Presented in partnership by UBC Connects at Robson Square and the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law
Monday, March 10, 2025
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
at UBC Robson Square Theatre (C300)
Canadian families are rapidly evolving in the 21st century, and fertility law is at the heart of these changes. This panel discussion, hosted by UBC Connects at Robson Square and the Peter A. Allard School of Law, brings together leading experts to delve into the real-world implications of assisted reproduction, the rise of non-traditional families, and the increasing demand for fertility treatments.
This public conversation will focus on the complexities of extending legal parentage and other challenges to existing family law, shedding light on the gap between Canadians’ lived experience of growing their family and the legal realities.
Designed to be accessible to everyone, join us for an informal and informative conversation and Q&A session, and explore the intersections of law and social change in the context of Canadian families.
Registration for this event is now closed. If you would like to attend this evening, please visit the registration table starting at 6:00PM.
Event Schedule
6:00 – 6:30 PM: Registration Opens, Refreshments and Snacks Provided
6:30 – 7:30 PM: Panel Discussion
Moderated by Regine Tremblay and featuring Erez Aloni, Catherine Wong, and Dr. Beth Taylor.
7:30 – 8:00 PM: Q&A Discussion with the Audience
Event Contributors
PANELISTS
Erez Aloni
LLM, SJD
Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Erez Aloni is an Associate Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, where he researches and teaches in the areas of family law, contracts, and law and sexuality. His scholarship examines how legal regimes governing marriage, cohabitation, reproduction, and parentage function collectively to shape family life, often reinforcing inequality. He explores how these legal structures allocate rights and responsibilities in intimate relationships and produce broader social and economic consequences.
Before joining Allard Law, Aloni was an academic fellow in a joint program at Columbia Law School and the Center for Reproductive Rights. He later taught as an assistant professor at Whittier Law School in California. He has held visiting positions at institutions including National Taiwan University, Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew University. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals and with major publishers across North America, Europe, and Asia, and his commentary has been published in The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, among others. He serves on the Executive Board of the International Society of Family Law and has been the Faculty Co-Editor of the Canadian Journal of Family Law since 2017. His work has been recognized with the George Curtis Memorial Award for teaching excellence and the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship.
Catherine Wong
LLB’07
Family and Fertility Law Lawyer and Mediator, Saltwater Law
Catherine J. Wong is a family and fertility law lawyer and mediator at Saltwater Law. Catherine offers comprehensive family law and mediation services, with a particular focus on fertility law, working with the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and also with polyamorous and multiparent families. In addition to acting on matters related to fertility law and how the law intersects with non-traditional families, Catherine often presents on family and fertility law matters, and is consulted on fertility law matters by other family law lawyers in the context of cohabitation, marriage, and separation. Catherine is an active member of her communities and has served on a number of boards and organizations including the City of Vancouver 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee and was the former board chair of Out on Screen. Catherine is a member of Fertility Law BC, the CBA, and the TLABC. She recently served on the Parentage Law Reform Committee through the BC Law Institute.
Dr. Beth Taylor
MD, FRSCS
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Olive Fertility Centre
Dr. Taylor is an infertility specialist. She is a co-founder and co-director of Olive Fertility Centre. After completing her medical degree at Dalhousie University in 1998, Dr. Taylor moved to British Columbia to do her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She subsequently completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She is a Clinical Professor at UBC. She is also an active staff member at Vancouver General Hospital. Dr. Taylor has also published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, written national guidelines and has written three book chapters. Dr. Taylor is an IVF specialist and leads Olive’s surrogacy and donor gamete program.
MODERATOR
Regine Tremblay
BCL, LLB, LLM, SJD
Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Régine Tremblay’s is an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies at the Allard School of Law. Her areas of expertise include family law, matrimonial property law, private law, comparative law, family mediation, reproduction and law, and critical theories, including feminism and queer theories.
She holds a BCL and an LLB from the Faculty of Law at McGill University and an LLM and an SJD from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Barreau du Québec since 2011 and a member of its Comité consultatif en droit de la famille since 2018. She received the Mérite Christine-Tourigny in 2024. Professor Tremblay is the co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Family Law (alongside Professor Erez Aloni) and House Rules: Changing Families, Evolving Norms, and the Role of Law (UBC Press). She coauthored the Private Law Dictionary of the Family, 2nd edition, and the Dictionnaire de droit privé: Les familles, 2ème édition.