trans people’s experiences of abortion and reproductive healthcare, gendered assumptions that can shape access to care, and approaches to creating more inclusive and affirming abortion services. It responds to question such as:
- What do we know about trans people’s experiences of accessing and navigating abortion care – from barriers, to preferences, to factors that shape where, how and from whom they seek care?
- What strategies, language, tools, and practices can midwives use to provide gender-affirming abortion care?
Dr. A.J. Lowik (they/them) is a sociologist whose research and advocacy focus on equitable, accessible reproductive healthcare for trans people. Their work examines trans people’s experiences of abortion and how gendered assumptions in healthcare affect access to care. They are the lead developer of the Trans-Inclusive Abortion Services manual, an open-access resource available in English, French, and Spanish, used to train abortion providers internationally. Dr. Lowik is also President of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and works with healthcare providers to advance inclusive, affirming abortion care.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
This presentation addresses questions such as:
- How can midwives identify, assess and address intrusive thoughts and psychotic thoughts?
- How can midwives assess mental health risk
- How can midwives support clients through acute mental health issues?
Adrienne Carruthers (she/they) is a registered midwife and social worker with specialized training in perinatal mental health. They provide counselling and mental health support to people in their reproductive years. Adrienne is also an adjunct professor in the UBC Midwifery Program, where they teach the course “Counselling Skills for Maternity Providers.”
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
Schedule Day Two (November 5th, 2026)
Meet your Emcee!
Monika Goodluck (she/elle) is the host of Strength in Practice, CAM’s podcast for midwives. She brings decades of experience in community health, equity and inclusion, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Monika holds a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Community Development. As a parent who received midwifery care throughout her perinatal journeys, she brings both personal and professional perspectives to her hosting role, approaching each conversation with curiosity, humility and hope.
This presentation explores barriers to abortion services in Indigenous communities and ways to address them, grounded in culturally safe, community-responsive care and Indigenous midwifery practice.
Cheryllee Bourgeois is a Red River Métis exemption midwife, co-founder of Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto, and Program Lead at Call Auntie. With nearly 20 years of midwifery experience, she is dedicated to advancing Indigenous sexual and reproductive justice. Her work focuses on providing culturally safe, low-barrier healthcare for Indigenous communities, including abortion services, pregnancy care, harm reduction and sexual health services, grounded in Indigenous kinship systems and teachings.
Maddie Amyotte is a Cree-Métis Registered Indigenous Midwife, IBCLC, and co-founder of Ihkapaskwa Collective in Fort McMurray, AB. She brings deep expertise in perinatal and neonatal care, grounded in Indigenous knowledge and traditions, offering compassionate, culturally safe support to families and communities across the region.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
Midwives improve health equity not only through the care they personally provide, but through the systems they help redesign. The future of reproductive health equity requires both clinical midwives and midwife leaders who influence policy, education, quality improvement, research, administration, and health system transformation.
‘Remi Ejiwunmi is the Vice President of the Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children at Trillium
Health Partners (THP). ‘Remi’s leadership and expertise will help shape the development of the future
Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children, a first-of-its-kind facility designed to transform care for
women, children and families.
‘Remi has been a visionary leader in the field of midwifery through her three decades of service. She
joined THP in 1996, becoming Head Midwife in 2001 and the inaugural Division Head of Midwifery in
2013. She has also played an instrumental role in advancing quality at THP through the development
of the Perinatal Quality, Safety and Risk Council.
Her influence extends beyond THP as she has held leadership roles at the Association of Ontario
Midwives, the Health Insurance Reciprocal for Canada (HIROC), the Provincial Council for Maternal
Child Health (PCMCH), Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) and the Better Outcomes Registry and Network
(BORN). She has a deep commitment to equity, inclusion and anti-racism through training and work
within the health system to help shape policies to improve reproductive health and reduce health care
inequities including within the Black community.
‘Remi holds a Master of Science in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety from the University of
Toronto, an appointment as an investigator at the Institute for Better Health, is an Adjunct Professor
at Toronto Metropolitan University and an Adjunct Scientist at McMaster University Midwifery Research
Centre.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
Join the Canadian Alliance of Racialized Midwives for the IBPOC Research Showcase, highlighting the knowledge, expertise and contributions of Indigenous, Black and racialized midwifery researchers. This event will explore research that challenges systemic inequities, advances culturally responsive care and brings diverse perspectives to midwifery practice, education and policy. Together, we’ll celebrate the important role of IBPOC researchers in shaping a more equitable and inclusive future for midwifery.
Presenting researchers will be announced soon.
By the end of this presentation from our sponsor Duchesnay, participants will be able to:
- Describe and compare the key characteristics of different progestins and their clinical implications.
- Select progestin-only contraceptive options based on individual patient characteristics and reproductive goals.
- Evaluate the efficacy and safety of Slynd, the newest progestin-only pill available in Canada, and compare it with other progestin-only pills.
Duchesnay Pharma is a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company completely dedicated to women’s health and family wellness. They focus on researching and developing safe therapeutic options for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
🌐Presented in English with live interpretation to French
Expand your learning opportunities beyond the symposium!
Access asynchronous online CPD via CAM Learns. CAM and NCIM members get a 100% discount on courses. camlearns.canadianmidwives.org
Login as a Canadian Midwife to pre-register for new courses launching in October and November 2026!
- Introduction to Abortion: Key Skills for Practice (Longform Course)
- Contraception Care for Midwives: LARC and Beyond (Longform Course)
- Culturally Safe Contraceptive Counselling (Microlesson)
- Contraceptive Counselling and Shared Decision Making (Longform Course)
- Perinatal Mental Health (Longform Course)
- Updated 2026 editions of all of our RSV content! (4 Micolessons and Longform Course)
Thank-you to our Sponsors
| Presenting Partner | Leadership Sponsor | Supporting Sponsor | Supporting Sponsor | Federal Funder |
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