Dalhousie Health Justice Institute

Schulich School of Law

Seminar Series

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DHJI Seminar Series

View the 2026-2027 Dalhousie Health Justice Institute (DHJI) Seminar Series poster [3.3MB - PDF] and/or download your own copy.

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Join us for our Health Law and Policy Seminar Series

The Dalhousie Health Justice Institute hosts a popular series of seminars that are open to the public and attracts a broad audience from across the university, government, and health care communities.

Invited scholars and practitioners share their knowledge and reflections on the latest health law and policy issues.

When	12:10pm–1:20pm Time is allotted for questions and discussion.
Where	In Person Only Room 104, Weldon Law Building, 6061 University Ave
Who	All are welcome to attend
Registration/Cost	No registration required. No fee.
Contact	dhji@dal.ca or 902-494-6881

SEMINAR SERIES: 2026-2027

Friday September 18
It’s Not a Policing Matter: Decriminalizing Mental Health Crises Jamie Livingston, Department of Criminology, Saint Mary's University [watch]
Friday October 16
Art and Abortion Utopias Emma Campbell, Ulster University & Alliance for Choice [watch]
Friday October 30
Tracing the Financialization of Canadian Healthcare and Childcare Leanna Katz, Faculty of Law, McGill University [watch]
Friday January 22
Models of Criminal Justice and Public and Mental Health Kent Roach, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday February 26
Where's Canada? Global Health Needs Allies and Leadership Anurita Bains, HIV and Health with UNICEF [watch]
Friday March 19
Beyong Engagement: Power, Partnership, and Health Justice in Community-Engaged Research Stephana Julia Moss, Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases, Research Chair, Canadian Center for Vaccinology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2025-26 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 19*
It’s Not a Policing Matter: Decriminalizing Mental Health Crises Jamie Livingston, Department of Criminology, Saint Mary's University *Cancelled due to Dalhousie University's labour disruption
Friday October 17
*Not Lawless* at all: Abortion in Canada Martha Paynter, Faculty of Nursing, University of New Brunswick [watch]**
Friday October 24
Making the Technical Political: The Long Road to the Pandemic Agreement Roojin Habibi, Faculty of Law (Common Law Section), University of Ottawa [watch]
Friday November 7*
Making the State Do the Right Thing: A Decade of Jordan’s Principle Litigation David Taylor, Partner, Conway Litigation, Ottawa [watch] *Co-Hosted with the Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy
Friday January 16
Connecting Mental Health and Justice: Scaling up Health Justice Partnerships in Mental Health Settings Tess Sheldon, Health Justice Clinic in Mental Health and Addictions, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor [watch]
Friday February 13*
W’loti' John R. Sylliboy, Vice-Provost Indigenous Relations, Dalhousie University [watch] *Co-Hosted with the Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy
Friday February 27
Reflections from Canada's Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josee Houle, Federal Housing Advocate [watch]
Friday March 20
Fail Better: Health Justice Lessons from Nova Scotia's Deinstitutionalization and Prison Abolition Movements Sheila Wildeman, Dalhousie Health Justice Institute, Schulich School of Law [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2024-25 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 13
Reclaiming Scientific Expertise to Protect Public Health and Health Justice Reshma Ramachandran, Yale Collaboration for Regulatory Rigor, Integrity, & Transparency; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University [watch]
Friday October 18
Imposing Health and Social Services Without Consent: BC's Legislative Frameworks Laura Johnston, Allard School of Law at UBC, University of Victoria Legal Director, Health Justice [watch]
Friday November 1
Seeking Substantive Equality in First Nations Social Development... The Next Part of the Journey Naiomi Metallic, Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [watch] *Co-Hosted by the Dalhousie Healthy Populations Institute
Friday November 22
No Health Justice Without Black Justice: Systemic Discrimination in Canada's Prisons and Jails El Jones, Department of Politics, Economics, & Canadian Studies, Mount Saint Vincent University Zilla Jones, Jones Law Office, Winnipeg Randolph Riley, Prison Activist, Community Researcher, Inmate Committee Ex-Chair, Atlantic Institution [watch] *Co-Hosted by the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute & East Coast Prison Justice Society
Friday January 17
The Determinants of Planetary Health: Health Justice and the Intersections of People and Planet Nicole Redvers, Western Research Chair & Director, Indigenous Planetary Health, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario [watch]
Friday January 31
'Safe Harbours of Health, Wealth and Desirable Possibilities': Navigating Nova Scotia's Eugenic History Leslie Digdon, Department of History and Division of Engineering, Saint Mary's University [watch] *Co-Hosted by the Dalhousie Feminist Seminar Series
Friday February 28
'Becoming Legal' and Self-Managed Abortion in 1970s Italy Elena Caruso, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo; International Reproductive & Sexual Health Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday March 7
Medicial-Legal Partnerships in Pursuit of Health Justice Yael Cannon, Director, Health Justice Alliance Law Clinic, Georgetown University Law Center [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2023-24 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 15
A Human Rights-Based Approach to Plastic Pollution: Implications for Health Justice Sara Seck, Yogis and Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law, Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday September 29
Understanding and Addressing the Climate Vulnerability of People with Disabilities Sébastien Jodoin, Canada Research Chair in Human Rights, Health and the Environment, Faculty of Law, McGill University [watch]
Friday November 3
The Hidden History of the American Insanity Defense Rabia Belt, Stanford Law School, Standford University [watch] *ONLINE ONLY via Zoom Webinars with closed captioning (CART) Webinar Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85479154644
Friday November 24
Accessibility Legislation: Catalyst for Culture Change in Mental Health Care? Katie Aubrecht, Canada Research Chair Health Equity and Social Justice, Department of Sociology, St. Francis Xavier University [watch]
Friday January 12
Partnership with T1 International on 'Public Pharma' Initiatives in the United States Christopher Morten, Columbia Law School, Columbia University [watch] *ONLINE ONLY via Zoom Webinars with closed captioning (CART) Webinar Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85479154644
Friday February 9
How is the Health System Responding to Violence Against Women in Nova Scotia? Alexa Yakubovich, Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Affiliate Scientist, Nova Scotia Health & MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital [watch]
Friday March 8
World Ending & Mending: An Indigenous Feminist Perspective on Suicide, Climate Change, and Health Justice Jeffrey Ansloos, Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health, Indigenous Health & Social Policy, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday March 22
The Pathogen's Terrain: A Case Study of the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme in South Africa Matthew Herder, CIHR-PHAC Chair in Applied Public Heath, Health Justice Institute & Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2022-23 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 23
Social and Structural Determinants: Where Health Really Comes From Gaynor Watson-Creed, Associate Dean, Serving and Engaging Society, Community Health & Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday October 14
Health and Social Justice: Charter Rights and Charter Wrongs Martha Jackman, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa [watch]
Friday November 4
Operationalizing Health Justice through the Health Capability Profile Jennifer Jean Prah, Health Equity, Economics, & Policy; Founder, Health Equity & Policy Lab, University of Pennsylvania [watch] *ONLINE ONLY via Zoom Webinars
Friday November 25
Using Law to Secure Reproductive Dignity Alisa Lombard, Lawyer/Principal at Lombard Law, Ottawa [watch]
Friday January 20
Decarcerating Disability through the Courts: Deinstitutionalization and Prison Abolition Liat Ben-Moshe, Criminology, Law & Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago [watch] *ONLINE ONLY via Zoom Webinars
Friday February 10 - RESCHEDULED
Abortion Rights after the Fall of Roe v Wade Joanna Erdman, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, MacBain Chair in Health Law and Policy [watch]
Friday March 3
Abortion Rights after the Fall of Roe v Wade Joanna Erdman, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, MacBain Chair in Health Law and Policy [watch]
Friday March 24
Access to Essential Medicines: More Than Just a Human Right Nav Persaud, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair in Health Justice [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2021-22 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 17
Lessons in Access and Equity: The Global COVID-19 Response Fifa Rahman, Civil Society Representative for the WHO Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator [watch]
Friday October 8
Using Restorative Approaches to Reveal and Remove Professional and Institutional Barriers to Human Flourishing Holly Northam, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Public Health, University of Canberra, Australia [watch]
Friday October 29
Troubled Waters" The Health & Mental Health Impacts of Environmental Racism Ingrid R.G. Waldron, Professor & HOPE Chair in Peace & Health, Global Peace & Social Justice Program, Dept. of History, Faculty of Humanities, McMaster University [watch]
Friday November 19
ARV's, COVID-19 Vaccine Equity and Intellectual Property Protections Marlise Richter, Senior Researcher, Health Justice Initiative, South Africa [watch]
Friday January 21
On Policing Pandemics: Resistance to Medico-Legal Surveillance & Enforcement Alexander McClelland, Institute of Criminology & Criminal Justice (ICCJ), Carleton University [watch]
Friday February 11
Realizing Human Rights and Social Justice in Mental Health Marina Morrow, Professor & Chair, School of Health Policy & Management, Faculty of Health, York University [watch]
Friday March 4
Foregrounding Justice in the Use of Novel Artificial Womb Technologies Claire Horn, Killam Postdoctoral Fellow, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday March 18
Guardian Angels and Sacrificial Lambs: COVID-19 and Migrant Workers Constance MacIntosh, Acting Scholarly Director, MacEachern Institute for Public Policy, Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2020-21 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 18
Algorithmic Racism, Healthcare & The Law: 'Race-Based' Data Another Trojan Horse? LLana James, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday October 2
Can Health Law Help Protect Trans Youth from Conversion Therapy? Florence Ashley, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday November 6
The Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities Michael Ashley Stein, Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability, Extraordinary Professor, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa [watch] *ASL Interpretation Available
Friday November 20
The Mifepristone Policy and Regulatory Journey: Addressing Inequitable Abortion Access in Canada Wendy V. Norman, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine [watch]
Friday January 15
The Health of People who Experience Imprisonment in Canada Fiona Kouyoumdjian, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University [watch]
Friday January 29
The Matters of Black Health - Resilience and Determination Sharon Davis-Murdoch, Co-President of the Health Association of African Canadians, Nova Scotia [watch]
Friday February 26
Mental Health and Criminal Courts in the Arctic Priscilla Ferrazzi, Partnerships & Innovation, Queen's University, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine & School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Friday March 19
AIDS Quarantine in BC: Metaphor or Reality? Eli Manning, School of Social Work, Dalhousie University, Research Scholar, Health Law Institute, Dalhousie University [watch]

SEMINAR SERIES: 2019-20 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 13
Anti-Black Racism, Homophobia and Canadian Blood Donation Practices OmiSoore Dryden, James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday October 4
Citizens and Science in a Digitized World Kimberlyn McGrail, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia [watch]
Friday November 22
The Impact of the Child Welfare System on Maternal Health Meaghan Thumath, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, United Kingdom [watch]
Friday November 29
Institutional Violence and Disability Memorials Linda Steele, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, Australia [watch]
Friday January 17
Abortion, Harm Reduction and the New Self-Care Movement Kinga Jelinska, Women Help Women, International Mariana Prandini Assis, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
Friday January 31
Scale-Appropriateness in Food Law: Solution for Community Health Disparities? Catherine L. Mah, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University Jamie Baxter, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday February 28
Troutville: Where People Discuss Fairness Issues Yukiko Asada, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University [watch]
Friday March 20
Unaffordable Essential Medicines: More Than Just a Rights Violation Nav Persaud, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto CANCELLED

SEMINAR SERIES: 2018-19 (ARCHIVE)

Friday September 21
Advocacy for the Health Care Rights of Prisoners Jennifer Metcalfe, Prisoners’ Legal Services, British Columbia
Friday October 12
Racing with Testosterone: Regulating Women’s Hormones in Elite Sport Katrina Karkazis, Global Health Justice Partnership, Yale University [watch]
Friday November 2
Guaranteed Income and Health Kwame McKenzie, Wellesley Institute and University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry [watch]
Friday November 23
Of Bricks and Blood: Institutional Conscience Objections to MAID and Abortion Daphne Gilbert, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa [watch]
Friday January 18
Cannabis Legislation: Past, Present and Future Robert Strang, Chief Public Health Officer, Nova Scotia [watch]
Friday February 8
Advance Requests for Medical Assistance in Dying: Ethical and Legal Considerations Jennifer Gibson, Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto [watch]
Friday March 1
Mosquito Advocacy: Implementing Evidence-Informed Solutions in Change Resistant Environments Cindy Blackstock, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and McGill University School of Social Work [watch]
Friday March 15
The Public Sector and Vaccine Development: A Case Study of the Merck [sic] Ebola Vaccine Matthew Herder, Health Law Institute and Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University [watch]

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