The Quid Novi MONTREAL, QC
MCGILL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW - FACULTÉ DE DROIT DE L’UNIVERSITÉ MCGILL
45 07 21 NOV 2023
jurists, can agree on one thing: we must LETTER FROM THE EDITOR do-away with handshaking. While a A Plea to End Handshaking polite gesture, this completely unnecAnna McAllister | 3L
Hello lovely Quid readers, I hope that you are all surviving the busiest time of the year. Finals are approaching, projects are due, and the flu is going around. What a perfect cocktail for a McGill Wellness Hub full of law students looking for a combination of antivirals, antibiotics, and refills on their anti-anxiety medication prescription. I fear that I, along with anyone else who recently participated in Toronto Recruit, may be in-part responsible for the flu-outbreak. Over the course of the three-days of Toronto Recruit, I genuinely believe that I shook more hands than I had in the past four years combined. During the pandemic, hand-shaking, along with other forms of in-person inter-
action, were of course limited. Last week in Toronto, students and employers alike were eager for the opportunity to be able to connect in-person for the first time since the pandemic. While the three-day period of Recruit is complete mayhem, having gone through it, I do believe there is a method to the madness. I am unaware of any other opportunities which allow you to meet, consider, and contrast employers from NGOs, Government, and Big Law in such quick succession. This format certainly helped inform my choice of summer position, and I hope that my colleagues feel the same. While a variety of opinions on Toronto Recruit’s hectic-format are welcome, I hope that we, as the next generation of
CETTE SEMAINE... INSIGHTS
COMMUNAUTÉ
2 | DREAMS FROM MY GRAND- 3 | LOCAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT MOTHER Violence and What It Means to Live Together at the McGill Faculty of Law
Cordonnerie La Cité
4 | BLAST FROM THE PAST
4 | BOXING’S LATEST GREAT 8 | SOIRÉE DROIT ET DIVERSITÉ UNDERDOG STORY
6 | ON ÉTUDIE LE DROIT « DES
BIENS », MAIS NON LE DROIT « DES BIENS INTELLECTUELS ». POURQUOI ?
A Celebration of Diversity in the Legal Profession
11 | WHICH ICONIC 1L CASE AT MEDLAW ARE YOU?
essary germ-swap adds nothing to the experience of a job interview besides anxiety. What if my palms are too sweaty? What if my handshake is not ‘strong’ enough? What if I catch a flu that results in me being incapacitated for upwards of four-days during the busiest part of the semester? Admittedly, that last one might be specific to me, but the anxiety was well founded as that is exactly what occurred. So dear, future jurists, please consider abandoning handshaking in your practice as we look for new ways to innovate the legal profession in our wake. Afterall, the elbow touches and fist bumps were a fine alternative. My immune system thanks you. P.S. The flu shot is definitely worth it this year.
Vol 45 ● No 07
DREAMS FROM MY GRANDMOTHER Violence and What It Means to Live Together at the McGill Faculty of Law Nicolas Kamran | 4L
I will not greet you as a friend or comrade, because that is simply not who we are to one another. We are at best distant, at worst opposed. But we share space within the walls of this Faculty, and this is a space that matters a great deal to me.
QUID NOVI • 21 NOV 2023
If I have chosen to write this letter to you, a letter that bears my name, it is with the hope that you can be more considerate about the spaces we share together. I want you to read my words and sincerely reflect on how you have carried yourself towards others. Though I cannot control or predict how you will respond to this, I implore you to at least understand that my letter to you is neither a threat nor an attack. Please sense the care that I am taking to not mischaracterise you or your viewpoints, and to approach this topic with the sensitivity it deserves. Over the past two weeks or so, I have seen you proudly display the insignia of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) around campus. To do this in our shared environment strikes me as inappropriate, and I want to be clear in telling you exactly why. My main point is as follows: public support of a party to an armed conflict is always an endorsement of violence. This point may strike some as trivial, but it bears repeating that on some basic level, showcasing one’s direct support of any warring faction within a public space is to openly countenance the violence of war. 2
Now, what I want to suggest for you here are three additional elements that I think you should consider in light of my main point. They are by no means exhaustive of the issue, and only represent a few considerations that should be immediately apparent to anyone who chooses to brandish the IDF insignia at the McGill Faculty of Law: 1 – Ending armed conflict: The prohibition on the use of force in international law is near-absolute, admitting of only two or three exceptions (depending on who you ask). IDF supporters have been quick to remind the world that self-defence is undeniably one of those exceptions. There is no use in disputing this—but I do wonder whether constantly emphasising a state’s right to self-defence in public discourse distracts us from a broader point. Namely, that regardless of who “started it,” war is a human catastrophe that must be ended as soon as possible. Cheering for one’s favoured side in an armed conflict through symbols or other means just seems counterproductive to world peace. 2 – Mourning civilians: The basic fact of war is that civilians will face violent deaths. At the time of submitting this piece, Gaza health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations have confirmed that at least 11,500 people have been killed in the Israeli bombardments and ground invasion—more
than 4,700 of them being children. This is a staggering loss of life, the effects of which can be felt all across the world, including in our Faculty of Law. It requires us to be especially sensitive to the pain of others, and it is with this sensitivity in mind that I ask you the following question: How would you feel if you saw someone proudly displaying the symbol of the armed group that bombed your relatives? 3 – Drawing the lines of self-identification: Openly showcasing one’s support for the IDF seems like a difficult exercise in self-identification. Can one publicly align themselves with the Israeli war effort without endorsing the IDF’s means and methods of warfare? How does one forcefully identify their support for the IDF while making clear that they do not agree with all of the IDF’s war tactics? Where can you draw the line? For instance, how do you make a point of denouncing blockades on civilian access to water, fuel, and electricity all while proudly carrying around the IDF logo? I suppose that this problem is moot if you do truly identify with everything the IDF has done in Gaza, but it otherwise seems like a very real problem for those who publicly brandish the insignia. How do you communicate a nuanced and humane outlook on a dire humanitarian crisis with nothing else but an army logo? It is not lost on me that I
write of the symbols of war and violence only one week removed from Remembrance Day—a period during which people in most Commonwealth countries commemorate fallen soldiers by wearing the Remembrance poppy on their left lapels. After all I have just said about symbols of war and violence, you may wish to ask, “why go after the IDF insignia and not the poppy? Is this not a double standard?” To this, I would answer that if the Remembrance poppy risks undermining the remembrance of all the casualties of war, the imperative to end armed conflict, and our basic responsibility to condemn massive attacks on civilian populations, then we should probably reconsider the symbol. On this point, I much prefer the “white poppy” pushed for by Britain’s Co-operative Women’s Guild as a symbol of pacifism. I think notably to the women who lost their jobs for wearing the white poppy in the 1930s when some veterans complained that the symbol undermined their sacrifice to the war effort. If by advocating for peace it is now my turn to lose a job, I will at least know that I am the inheritor of a long and proud tradition. *
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We may never be friends, you and me. You may never read this piece, and I may have convinced you of nothing at all. But I have tried to be respectful and forthright with you as best I could—
and I trust that you will see that. I place my trust in you, knowing that it may be in vain. I do it anyhow because that’s how I was raised to act towards those with whom I live in community. I do it because I want to make my grandmother proud. If you would, please allow me to let you in on why engaging with you on this personal level matters so much to me. Two years have now passed since my grandmother died. The more time goes on, the more I feel like I never truly understood how she lived. What you need to know is that my grandmother was, for the lack of a better word, a “pushover.” Her tendency to see the best in people usually meant
people getting the best of her, in all senses of the expression. She placed faith and trust in all she met. And more often than not, they took advantage of her. People routinely stole from her, bullied her, undermined her. She was an elderly foreigner in a place that cares for neither. She let her heart burn with loving kindness for all who crossed her path and got burned in return. Still, there is no doubt that what I remember best about her is the sound of her laughter. I enjoyed her laughter, but I do not think I understood it. How could she find any of this funny? Why would she let herself be treated like this? Did she not know how
evil people could be?
may outlive the regime.”
Over the past few weeks, I have tried to unravel her laughter one memory at a time. I thought about the content of her life. How 9252 kilometers separate the city where she was born from the one in which she passed. How she spent as many years outside of her home country as she did within. I thought about the Revolution. I thought about the ones who did not make it out in time. I thought about how it would have felt to have never said goodbye. I thought about the time I asked her what kept her alive, and about the coolness with which she answered:
She knew exactly how cruel this world could be. Better than I ever could. And yet placing her trust in others was precisely what made her human. She knew trust to be so inextricably linked to the human experience that to refuse it to others would erode her own humanity. And she accepted the pain in her life as part of the deal. This, I think, allowed her to love freely.
“Your mother, your brother, you. And knowing that I
LOCAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Cordonnerie La Cité : 3575 Av du Parc #5408 · (514) 849-1871 Anna McAllister | 3L
As a McGill student, I have always strived to be a conscientious member of the community that welcomes us into its folds from September through April every year. One way that I try to
do this is by finding small, local businesses to support. Not only does this help support the local economy, but finding your go-to spot for different goods and services is a sure-fire way to make
I trust you to engage with me in good faith because that trust is a core part of living together in a learning community. Whether anything good will come from this trust remains to be seen, but extending my humanity to you is all I can do.
Montreal feel more like home in a jiffy. If you are in need of a shoe repair or key-cutting, look no further than Cordonnerie La Cité, located inside the underground La Cité complex on Avenue du Parc. I have visited this business twice in the last couple of months: once to get a favourite pair of shoes repaired before the marathon that was Toronto Recruit, and another time to get extra keys cut for my apartment to facilitate a friend from out-of-town’s visit. The prices are very affordable, the turn-around time is impeccable (often same-day), and the quality of service is outstanding. As we all look for ways to be more responsible consumers, I invite you to take that favourite pair of shoes to Cordonnerie La Cité for a spruce-up before going out to purchase another pair. I promise you will be left satisfied with the service, and feel better integrated into the Montreal community because of it. Do you have a local Montreal business close to your heart? Tell us about it in next week’s edition of the Quid by writing to us at quid.law@mcgill.ca . 3
Vol 45 ● No 07
BLAST FROM THE PAST Referendums Galore
This week, it was welcome to have the SSMU referendum-reminders peppering my inbox to break up the myCourses upcoming deadline emails. McGill referendums have often been a topic of debate at the University, especially in the Quid. Check out this 1998 satirical take on some other pressing issues that should be considered in the next referendum.
BOXING’S LATEST GREAT UNDERDOG STORY
QUID NOVI • 21 NOV 2023
Gary Preteau | 4L
Boxing is a brutal sport. Its design specifically aims to create violence and many of its participants suffer lifelong health consequences. The boxing industry is also full of scam artists and corrupt actors seeking to make a buck at the boxer’s expense. However, at its best, boxing is unparalleled at showcasing the human spirit and celebrating the perseverant. Francis Ngannou’s bout against Tyson Fury was the latest and one of the most impressive examples of this phenomenon. Boxing has been many different things throughout its history. It was a vehicle for national pride when America’s Joe Louis and Nazi Germany’s Max Schmelling took turns
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knocking each other out.1 It was at the centre of racial tensions in America in 1910 when Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight champion, battered James “The Great White Hope” Jeffries. This lead to riots across the country and the banning of footage of the fight.2 Boxing has also become a massive business, with the 2015 Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Kieran Mulvaney, “When Joe Louis Boxed Nazi Favorite Max Schmeling” (2 June 2021), online: < history.com/news/ joe-louis-max-schmeling-match>.
Jr. bout generating over $600 million.3 Boxing has also been about stories of underdogs and perseverance. Before Pacquaio secured generational wealth from boxing, he was a poor child eating once a day and sleeping in the street.4 His is one of the many stories of boxers who use the sport as a means to lift themselves from destitute circumstances. It is telling that the most famous boxing ovie, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, also serves as a story of poverty. Rocky Balboa begins as a poor boxer in a working-class PhiladelTimothy Rapp, “Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Reportedly Generated $600 Million in Revenue” (10 June 2015), online: <bleacherreport. com/articles/2492016-mayweather-vs-pacquiao-reportedly-generated-600-million-in-revenue>.
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Coleman Lowndes, “The boxing film that was banned around the world” (24 February 2021), online: <vox.com/ videos/2021/2/24/22298121/boxing-filmbanned-world-jack-johnson-jim-jeffries>.
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Boxing News Online, “The Manny Pacquiao Story” (14 January 2017), online: <boxingnewsonline.net/the-manny-pacquiao-story/fr>.
phia neighbourhood. Through his perseverance and boxing skills, Balboa shocks the world by going the distance with the film’s antagonist Apollo Creed. His fight with Creed establishes his character as the quintessential underdog in our culture. To this day, Rocky Balboa’s story continues to be a comparison for stories of triumphs and overcoming. The Rocky Balboa story was inspired by the boxer Chuck Wepner. Wepner worked as a liquor salesman and boxed part-time when he got the call to fight heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in 1975. For the first time in his career, Wepner trained full time in preparation for the bout, which most commentators expected to be a squash match. To the shock of many, Wepner held his own and even knocked Ali down. Wepner survived most of Ali’s ferocious pushback before the fight was stopped with only 19 seconds left. Despite Wepner losing the fight, he showed the perseverance of the human spirit and courage that makes boxing special.5 Francis Ngannou’s childhood also fits the underdog story. Ngannou was raised in poverty in Cameroon. He began working in sand mines at the age of 9 to provide for his family, with dreams of life in America. At 17, he began training in a local boxing gym and, at 25, he left his Cameroonian home to follow his dreams of boxing and a better life in America. In a span of 14 months, he made the 3000-mile journey across the Sahara Desert to Morocco, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a $50 raft, then spent 2 months in a Spanish jail before being granted asylum where he finally migrated to Paris and became homeless.6 Tim Ott, “Chuck Wepner: Meet the Heavyweight Boxer Who Inspired ‘Rocky’” (9 June 2020), online: < biography.com/ athletes/chuck-wepner-real-rocky-balboa>. 6 Time Keown, “Francis Ngannou’s Miraculous Journey” (21 January 2022), online: < espn. com/espn/feature/story/_/id/33100543/francis-ngannou-miraculous-journey-ufc-stardom>. 5
In Paris, a coach convinced Ngannou to try Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and his life hit warp speed. Ngannou made his professional MMA debut in 2013. After 2 years he found himself in the world’s top MMA organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). 2 more years and 6 UFC fights later, Ngannou skyrocketed through the ranks and became the sport’s most fearsome puncher. In Ngannou’s 7 th UFC fight, he hit his first professional roadblock when he fought for the heavyweight title. The incumbent champion, Stipe Miocic, took advantage of Ngannou’s inexperience and exhausted the Cameroonian over 5 rounds to win by judges’ decision. Ngannou’s then lost his subsequent fight by judges’ decision. Many consider Ngannou’s second loss to be one of the sport’s worst fights ever and Ngannou was the subject of harsh public scrutiny. Even UFC president Dana White criticized Ngannou, blaming his “out of control” ego for his struggles.7 Ngannou responded by relocating to Las Vega for tutelage under a new coach. He went on to win 4 consecutive matches within 90 seconds by knockout. Ngannou would then avenge his loss to Miocic by knocking him out and claiming the UFC heavyweight title. Ngannou eventually sustained a serious knee injury, but he nevertheless successfully defended the championship in his next bout. Having conquered his in-cage opponents, Ngannou then faced a battle with the UFC itself. Ngannou butted heads with the UFC as he pushed for improved fighter rights, such as the provision of health insurance and the right to in-cage sponsorships. Ultimately, the UFC Mookie Alexander, “Dana White: Francis Ngannou ‘completely lost his mind’ prior to Stipe Miocic fight” (7 August 2018), online: < bloodyelbow.com/2018/08/07/dana-whitefrancis-ngannou-completely-lost-his-mindprior-to-stipe-miocic-fight-ufc-mma-news/>. 7
preferred to let their heavyweight champion walk. Ngannou signed with a rival organization and included provisions to benefit other fighters in his contract, such as a baseline $2 million salary for his opponent.8 Ngannou’s new contract also allowed him to pursue his first love of boxing, which he could not do under his UFC contract. Ngannou would finally make his professional boxing debut at 37 years old. His opponent would be Tyson Fury, the current heavyweight champion who was on the cusp of being considered one of the greatest of all-time. Fury was surprisingly nimble, highly durable and continued to retain the boxing skill of a much smaller man despite his enormous 6’8 frame. Little was expected of Ngannou against a boxer’s much more refined skillset. Compared to other MMA fighters, Ngannou’s pure boxing skill was solid but unremarkable. Fury’s abilities greatly exceeded Ngannou’s, as is expected when a champion fights someone with no professional boxing experience. Ngannou would carry a big punch, but Fury had already defeated Deontay Wilder, boxing’s most dangerous puncher. It was hard to see Ngannou’s route to victory and Fury was widely expected to win. Many boxing fans, including myself, disregarded Ngannou’s chances and even criticized Fury for taking the easy fight rather than fighting Oleksandr Usyk, a more skilled fighter who posed a genuine challenge to Fury’s title. Fury also seemed to disregard Ngannou’s chances by agreeing to fight Usyk less than 2 months after Ngannou.
Brett Okamoto, “Inside the negotiations that brought the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, Francis Ngannou, to the PFL” (23 May 2023), online: <https://www.espn.com/ mma/story/_/id/37702902/why-francisngannou-left-ufc-signed-pfl-contract-deal>. 8
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Vol 45 ● No 07 Many underdogs write their story on the stage and Ngannou added to this boxing lore. After a slow start, Ngannou shocked the world by knocking Fury down. Fury recovered but Ngannou’s powerful punches continued to bother him. Ngannou’s skills were sharper and tactically better employed than anyone expected. Both combatants remained upright as the final bell signalled the end of the match. The boxing world held its breath waiting for the judges to decide who won. One judge ruled Ngannou the victor. One judge ruled that Fury had done enough to win. And finally,
by the margin of one single point, the final judge ruled the match’s winner to be Tyson Fury. Like Wepner, Ngannou’s shining moment came in a loss. Yet, the bout was a victory for Ngannou who again overcame the odds to reach his dream of boxing and prove that he belongs in the boxing ring. After a journey through the desert, after homelessness, after being a public pariah and after fighting an industrial power, Francis Ngannou stepped onto combat sport’s biggest stage and proved himself. It is these moments where boxing is at its best. The athlete’s journey
culminates in a moment where they, alone in the ring, prove themselves and their self-belief to be right and their doubters to be wrong. The boxing ring is the stage for their literal fight for recognition, glory, and chance to change their life. Boxing will break your heart as a fan with its pettiness and brutality. However, these rare moments of human triumph make hanging on to this irrational fandom worth it. Though Ngannou’s story is hard to top, boxing has and will continue to be the home of the underdog and the person fighting to prove themselves right.
QUID NOVI • 21 NOV 2023
ON ÉTUDIE LE DROIT « DES BIENS », MAIS NON LE DROIT « DES BIENS INTELLECTUELS ». POURQUOI ? Ordren Deko | 3L En anglais, on peut dire qu’on étudie « property », dont un sous-ensemble est la « intellectual property ». En français, cependant, on étudie le droit « des biens », dont un sous-ensemble n’est pas le droit « des biens intellectuels », mais « la propriété intellectuelle ». Quelle est la raison de cette rupture lexicale ? Voyons d’abord le sens ordinaire du vocable « propriété ». Le Petit Robert nous dit que la propriété est le « droit d’user, de jouir et de disposer de biens d’une manière exclusive et absolue sous les restrictions établies par la loi ». Cette définition imite celle proposée par le Code civil à l’article 947 : « Le droit d’user, de jouer et de disposer librement et complètement d’un bien, sous réserve des limites et des conditions d’exercice fixées par la loi ». Les deux définitions indiquent que le mot est compris comme un droit et non comme la chose sur laquelle vous exercez votre droit. Cela explique pourquoi le cours enseigné dans notre faculté s’intitule « les biens » et pas seulement « la propriété », étant donné 6
que nous discutons des choses sur lesquelles vous exercez votre droit, ainsi que des droits en dehors de la propriété. En anglais, le terme « property » désigne le plus souvent la ou les choses appartenant à une personne, comme un coffre au trésor ou un terrain. En anglais, le terme de propriété en tant que droit, tel qu’il est compris en français, est créé lorsque l’on ajoute le mot « right », pour créer le terme composé « right of property ». Ainsi, l’anglais donne à ce terme un double sens. Ce fil logique semble se briser dès que l’on aborde le mot « propriété intellectuelle ». Nous savons maintenant que nous étudions « les biens » et non « la propriété » parce que « les biens » englobe des thèmes beaucoup plus vastes. En revanche, nous ne savons toujours pas pourquoi la « propriété intellectuelle » est préférée aux « biens intellectuels ». La propriété intellectuelle signifie-t-elle le droit de posséder intellectuellement ? Bien sûr, je pose cette question en plaisantant, mais elle amène à se gratter la tête et à se demander pourquoi
on n’utilise pas plutôt le terme « biens intellectuels ». Cette incongruité a-t-elle un rapport avec le mot « biens » ? En d’autres termes, le mot « biens » se réfère-t-il uniquement à ce qui est physique et tangible ? Si c’est le cas, cela exclut peut-être les créations de l’esprit. Toujours selon le Grand Robert, un « bien » est une « chose matérielle susceptible d’appropriation ». Or, cette même définition explique qu’un bien est « un droit faisant partie du patrimoine. » Cette polysémie se mirait dans les provisions de La Loi sur les impôts qui, quant à elle, précise les biens comme « toute chose matérielle, tout droit qui fait partie du patrimoine d’une personne ».
d’art, mais la propriété intellectuelle ne vous confère pas l’œuvre d’art physique elle-même. Ceci est particulièrement évident dans le terme « droit d’auteur » qui se traduit en anglais par « copyright ». La propriété intellectuelle se préoccupe des droits de l’auteur, plutôt que de l’auteur lui-même. Un autre exemple peut être trouvé dans le terme « brevet d’invention » où le mot clé se trouvant avant la préposition, ce que l’article 2 de la Loi sur les brevets explique « couvr[e] une invention ». Comme dans le premier exemple, la propriété intellectuelle se préoccupe du brevet et non de l’invention à laquelle il s’applique.
La recherche de la signification du terme « biens » n’a pas été très utile. Il serait donc peut-être judicieux d’examiner maintenant ce qu’implique la propriété intellectuelle. Le Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales explique que la propriété intellectuelle regroupe les propriétés littéraire et artistique et la propriété industrielle. Plus loin, la “propriété intellectuelle” reflète la même logique que la « propriété » ; la propriété intellectuelle est une collection des droits et non des objets. Vous avez le droit de copier une œuvre
Si la propriété intellectuelle est donc un terme générique pour les droits sur les choses, alors il est tout à fait logique que nous utilisions le mot « propriété » et non « biens ». En effet, si nous l’appelions « biens intellectuels », il y aurait un flou : serions-nous en train de nous concentrer sur la théorie de l’art, pour les objets protégés par le droit d’auteur, ou sur l’ingénierie mécanique qui se cache derrière les inventions ? Ces domaines d’études se trouveraient dans d’autres institutions postsecondaires que la faculté de droit.
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Vol 45 ● No 07
SOIRÉE DROIT ET DIVERSITÉ A Celebration of Diversity in the Legal Profession
Lundi dernier s’est tenue la première édition de la “Soirée Droit & Diversité”, une soirée dédiée à la promotion de la diversité et l’inclusion dans la profession juridique. Nous souhaitons exprimer notre profonde gratitude envers toutes les personnes qui ont contribué au succès éclatant de notre récent événement organisé par les clubs NALSA, BLSA, MALSA, WOCC et JLSA de McGill. Ce fut une soirée mémorable, ponctuée d’échanges enrichissants! Tout d’abord, nous tenons à exprimer notre profonde reconnaissance envers l’ASEF pour leur générosité inestimable. Leur soutien a été essentiel pour concrétiser cette soirée mémorable et nous leur sommes reconnaissants pour leur contribution.
[La version française suit.] Last Monday, the first edition of the “Law & Diversity Evening,” an event dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal profession, was held.
QUID NOVI • 21 NOV 2023
We would like to express our gratitude to all those who contributed to the resounding success of this recent event organized by the McGill NALSA, BLSA, MALSA, WOCC, and JLSA. It was truly a memorable evening! First and foremost, we wish to thank the Alumni Student Engagement Fund (ASEF) for their invaluable generosity. Their support was crucial in making this memorable evening a success, and we are grateful for their contribution. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Hon. Marie-Hélène Dubé and Azimuddin Hussein for their presence. Their thoughtful responses regarding their personal journeys, initiatives to promote diversity, and words of encouragement to students were incredibly insightful. An event of this magnitude would not have been possible without the partic8
ipation and precious support of the esteemed law firms that were present. We thank Norton Rose Fulbright, Davies, Dentons, Blakes, BCF, Stikeman Elliott, Osler, Gowling, BLG, McMillan, and McCarthy Tétrault for their invaluable presence and guidance to the attending students! Many thanks to the Omni Mont-Royal Hotel for providing an exceptional setting for our event, to Xuan He for his exceptional piano performance, and to Ming Xi, the wonderful photographer. We are deeply thankful to each person who contributed to making this evening memorable and meaningful for our community. Your continued support inspires us and reinforces our commitment to creating even more enriching events to promote access to the legal profession. We hope that this becomes an annual event so that generations of McGill law students will benefit from this same opportunity.
Nous exprimons également notre profonde gratitude envers les honorables juges Marie-Hélène Dubé et Azimuddin Hussein pour leur participation précieuse à l’événement. Leurs réponses éclairées concernant leurs parcours personnels et les initiatives visant à promouvoir la diversité ont été d’une valeur inestimable pour nous tous. Un événement de cette envergure ne serait pas possible sans la participation et le soutien de nos précieux partenaires du monde juridique. Nous tenons à remercier chaleureusement les cabinets Norton Rose Fulbright, Davies, Dentons, Blakes, BCF, Stikeman Elliott, Osler, Gowling, BLG, McMillan et McCarthy Tétrault. Votre présence et vos conseils ont été d’une valeur inestimable pour les étudiants présents.
With our sincere thanks,
Nos remerciements vont également à l’Hôtel Omni Mont-Royal pour avoir fourni un cadre exceptionnel à notre événement, à Xuan He pour sa prestation pianistique exceptionnelle, ainsi qu’à Ming Xi, le photographe de la soirée.
The McGill NALSA, BLSA, MALSA, WOCC, and JLSA
Nous sommes profondément reconnaissants envers tous ceux qui ont
contribué à rendre cette soirée mémorable et significative pour notre communauté. Votre soutien continu est une source d’inspiration pour nous et renforce notre engagement à créer des événements toujours plus enrichissants pour tous. Nous espérons que cet événement deviendra annuel afin que des générations d’étudiants en droit de McGill puissent bénéficier de cette même opportunité. Avec nos sincères remerciements, Les clubs NALSA, BLSA, MALSA, WOCC et AÉJD de McGill
WHICH ICONIC 1L CASE AT MEDLAW ARE YOU?
Note from Editorial Team: Please note that this is a republication of an article from last week’s edition due to an oversight in not crediting the author correctly. Thank you, Nathan, for your much appreciated contribution to the Quid. There are many ways to spend the night of MedLaw. Some of those recall the basic principles taught in introductory courses: negligence, breaking contractual obligations, and generally questionable and unreasonable behavior. So, which of these iconic 1L cases are you?1 Did you find a snail in your drink? You might be Donoghue v Stevenson. A true Donoghue would not stand for this injustice. Establish that duty of care and get your compensation (which I hope is not another drink ticket). While looking through past Quid issues, I came across an article by Meg Beattie titled ‘Which Iconic 1L Case Are you?’ While our executions are significantly different, I credit and thank her with the idea of using 1L cases for humour. Meg Beattie, “Which Iconic 1L Case Are You?”, Quid Novi (1 Novemeber 2022) 14, https://dochub.com/quid-law/xgNyr6qwbkZo5kaRA5EbY2/quid-novi-vol-44-no-4?dt=jCBHsA44EbyKs2UXWf-x&pg=13. 1
Nathan Penman | 1L
Did you try bringing in a substance that got confiscated? You might be R v Malmo-Levine. You tried to establish the harm principle, but it just wasn’t one of the bouncer’s principles of fundamental justice. Did you set that dance floor on fire? You might be Axa Assurances c Groupe de Sécurité Garda. I get that you want to ignite the dance floor to make yourself look good to a special someone, but don’t do it literally.
like Big M Drug Mart rejected the Lord’s Day Act and spend the night your way. Did you get a little too familiar with a GP? You cheeky devil might be R v Labaye. So long your “acts were relatively private and did not degrade participants,” you didn’t turn the club into a common bawdyhouse. Congratulations.
Did you not go because MedLaw is ‘a strange match made in elitist hell’2? You might be R v Big M Drug Mart Ltd. Indulge that freedom of conscious (and religion) and think for yourself. Reject the whims of the party-going majority
Did you think this event was actually about medical malpractice? You might be Leonard v Pepsico. Would a reasonable person conclude that a $18 wet ticket for entry to a club on St Laurent was actually about medical malpractice? Well, sorry for you and Leonard, but there is no AV-8B Harrier II vertical flying jet being offered, and there was nothing about medical malpractice.
See Nicolas Kamran, “The Opium of the Elites”, Quid Novi (1 November 2022) 11, https://dochub.com/quid-law/xgNyr6qwbkZo5kaRA5EbY2/quid-novi-vol-44-no-4?dt=jCBHsA44EbyKs2UXWf-x&pg=13.
Did you offer a stranger a hit of your vape? You might be Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. I hope you didn’t promise them anything, otherwise you might be on the hook for a binding unilateral offer.
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Vol 45 ● No 07
STAGES parlementaires
Nous sommes à la recherche de cinq diplômées
et diplômés universitaires souhaitant s’initier au travail parlementaire par un stage pratique de dix mois à l’Assemblée nationale du Québec.
Assorti d’une bourse d’excellence de 24 000 $, le stage vous permettra de : — découvrir les coulisses de l’Assemblée nationale grâce à deux jumelages avec des parlementaires; — réaliser des missions exploratoires à l’étranger et au Canada; — rédiger un essai sur un sujet lié au parlementarisme. QUID NOVI • 21 NOV 2023
Pour être admissible, vous devez : — être titulaire d’un diplôme d’une université québécoise (1er, 2e ou 3e cycle , incluant certificat et microprogramme) depuis moins de deux ans au début du stage; — avoir la citoyenneté canadienne ou avoir obtenu la résidence permanente au Canada;
— remplir et envoyer le formulaire de candidature , accompagné de vos relevés de notes universitaires; — obtenir deux lettres de recommandation de professeurs ou d’employeurs.
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De septembre 2024 à juin 2025, plongez au cœur de l’activité parlementaire! Soumettez votre candidature du 15 novembre 2023 au 15 février 2024.
fondationbonenfant.qc.ca/
stages-parlementaires
11
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFS RÉDACTEURS EN CHEF Anna McAllister Pablo Mhanna-Sandoval SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR DIRECTRICE DES RÉSEAUX SOCIAUX Gabrielle Torrealba DIRECTOR OF DISTRIBUTION DIRECTEUR DE DISTRIBUTION Kamil Chaoui ART DIRECTOR AND LAYOUT EDITOR DIRECTRICE ARTISTIQUE ET ÉDITRICE DE MISE EN PAGE Souang Wu Camille Duhaime COPY EDITORS | SECRÉTAIRES DE RÉDACTION Ben Foster Brandon Grimaldi Despina Tritos Giuseppe Sutera Sardo Jerod Miksza COLUMNISTS | CHRONIQUEURES ET CHRONIQUEUSES Gary Preteau Nicolas Kamran Ordren Deko CONTRIBUTORS | CONTRIBUTEURS Nathan Penman Special thanks to Prairie Koo for designing the layout. ~ The Quid Novi is published weekly by the students of the Faculty of Law at McGill University. Production is made possible through the direct support of students. All contents copyright © 2023 Quid Novi.
Les opinions exprimées sont propres aux auteurs et ne réflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’équipe du Quid Novi. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the McGill Law Students’ Association or of McGill University. Envoyez vos commentaires ou articles avant jeudi 17h00 à quid.law@mcgill.ca. Toute contribution doit indiquer le nom de l’auteur, son année d’étude ainsi qu’un titre et un sous -titre pour l’article. Les images doivent être soumises séparément. L’article ne sera publié qu’à la discrétion du comité de rédaction, qui basera sa décision sur la politique de rédaction disponible sur notre Facebook @quidnovi.mcgill.