Anti-oppressive documentation practices for occupational therapists  (October 30, 2026)

Online

Friday, October 30, 2026
12:00 - 3:45 p.m. (Eastern Time)

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The Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada (ACOTRO et al., 2021) emphasize the need for occupational therapists to address the ongoing social and health inequities experienced by various minoritized communities across Canada. Occupational therapists have a timely responsibility to align themselves with these competencies by critically reflecting on current practices and brainstorming/applying practices grounded in anti-oppression and human rights. While documentation remains an integral aspect of quality healthcare by supporting reflection, analysis, communication, and quality improvement, it nonetheless remains a power-laden practice, one that can contribute to or work against oppression (Healy et al., 2022; MacLachlan & Grenier, 2022).

This half-day workshop equips occupational therapy professionals with foundational knowledge on anti-oppressive documentation practices and with concrete tools to begin applying anti-oppressive documentation practices to their current practice. During the first part of the workshop, the presenters will introduce participants to important concepts of anti-oppressive documentation practices in a lecture format. During the second part, participants will have the opportunity to practise applying learned concepts and discuss current challenges and opportunities in practice in small groups in breakout rooms with the support of presenters.

Preliminary workshop agenda

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Recognize the ways that documentation practices can contribute to or work against oppression, particularly for minoritized communities across Canada.
2. Critically reflect on their current documentation practices.
3. Apply anti-oppressive documentation practices to their current occupational therapy practice.

Target audience and language

Target audience

Occupational therapists, OTAs, and students in occupational therapy programs who wish to increase their understanding and skills in anti-oppressive documentation, when working in any area of practice and with any client age group. Physiotherapists and social workers are also welcome to participate.

Please note: Each participant is responsible to ensure they apply the information within the context of their licensure, provincial/territorial legislations, institution regulations, scope of practice, etc.

Client age group

Young children (0-4 years old), Children (5-12 years old), Adolescents (13-19 years old), Adults (20-64 years old), Older adults (65+ years old)

Areas of practice

Advocacy, Equity & Justice, Indigenous Health, Leadership & Change Agency, Policy Development

Workshop level

Advanced (6+ years of experience)

Language

English

Presenter

Marie-Lyne Grenier, MScOT, DOT, PhD(c), erg.

Marie-Lyne Grenier resides and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) on the unceded lands of the Kanien'kehá:ka people. Marie-Lyne has worked as an occupational therapist in the USA and Canada since 2010 in practice areas including musculoskeletal rehabilitation, return-to-work rehabilitation, home care, and ergonomics. She is also a Faculty Lecturer in the Occupational Therapy Department at McGill University and a PhD candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill. Marie-Lyne's PhD research aims to better understand the educational experiences that support the development/strengthening of healthcare students' commitment to equity and justice in healthcare contexts.

Janna MacLachlan, PhD, OT Reg. (Ont.)

Janna MacLachlan resides and works in Iqaluit, Nunavut, part of Inuit Nunangat, the homeland of Inuit in Canada. Janna has worked as an occupational therapist since 2006 in practice areas including generalist practice, school health, acute care, and global health, and has worked in locations including Nunavut, Ottawa, and India. Janna's doctoral work, completed in 2022, engaged Inuit ways of knowing, critical social science approaches and critical reflexivity to examine issues of health equity, power and privilege, and reconciliation in rehabilitation services offered to Inuit children in Nunavut. She is a Banting Postdoctoral Researcher at the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre.

Registration fees

Registration deadline: October 30, 2026 at 3:45 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Please note that workshop registrations are for one individual person and may not be shared. CAOT does not offer group registration fees for workshops.

*It may be more cost effective to become a CAOT Member or Associate rather than pay the non-member rate. See "Can a non-member register for a Workshop?" in our Professional Development FAQs to know which membership category you are eligible for.

Your registration includes:

• Individual participation in a live workshop and opportunity to ask questions
• Handout of PowerPoint presentation
• Opportunities to network with other occupational therapists with an interest in this topic
• Access to the workshop recording for 1 month following the live sessions
• Certificate of completion

Cancellation/refund policy

All cancellation/refund requests must be sent in writing to education@caot.ca. All cancellation requests received by October 14, 2026 will be given a full refund minus a $50.00 administrative fee. Substitutions and transfers requests received by October 14, 2026 are permitted and are subject to a $50.00 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after October 14, 2026.

If you are exceptionally unable to complete the workshop, please reach out to education@caot.ca by 25 days following the end of the workshop for extended access to the recording (up to one month after the end of the workshop) or a one-time transfer to another offering of the same workshop if currently open for registration.

CAOT reserves the right to modify the workshop title, description, registration dates and information on the workshop webpage. CAOT will notify participants on or before September 18, 2026 if there is insufficient registration by that date and reserves the right to cancel a workshop due to insufficient registration up until October 2, 2026. CAOT reserves the right to modify the offering, interrupt Workshops, change the timing of a Workshop, cancel a Workshop or change the technology for the Workshop due to the presenter no longer being able to present the Workshop, severe weather, power failure, building closures or other special circumstances that are beyond the control of CAOT by notifying participants as soon as possible. If the Workshop is cancelled by CAOT, registrants will receive a full refund of the registration fee. CAOT will not be responsible for other costs or expenses incurred by registrants as a result of any such changes.

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The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy (CAOT) is committed to accessibility as expressed in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). We provide an electronic copy of the handouts approximately one week ahead of time in multiple slide layouts, auto-generated closed captioning through Zoom (excluding breakout rooms), as well as access to the recording for two weeks following the workshop. If you require additional special arrangements for accessibility, please contact education@caot.ca or 1-800-434-2268.