March 2025 Faculty Council meetings
Two Faculty Council meetings were held in March on Wednesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 26, to present reports from the various Dean’s Committees.
March 19
Dean Jutta Brunnée began the meeting by announcing that “a working group on the 1L EDI and professional series has been struck.” The Dean and Associate Dean Christopher Essert will co-chair the working group. The group aims to discuss how to tackle specific problems related to the EDI and professionalism series.
Students’ Law Society (SLS) President Isabel Brisson (3L) spoke next. She stated that the SLS has decided to pursue alternative measures with regard to the exam policy. She also stated that Law Ball was a success with over 600 tickets having been sold. Brisson announced that the SLS general election was underway, with most positions having been acclaimed.
Professor Angela Fernandez presented the mental health action plan on behalf of the Mental Health and Wellness Committee. The Mental Health and Wellness Committee recommended a shared calendar to inform professors about non-academic events, a ‘random acts of kindness’ week, and continued collaboration with the Disabled Law Students’ Association (DLSA). 1L Student Life and Academic Committee (SLAC) representative Ethan Sabourin (1L) asked whether there was the possibility of sick days for students such that they could access recordings without having to fill out a verification of illness form. Associate Dean Essert stated that it is a complex process that the Administration has previously considered.
Professor Hamish Stewart spoke on behalf of the Mooting and Advocacy Committee. Professor Stewart re-iterated Dean Brunnée’s statement regarding the success of the mooting program as exemplified by student success at external and internal moots. Professor Stewart stated “all seems generally well” with the student-run Moot Court Committee. U of T has received invitations for two moots, which the Committee has recommended to the Dean: the Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board moot, which is intended to be a one-time moot. Timing is the primary issue with these moots, as their dates are not consistent with the law school’s mooting schedule.
Professor Douglas Sanderson spoke on behalf of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. A key issue with which the TRC has grappled is Indigenous identity verification. Currently, the Faculty of Law relies on self-identification through an essay prompt that asks the student to “tell their story.” The Committee suggests amending the current process such that the applicant would swear that the story in their essay is true, thereby making it an academic offence to falsify a story. Students may choose, but are not required, to provide documentation. Given the difficulties pertaining to documentation, this would not be a desirable way to ascertain Indigenous identity.
Professor Richard Stacey asked whether there is a process in place when students misrepresent themselves in the process more broadly. Assistant Dean Brittany Twiss answered, stating that there is a verification and undertaking in the OLSAS application process; however, the existing process is not sufficiently nuanced for the Indigenous applicants’ application process.
March 26
Dean Brunnée opened the meeting by congratulating the U of T team for winning the Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot. She also announced that the 2025-2026 grand mooters are Matthew Farrell (2L), Akash Jain (2L JD/MPP), Ikran Jama (2L), and Sarah Zaitlin (2L). Dean Brunnée also announced that there will, once again, be free coffee and tea during the exam period.
Before turning the floor to SLS President Brisson, Dean Brunnée thanked the SLS executive for their collaboration with the Administration and welcomed Chelsea Musanhu (2L) as the incoming president for the 2025-2026 academic year.
In her remarks, Brisson announced the SLS general election results, graduation awards, and SLS awards (see page 3 of Ultra Vires).
Next, the Graduate Law Students Association (GLSA) President Dimitrios Tsilikis (SJD) stated that some constitutional amendments will be made in May. Tsilikis also stated that the GLSA has picked up the pace of distributing funds to other cohorts, LLMs are thriving in terms of social events, and, in the coming year, the GLSA is looking to new streams of funding.
Associate Dean Essert presented the final report of the Curriculum Committee. The mandate of the Curriculum Committee was to discuss the changes to the structure of the 1L curriculum, particularly the switch of the Indigenous Peoples and the Law course to the fall semester and the Legal Research and Writing course to the winter semester. Associate Dean Essert acknowledged that this switch has not been popular with students; however, he noted that one more year of this change is required to assess its pedagogical value. The Curriculum Committee relied on the SLAC student feedback survey to explore ways in which LRW instruction can be improved next year. The Council then approved the 2025-2026 Academic Curriculum.
Assistant Dean, Graduate Programs, Emily Orchard spoke next. The School of Graduate Studies requires Faculty Council to approve delegation of authority over the summer to allow the Associate Dean, Graduate Programs, to make course changes over the summer months. The Council approved the delegation.
Assistant Deans Ada Maxwell-Alleyne and Twiss, speaking for the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) Committee, discussed the ways in which inclusion and belonging manifest at the law school. The EDIA Committee recommends integrating EDIA into courses through a dedicated research assistant, continued engagement with equity groups, and consultation with students. The EDIA Committee also recommends adding EDIA questions to the annual survey. Assistant Dean Maxwell-Alleyne recommended that for the EDIA Committee next year, there should be a dedicated focused transparent discussion with accessibility stakeholders.
Professor Andrew Green presented the Financial Aid Committee report. The Financial Aid Committee recommends offsetting the first $10,000 of government debt against assets and recommends the use of the actual amounts of federal loans and provincial loans. The Financial Aid Committee changed the financial aid estimator to reflect rising living costs. The Committee also discussed the post graduate repayment assistance program (PGRAP); however it did not make any changes to the program.
Assistant Dean Twiss noted that over $5.5 million was distributed in financial aid, stating that “U of T’s financial aid program is one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country.” Assistant Dean Twiss then provided an overview of the financial aid program, the distribution of financial aid, and an overview of PGRAP.Professor Martha Shaffer presented the clerkship results on behalf of the Clerkships Advisory Committee Update. See page 9 of Ultra Vires for the results. Professor Shaffer stated that this was the strongest applicant group in recent years. This year, 23 U of T students secured clerkship positions.