The experiences of asylum seekers, temporary workers, international students, the undocumented and other migrants in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic have thus far been largely ignored by the government. Given that many of these individuals and their families have precarious immigration status, or are undocumented entirely, they disproportionately face severe limitations on their ability to ensure their survival. They may also be unsure of what supports are legally available to them and how certain laws apply to their specific situation.

Michael Taggart, the late great New Zealand public lawyer, once described a colleague as ‘Schmitten’, a customarily brilliant way of expressing his puzzlement at how Carl Schmitt’s ‘dangerous mind’ seems so alluring to some Anglo-American lawyers.  I doubt that even Mike was capable of imagining the extent to which Adrian Vermeule, a prominent constitutional US lawyer, teaching at Harvard Law School, has not only been Schmitten, but has even surpassed his master in some respects with his 

Benjamin Ries is the supervising lawyer for housing law at Downtown Legal Services, the community legal clinic at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

In an op-ed published in the Globe and Mail, March 26, Ries writes on the importance of staying home – including those who cannot afford to pay rent.

Today the Schwartz Reisman Institute announced the appointment of its inaugural Research Leadership Team.

Born and raised in Alberta, Bill Flanagan joins the University of Alberta from Queen’s University, where he served as the dean of law for 14 years from 2005 to 2019. He holds a BA (English and Philosophy) from Carleton University, a JD from the University of Toronto, a DEA in International Economic Law from Université Paris I-Sorbonne, and an LLM from Columbia University. His scholarly work spans property law, corporate law and international trade law.

A letter from President Meric Gertler

To all members of the U of T community:

In recent days, we have all become familiar with concepts like ‘social distancing’, ‘self-isolation’ and ‘flattening the curve’ – all part of our individual and collective efforts to slow and limit the spread of COVID-19.