The University of Toronto’s law school accepted more than half a million dollars from Amazon last year to fund research and discussions on competition and to pay a key staff member without informing participants or academics of the company’s involvement, The Logic has learned.

Seeded with a US$450,000 donation (about C$600,000) from the Seattle-based online-shopping giant, the “Amazon/U of T Partnership in research, thought-leadership and training” included visiting scholars and a summer research-assistance fund for students, according to documents The Logic obtained via an access-to-information request.

In addition, the university chose academics from what Future of Law Lab director Joshua Morrison referred to as “Amazon’s list” to participate in a webinar series on subjects including antitrust and competition legislation. A portion of Morrison’s own salary was to be paid from the Amazon donation, according to the documents.

U of T accepted Amazon’s money as antitrust rules and the growing power of companies like Amazon were becoming live issues among experts, academics and political leaders in Canada. The federal government has pledged to revamp the country’s competition rules to “ensure fair competition in the online marketplace” and otherwise contain Big Tech’s power and reach. Amazon’s specific role in the debate has come under scrutiny since The Logic detailed its behind-the-scenes campaign to shape the conversation by supporting think tanks and commentators critical of antitrust reform.

U of T is not the only university with whom the company discussed such partnerships. As The Logic reported in April, Amazon was in talks last year with the University of Ottawa to create a “Digital Economy Initiative” that would illustrate how competition reform would “risk undermining small business and innovation in Canada.”

U of O ultimately passed, citing Amazon’s refusal to meet its standards for academic freedom.

The tech giant’s donation to U of T, which the university alternately refers to as a “gift” and an “investment,” was disclosed to neither the public nor the academics and students who participated in the programs it funded. Amazon created a purchase order for the donation, which it hoped would initiate a long-term relationship with the law faculty that could include sponsored research, according to the documents. The company stipulated there should be no press release or publicity surrounding the donation.

In a statement emailed to The Logic, law dean Jutta Brunnée said she didn’t inform participants of the company’s contribution in order to foster “open discussion, and debate that reflects the full range of perspectives in the field.”

“I recognize now that more information may have been preferred to enable some of our participants and invited speakers to fully evaluate their engagement in these activities,” Brunnée said, adding that Amazon didn’t seek recognition for the donation.

The deal came about, though, as Amazon’s stake in the debate over competition rules was becoming clear. In October 2021, Competition Bureau commissioner Matthew Boswell announced plans to review the country’s competition laws, saying the existing legislation did little to hinder anti-competitive practices on the part of internet-based commerce giants. 

Seven days after the speech, Jennifer Lancaster, U of T’s assistant dean for advancement, emailed law professors Anthony Niblett and Edward Iacobucci, who is also a former law dean. Among those included in the email was Morrison, the director of the faculty’s legal-technology hub.

“I had a great discussion with Scott Jacobs at Amazon and shared with him that we are not in the position to create a centre. In discussing Amazon’s interest, they are focused on capacity building, thought-leadership and dissemination of our work and are keen to see us approach some of this partnership in collaboration with Rotman,” Lancaster wrote, referring to the Rotman School of Management, the university’s business school. 

Amazon, Lancaster noted, was “focused on being more proactive on thought-leadership, including supporting research on immerging [sic] issues in competition/anti-trust.” She said the company was “comfortable with annual support in mid -6 figures with room to expand as we move forward,” was “looking to start a long-term relationship” and would “address plans for announcing the gift.”

Lancaster outlined recommendations on how the money might be divided, including $250,000 for a visiting scholar; $50,000 for up to three Future of Law Lab summer fellows to work in Amazon’s policy group in Washington, D.C.; and $150,000 for a Future of Law Lab symposium comprised of “international scholars in anti-trust with workshop elements for policy folks, regulators, practicing lawyers and scholars.” In a reply, Morrison said the idea of “Amazon Fellowships … would be incredible!” 

Jacobs, a senior manager for Americas public policy at Amazon, did not respond to a request for comment. In an email to The Logic, Amazon spokesperson Kristin Gable wrote, “Like many other companies with significant investments and job creation in Canada, we contribute to policy dialogues on a wide range of topics, and we always respect the independence of our partners.” 

In the end, the entirety of Amazon’s US$450,000 went to the Michael J. Trebilcock Law and Economics Program. According to the documents, US$250,000 was earmarked for a visiting scholars program; US$50,000 to hire five summer research assistants; and US$150,000 for the speaker series. 

“The University of Toronto is grateful for the opportunity to partner with Amazon to identify and shape emerging areas of legal research in law and economics through a combination of rigours [sic] scholarship, teaching and knowledge exchange,” reads a note to the company, written on law faculty letterhead and signed in December 2021 by David Palmer, the university’s vice-president for advancement. 

Neither Palmer nor Lancaster responded to emailed questions from The Logic, while Morrison declined to comment. Trebilcock, a professor emeritus of the faculty who isn’t involved with the program, said he was unaware of Amazon’s donation.

In an email dated May 31, 2022, Lancaster further noted that Amazon’s donation should cover costs associated with a competition symposium led by Iacobucci, who also serves as the law faculty’s TSE chair in capital markets. In an email to The Logic, Iacobucci said he wasn’t aware of the symposium’s funding source, and that his role in it was limited to a presentation that started the event. “I certainly did not receive any funds in relation to my participation. In any event, academic freedom is protected at the University and my research would never be influenced by a potential or actual donor,” he said.

A statement that U of T media relations director Philippe Devos provided on behalf of the university noted that all gifts exceeding $250,000 must be reported quarterly to the university’s governing council, through its academic and business boards. The Amazon gift was included in a March 2022 report, the statement said, noting, “These boards review the reports in camera,” or in private.  

In any case, Amazon’s donation, marked a “charitable donation” on a university invoice, was not publicly disclosed or openly discussed. The Logic contacted Erika Douglas, Andrei Hagiu and Nicolas Petit, the three academics on the list the emails attribute to Amazon. Douglas wasn’t aware of Amazon’s funding of the webinar series, while Hagiu said the organizers “may” have mentioned Amazon participation. Petit, who was invited to speak but didn’t end up participating, said he wasn’t aware that he was on Amazon’s list. (Douglas said Amazon’s participation would not have changed her decision to participate in the webinar.)

Lilla Csorgo, who at the time was chief economist at the Competition Bureau, participated in a March 2022 webinar. Now chief economist at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Csorgo said she wasn’t made aware of Amazon’s funding.

Much of the output resulting from the initiative involved voices either recommended by Amazon or hewing to the company’s long-standing view that competition reforms are unnecessary. Two videos from the five hour-long series included Douglas and Hagiu, the academics on Amazon’s list. In another, “Canadian Competition Reform: Views from Practice,” one panelist argued in favour of keeping competition laws unchanged, while another suggested that changes to the Competition Act would hinder innovation.

During a webinar entitled “The Future of Digital Competition and Regulation in Canada,” former Competition Bureau commissioner Melanie Aitken, who is co-chair of the competition and foreign investment practice of the Calgary-based law firm Bennett Jones, accused the bureau’s current leadership of participating in a “name-and-shame” campaign against Amazon. During the same webinar, which was co-hosted by U.S. law professor Daniel Sokol, fellow former competition commissioner John Pecman said “a move toward more regulation” wouldn’t benefit the Canadian economy.

Both Sokol and Pecman have written op-eds critical of reform of the Competition Act. In a recording of a 2021 private meeting obtained by The Logic, James Maunder, then-Amazon’s public policy director for Canada, cited “the work we’ve been doing” with Sokol and Pecman. (Maunder left the company shortly after The Logic published details of the meeting. Pecman didn’t respond to interview requests; Sokol didn’t answer questions regarding his involvement with the Future of Law Lab series.)

In an email to The Logic in late July, Brunnée said less than half of Amazon’s donation had been spent so far. “It has not funded any expenses related to visiting scholars, honoraria/stipends for speakers, post-doctoral fellowships or op-ed collaborations,” Brunnée said, noting the law school hasn’t initiated further funding discussions with Amazon. 

This story was updated with information on Edward Iacobucci’s role in the competition symposium