Law and Society

The second annual Law and Society State of Justice of Nova Scotia and Beyond Lecture was given by Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on October 29, 2026.

Harini Sivalingam (she/her) spoke on Law, Power, and Moral Panic: Trans Youth Rights in an Age of Democratic Backsliding which considered the work of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and why the defence of minority rights is a critical part of our defence of Canadian democracy. During her visit, Sivalingam also met with several classes to discuss her role with the CCLA.

Harini Sivalingam 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.  

We acknowledge, with thanks, that the 2026 Law and Society Keynote Lecture was 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.