Ethics Resources

Canadian Association of Research Ethics Board (CAREB) is a grassroots national membership organization intended to represent the interests of all Canadian REBs and to reflect REB perspectives and concerns.

Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's premier agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened health care system.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research - CIHR Best Practices for Protecting Privacy in Health Research. These Best Practices are intended to be innovative approaches to the challenge of protecting the privacy of individuals and the confidentiality of personal information in the context of health research. These Best Practices are meant to provide guidance for health researchers in the design and conduct of health research involving personal information; be a resource for research ethics boards and institutions to consult when reviewing and evaluating health research involving personal information.

Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) facilitates and promotes international activities in the field of biomedical sciences, especially when the participation of several international associations and national institutions is deemed necessary.

Declaration of Helsinki is an official policy document of the World Medical Association, the global representative body for physicians, developed as a statement of ethical principles to provide guidance to physicians and other participants in medical research involving human subjects.

Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) is a body of external experts established in November 2001 by Canada's three Federal Granting Agencies (the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) to support the development and evolution of their joint research ethics policy, the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS): Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.

Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics' (PRE) on-line Introductory Tutorial for the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS), examines when the TCPS should be applied, and reviews the goals and rationale of the policy. It defines the guiding ethical principles of the TCPS. It discusses the way these principles are applied in practice, and introduces the relationship between the TCPS and the law.

National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR) advances the protection and promotion of the well-being of human participants in research; and fosters high ethical standards for the conduct of research involving humans.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) makes investments in people, discovery and innovation for the benefit of all Canadians by supporting more than 17,700 university students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 9,600 university professors every year. And NSERC helps make innovation happen by encouraging more than 500 Canadian companies to invest in university research.

Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provides valuable information for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Personal Information Banks
The Privacy legislation states that government institutions shall not collect personal information unless it relates directly to an operating program or activity. The policy requires that institutions have administrative controls in place to ensure that they do not collect any more personal information than is necessary for the related programs or activities. This means that institutions must have parliamentary authority for the relevant program or activity, and a demonstrable need for each piece of personal information collected in order to carry out the program or activity. For further details on how to proceed with the registration of the personal information bank, please contact the Privacy Officer in the Access to Information and Privacy Division of Health Canada, at (613) 954-8744.

Privacy Impact Assessment Policy
The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the personal information of Canadians. Privacy, in conjunction with other relevant legislative and policy considerations, is integral to the design, implementation and evolution of all programs and services. Institutions are responsible for demonstrating that their collection, use and disclosure of personal information respect the Privacy Act and privacy principles throughout the initiation, analysis, design, development, implementation and post-implementation review phases of their program and service delivery activities. For further information on this subject, please contact the Director of the Privacy Policy Division at (613) 946-3179.

Privacy Legislation
The purpose of the Privacy Act is to provide citizens with the right to access personal information held by the government and protection of that information against unauthorized use and disclosure. For further information pertaining to the Privacy Act, please contact the Privacy Officer in the Access to Information and Privacy Division of Health Canada at (613) 954-8744.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funds university-based research and training in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC-funded research helps Canadians innovate and compete, maintain their quality of life and understand a rapidly changing world.

The Belmont Report was the work of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. It identifies three basic principles underlying the ethics of human research: respect for persons, beneficence and justice.

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, describes the policies of the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The document replaces SSHRC's Ethics Guidelines for Research with Human Subjects, MRC's Guidelines on Research Involving Humans, and MRC's Guidelines for Research on Somatic Cell Gene Therapy in Humans. An electronic version of the Tri-Council Policy Statement is available for your review. All protocols submitted to the Board must be consistent with these guidelines.