May – 2025
This is an important time to reiterate the commitment of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience (CAN) to the values and principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. These are core values for CAN and they must inform research design and dissemination, and support for all researchers.
As a scientific society, we affirm that systematic barriers exist and that they place undue burden on the success of the marginalized, including Indigenous and racialized individuals, those with disabilities, the LGBQ+ community, non-binary and transgender people, and the intersectionality across these identities. CAN continues its commitment to work toward breaking down barriers and policies that impede the success for these people and others, including factors based on immigration status, family responsibilities, and generational status in education.
Furthermore, CAN continues its support for the inclusion of related such factors in experimental design, including sex as a biological variable with sex operationally defined, at all levels of study, from single cell microbiology through behaviour and in incorporating the spectrum of gender in studies involving human participants.
Science is strengthened by these principles and upholding them helps build a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future for all.