Tim Haggstrom doesn't just promote theory. He bears the personal scars of legal practice. He leads an organization focussed on legal theory, while fighting (personally) for free speech.
This caught me off guard. I thought Tim was simply an exemplary leader of a noteworthy organization. I had no idea that he was also personally up to his neck in litigation about the legitimacy of race-based scholarship.
You won't meet a nicer, more thoughtful guy. Tim goes out of his way to ring-fence his own case from the organization he represents. You need to know about the Runnymede Society. The Society appears even more worth, and necessary, when you hear about Tim's case, at the end of the episode.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks again
Shawn
Chapters and AI Summary:
Host Shawn Whatley interviews Tim Haggstrom, National Director of the Runnymede Society, about whether freedom of speech exists in Canadian law schools and how students learn “no-go zones” on contentious issues. Hagstrom explains Runnymede’s founding in 2016 amid concerns about insufficient debate over constitutional change, citing the Supreme Court’s 2015 Saskatchewan Federation of Labour decision on a Charter right to strike, and outlines the Society’s mission to promote constitutionalism, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms through debates it does not adjudicate. They discuss taboo topics, civil discourse, and competing views of the rule of law, interpretation, legal neutrality, and substantive equality (including the 2020 Fraser case). Hagstrom then recounts his personal judicial review against the University of Saskatchewan after being found guilty of non-academic misconduct following letters defending dialogue and critiquing race-based policies, linking the dispute to university commitments to decolonization and anti-racism training.
00:00 Free Speech in Law School
00:22 Meet Tim Haggstrom
04:23 Why Runnymede Started
07:10 Tim’s Path to Runnymede
09:47 Campus No Go Zones
13:42 Staying Relevant and Civil
16:28 Sacred Cows Debate Example
19:05 Tim’s Lawsuit Teaser
21:53 Why Institutions Matter
25:24 Network Formation and Skills
31:03 Rule of Law Explained
37:26 Law Without Translation
38:53 Bridge Norms Example
41:33 Courts Versus Legislatures
44:13 Thick Rule of Law
45:57 Rodriguez To Carter
48:46 Living Tree Origins
50:19 Can Law Be Neutral
51:09 Substantive Equality Debate
56:05 Runnymede Student Plug
56:59 Saskatchewan Case Begins
01:05:41 Critical Social Justice Claims
01:10:11 Campus Speech Outlook
01:13:09 Protect Legal Tradition
