Cultivating Dignity:
Human-Centred Justice for People with Dementia
With over 100 participants joining us throughout the day, this virtual event was held on Thursday, March 26, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
Symposium Recording Now Available
The full video recording of Cultivating Dignity: Human-Centred Justice for People with Dementia is now available.
Access is offered on a pay-what-you-can basis, so that cost is not a barrier while still supporting this work. If you are able, we invite you to make a contribution to support this initiative (suggested $50 CAD).
You can donate here and access the recording on YouTube.
Please note that Dementia Justice is not a charity and therefore we cannot issue tax receipts.
Thank you for your support.
The full video recording of Cultivating Dignity: Human-Centred Justice for People with Dementia is now available.
Access is offered on a pay-what-you-can basis, so that cost is not a barrier while still supporting this work. If you are able, we invite you to make a contribution to support this initiative (suggested $50 CAD).
You can donate here and access the recording on YouTube.
Please note that Dementia Justice is not a charity and therefore we cannot issue tax receipts.
Thank you for your support.
About the Symposium
As society faces an increasing prevalence of dementia, we are compelled to ask: How do we want to grow old? This one-day online symposium, Cultivating Dignity, brings together medical and legal scholars, advocates, caregivers and the public to explore how the law, ethics of care and innovative models like care farms can uphold dignity, personhood and justice in dementia—not just for today’s seniors, but for future generations who may one day become some of our most vulnerable.
The aim is to inspire hope by reimagining ageing—not as a decline to be feared but as a stage of life where dignity, ethical care and human-centred justice are cultivated and preserved for all of us in old age.
Who Should Attend
This symposium is intended for a broad audience concerned with dignity, justice, and care for people with dementia—including caregivers and family members; advocates; health, social care and legal professionals; researchers; policymakers; students; and members of the public. No specialized background is required. Everyone is welcome.
Keynote Address by Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper
Author of On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
In On Vanishing, Rev. Harper, essayist, minister, and chaplain, investigates the myths and metaphors surrounding dementia and ageing, addressing not only the indignities caused by the condition but also by the rhetoric surrounding it. She asks essential questions about the nature of our outsize fear of dementia, the stigma this fear may create, and what it might mean for us all to try to “vanish well.”
As society faces an increasing prevalence of dementia, we are compelled to ask: How do we want to grow old? This one-day online symposium, Cultivating Dignity, brings together medical and legal scholars, advocates, caregivers and the public to explore how the law, ethics of care and innovative models like care farms can uphold dignity, personhood and justice in dementia—not just for today’s seniors, but for future generations who may one day become some of our most vulnerable.
The aim is to inspire hope by reimagining ageing—not as a decline to be feared but as a stage of life where dignity, ethical care and human-centred justice are cultivated and preserved for all of us in old age.
Who Should Attend
This symposium is intended for a broad audience concerned with dignity, justice, and care for people with dementia—including caregivers and family members; advocates; health, social care and legal professionals; researchers; policymakers; students; and members of the public. No specialized background is required. Everyone is welcome.
Keynote Address by Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper
Author of On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
In On Vanishing, Rev. Harper, essayist, minister, and chaplain, investigates the myths and metaphors surrounding dementia and ageing, addressing not only the indignities caused by the condition but also by the rhetoric surrounding it. She asks essential questions about the nature of our outsize fear of dementia, the stigma this fear may create, and what it might mean for us all to try to “vanish well.”
Agenda
Welcome by Dementia Justice Canada
MAiD & Dementia
Professor Trudo Lemmens
Keynote Address
Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper
Panel: Another Way — Care Settings that Access a Natural Environment
Dr. Habib Chaudhury, Rebekah Churchyard, Dr. Fay Martin
Dementia at the United Nations
Dr. Saskia Sivananthan
Panel: Reconciliation — Indigenous Perspectives on Dementia Care
Hom Shrestha, Dr. Sharlene Webkamigad, Sheri Weget
Coercive Control, Elder Abuse and Dementia
Professor Margaret Hall
Panel: Criminal Justice Implications of Responsive Behaviours
Dr. Kaleigh Alkenbrack, Heather Campbell Pope, Sarah Denton, Debbie Hewitt Colborne
Dignity in Care: The Human Side of Medicine
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov
Closing Remarks by Dementia Justice Canada
Welcome by Dementia Justice Canada
MAiD & Dementia
Professor Trudo Lemmens
Keynote Address
Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper
Panel: Another Way — Care Settings that Access a Natural Environment
Dr. Habib Chaudhury, Rebekah Churchyard, Dr. Fay Martin
Dementia at the United Nations
Dr. Saskia Sivananthan
Panel: Reconciliation — Indigenous Perspectives on Dementia Care
Hom Shrestha, Dr. Sharlene Webkamigad, Sheri Weget
Coercive Control, Elder Abuse and Dementia
Professor Margaret Hall
Panel: Criminal Justice Implications of Responsive Behaviours
Dr. Kaleigh Alkenbrack, Heather Campbell Pope, Sarah Denton, Debbie Hewitt Colborne
Dignity in Care: The Human Side of Medicine
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov
Closing Remarks by Dementia Justice Canada
Professional Development Accreditation
This program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for up to 4.5 CPD credits. If you are licensed elsewhere, you may be able to claim CPD hours or include this event in your CPD Plan. Please contact your law society to confirm.
This program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for up to 4.5 CPD credits. If you are licensed elsewhere, you may be able to claim CPD hours or include this event in your CPD Plan. Please contact your law society to confirm.
Dementia Justice Canada gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Law Commission of Canada, which made this symposium possible.
