Arif Varani

Member of Parliament for Parkdale-High Park; Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; Refugee to Canada and Human Rights Lawyer.

Presenting: “Youth mental health in marginalized communities: Antibullying and Antistigma Initiatives.”

Coming to Canada as a Ugandan Asian refugee in 1972, Mr. Virani’s parents instilling in him the values of honesty, hard work, determination and most importantly of all – education. Graduating from McGill University in History and Political Science, and later from University of Toronto in Law, he has followed his passions of public service and justice. 

After a rewarding fourteen-year legal career advocating for human rights and access to justice as a constitutional litigator,  Mr. Virani now proudly serves the community and country he calls home, as the Member of Parliament for Parkdale-High Park, and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. 

He has also worked as an Analyst with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Ottawa and an Investigator at la Commission des droits de la personne et droits de la jeunesse in Montreal. Overseas, Mr. Virani completed international human rights research on caste discrimination in Northern India, and served as a Programme Officer with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in New Delhi, developing mechanisms to strengthen police accountability. During a sabbatical from the Ministry of the Attorney General, he spent a year as an Assistant Trial Attorney prosecuting genocide at the United Nation’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Mr. Virani is a founder of Toronto's legal aid clinic SALCO, the recipient of the prestigious 2001 Harold G. Fox Scholarship and the 2008 Wilson-Prichard Award in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession and his community. He lives and volunteers in Parkdale - High Park; he is a member of the Redwood Shelter for abused women, regularly helps at the Parkdale Food Bank, is an active volunteer with Roncyworks and has led community efforts to address mental health stigma.