LAW AT THE CROSSROADS: LE DROIT À LA CROISÉE DES CHEMINS
For thousands of years the place where the City of Toronto is located has been a crossroad where many peoples have met and had fruitful exchanges. According to some Indigenous knowledge keepers, the word “Toronto” comes from the Wendat term for a fishing weir constructed of sticks standing in the water. Lake and river fishing has been an important activity for the area’s many Indigenous peoples, including Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Mississauga and Chippewa. The Indigenous knowledge frameworks and laws of the peoples of this area encourage a multilayered understanding of an item such as a fishing weir in terms of its natural, sacred, practical and social meanings.
The area continues to be home to many Indigenous people from all over Canada and beyond, but Toronto has also been shaped by immigration flows from many parts of the world, with about half of its current residents being born outside of Canada.
The Law and Society Association and the Canadian Law and Society Association hope that our joint meeting in Toronto will be creative and fruitful, in keeping with the traditional use of this land as a gathering place, and that visitors to the area will take the opportunity to make new connections not only with one another but also with diverse local communities.
Travel Advice to Attendees and Paper Presenters
We look forward to seeing you in Canada at the Toronto meeting. If you have questions about travel documents to Canada or if you live in the United States and have questions about travel documents you may need to return to the United State the sources below may be helpful.
Information on travel documents for travelling to Canada can be found at the following links. Requirements vary based on country of citizenship:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/td-dv-eng.html
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/noncan-eng.html
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/canada.html
Returning to the United States
If you are not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you may also need a valid visa or travel document to enter the United States after the conference. Foreign nationals in student or exchange visitor status should communicate with the international office at their home institution prior to any travel outside the U.S. Others may wish to speak with an immigration attorney if there are questions about reentry, particularly in light of the executive order instituting a travel ban for particular foreign nationals as well as the changes in the DACA program. Information on travel to the United States is available here:
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en.html
Notice to Presenters:
If you are living in the United States and your paper has been accepted for the Toronto LSA Meeting and you are registered to attend the conference but your immigration status does not allow you to travel to Canada or return to the United States, we will arrange for you to give your paper by Skype or some other electronic means.