Public Conference: On the Margins of Trans Legal Change
This free Public Conference brings together academics and activists whose work centers those who remain marginalized amidst recent legal gains and/or who think critically about the transformative potential of trans legal change.
The conference is free to all. Roundtables may include contributions in French or English and whisper translation will be available on site.
REGISTER HERE: https://translegalchange.wordpress.com/
10 – 10:30 AM
Welcome
Dr. Robert Leckey and Dr. Alanna Thain
10:30 AM – 12 PM
Roundtable 1
Working (at) the Margins of the Law: Rethinking Labour, Rethinking Trans Economic Justice
A conversation between Dr. Dan Irving, Frank Suerich-Gulick, Betty Iglesias, and Estelle Davis
Moderated by William Hébert
12:00 – 1:15 PM
Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 PM
Roundtable 2
Justice Beyond/Without the Law: Activist and Artistic Resistance
A conversation between Syrus Marcus Ware, Vincent Mousseau, and Gwen Benaway
Moderated by Ido Katri
2:45 – 3:15 PM
Break
3:15 – 4:45 PM
Roundtable 3
Children, Youth, and the Margins of Trans Legal Personhood
A conversation between Dr. Jake Pyne, Maxime Faddoul, Florence Ashley, and Dr. Lee Airton
Moderated by Samuel Singer
4:45 – 5:00 PM
Break
5:00 – 6:00 PM
Reception
6:00 -7:00 PM
Keynote
Trans Justice and the Law: From Then to Now, From There to Here
Dr. Viviane Namaste
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In recent years, Canada has seen significant law reforms aimed at recognizing, protecting, and promoting the growing population of trans and other gender-diverse persons. The changes have been so fast and numerous that providers of legal services and the public have had trouble keeping up, as have many trans people. Moreover, despite these changes, marginalization and exclusion remain part of the lived reality of many trans individuals and communities. Questions arise about who remains “on the margins” of trans legal change, and about the unintended consequences of recent law reforms.
On the Margins of Trans Legal Change is a two-day symposium that will provide a platform to reflect critically on recent legal changes and to consider the challenges facing individuals whom law reform has yet to reach. This symposium will stimulate the development, exchange, and translation of interdisciplinary knowledge and community expertise about the aftermath of legal reform and the possibilities for social justice with, and beyond, the law. We will survey legislative, policy, and community-based solutions that aim to better recognize and protect diverse trans communities, and to advance their flourishing. The symposium will showcase analyses of the current Canadian trans legislative framework and identify its gaps and unintended consequences. It will also foster and sustain a network of established and emerging scholars, community advocates, and legal service providers across Canada.
Participants in the symposium will ask: What can we learn from research evidence and community projects addressing the experiences and perspectives of the populations and individuals whose vulnerabilities, needs, or aspirations legal reforms have failed to meet? What are some of the potential uses and misuses of law as a tool for trans emancipation? Which realities and worldviews do dominant legal orders erase? Where is there space for transformative change?