Harini Sivalingam - Law, Power, and Moral Panic: Trans Youth Rights in an Age of Democratic Backsliding

The Law and Society Program, with the support of the Acadia Alumni Dr. Fred Gilbert Speaker Series, invites the community to the Law and Society Annual Lecture with Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Harini Sivalingam will speak on Law, Power, and Moral Panic: Trans Youth Rights in an Age of Democratic Backsliding.

Harini Sivalingam (she/her) is a lawyer, academic and community organizer. She holds law degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School (LLB) and McGill University (LLM). Harini is the Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association where she oversees and executes advocacy strategies around equality issues that impact marginalized individuals and groups whose right to full equality has not been realized. Her work at CCLA includes monitoring significant equality issues and egregious violations across Canada, strategizing on litigation interventions, public outreach and education, and engagement with policymakers of issues concerning equality rights. Harini is also an adjunct instructor in the Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law at Queen’s University teaching courses on the Foundations of Canadian Immigration Law and Refugee Protection Law. For over two decades Harini has been involved in advancing domestic and international human rights issues. Harini is on the Board of Directors for Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada.  

  • What: Law, Power, and Moral Panic: Trans Youth Rights in an Age of Democratic Backsliding
  • Who: Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
  • When: Thursday, October 29 at 5:30 pm
  • Where: Auditorium, K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre (KCIC), Acadia University

This event is free and open to everyone. No registration is required, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Annual Keynote Lecture: The State of Justice in Nova Scotia and Beyond

Founded in 2025, the Law and Society Program's annual keynote lecture explores the current state of justice in Nova Scotia and beyond. Each year’s speaker is invited to engage in critical reflection on systemic issues, current events, and pathways toward a better justice system for all.

Dr. Fred Gilbert Speaker Series

We acknowledge, with thanks, that the 2026 Law and Society Keynote Lecture is supported by The Dr. Fred Gilbert Speaker Series. This series pays tribute to the work of Dr. Gilbert (’65), celebrating his academic and scholarly contributions to Canada’s post-secondary education sector as former President of Lakehead University and a Director on the Acadia Alumni Association Board.

 

Past Lectures

The Honourable Justice Malcolm Rowe (2025)

The inaugural lecture, Canada and the US: After 150 Years the Differences Remain the Same, was given by the Honourable Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Supreme Court of Canada on October 29, 2025.

Read more …