Comments – Wilfrid Laurier University, Research Ethics Board

Notice

Comments are posted in the language in which they were received.

Good afternoon,

On behalf of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Research Ethics Board, I have attached our comments and questions regarding the proposed guidance.

Please find our demographic information below:

Province or territory: Ontario

Affiliation: University

Capacity in which we are submitting the comments: Institutional Research Ethics Board

Main discipline(s): Behavioural Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities, Interdisciplinary, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide feedback on this new guidance.

Samantha

Samantha Moeller, MA
Research Ethics Coordinator

Office of Research Services
Laurier University
75 University Ave West, Waterloo
Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5
Office: Alumni Hall

To: Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research
Date: October 4, 2021
Re: TCPS 2 (2018) – Proposed Revisions for Public Consultation

Dear Panel on Research Ethics and the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research,

In response to the call for public comments, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Research Ethics Board (REB) is pleased to provide feedback on the proposed guidance related to the interpretation and implementation of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (2018). Laurier’s REB welcomes the proposed guidance and has identified areas where further clarification is needed. Please find attached comments submitted on behalf of Laurier’s REB for your consideration.

Thank you for providing us an opportunity to be involved in this process. Sincerely,

Jayne Kalmar, PhD
Chair, University Research Ethics Board
Wilfrid Laurier University

Sybil Geldart, PhD
Vice-Chair, University Research Ethics Board
Wilfrid Laurier University

Comments on Proposed Guidance

Please note, the line numbers used throughout refer to the line numbers presented in the linked documents.

Ethics Review of Multi-Jurisdictional Research – Proposed Revised Guidance

Laurier’s REB would like to offer support for this additional guidance. We agree that a single REB review would not compromise participant protection and would lead to a more seamless process of ethics review. At Laurier, there is already an expedited review process in place for multi-jurisdictional research which has been approved by another institution. In this process, we accept a copy of the application approved by another institution and focus our review primarily on local considerations. While the proposed guidance will require some additional consideration prior to final implementation, we believe it will streamline the review process for all involved. However, we do have several questions and recommendations regarding the proposed revised guidance that we believe should be considered and addressed ahead of implementation. Additionally, we also recommend that this guidance undergo further consultations once additional revisions are made after this initial consultative process. Our initial suggestions for consideration are found below.

Proposed Guidance Regarding Broad Consent in Research for the Storage and Use of Data and Human Biological Materials

Laurier’s REB would like to offer support for this additional guidance. However, clarification is requested.

Cell Line Exemptions

Laurier’s REB does not regularly review research in this area, however we would like to offer our general support for this proposed guidance and have a question for clarification:

Research Involving Totipotent Stem Cells – Proposed revisions to the TCPS 2 (2018) Chapter 12, Section F

Laurier’s REB agrees with the proposed changes and has no further comments.

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