The Quid Novi MONTREAL, QC
MCGILL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW - FACULTÉ DE DROIT DE L’UNIVERSITÉ MCGILL
46 10 4 FEB 2025
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR McGill Law Deanless in Times of Trouble: Threat of Tariffs Affect Faculty Pablo Mhanna-Sandoval | N/A L
Last week’s news of Dean Robert Leckey’s appointment to the Quebec Superior Court came to many, including the man himself, as a surprise. Don’t get me wrong: we all had some idea that our Dean would eventually be happy to trade tweed suits for judge’s robes. The timing was the unfortunate surprise, not least because of the threat of U.S. tarrifs looming over Canada. The Faculty could have benefitted from stability in its leadership in these uncertain times. Lumber. Energy. A laundry list of consumer goods. U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic warfare—and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs—will make all of these more expensive for consumers across North America. What many of us have forgotten is these tariffs’ effects on McGill Law students. A cursory glance at the official Government of Canada’s list of affected goods shows that all U.S. judicial decisions are included, with specific mentions of SCOTUS and Delaware business law decisions. This was, of course, in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian case law. Your eyes don’t deceive you. If the
30-day pause to tariffs announced at the time of writing this article doesn’t hold, Canadian and U.S. law students will have to read court cases that are 25% longer and more tangential. This applies retroactively, too, with both governments expected to run previous cases through A.I. to increase word count, surely out of pure spite. There’s one small problem, however. U.S. law students don’t need to look at Canadian case law. Regrettably, the inverse cannot be said for Canadian law students. I would’ve preferred to live my life in blissful ignorance of the existence of the State of Delaware. Instead, I spent last semester reading its case law for Business Associations. It’s times like these where Canadians look to their leaders. Members of the
McGill Law community are no different. With many students doing their groceries and SAQ runs with the intent of “Buying Canadian,” guidance from the faculty administration on how to “Study Canadian” would have been appreciated. Dean—now Justice—Leckey would have been the perfect man for the job. Judicial appointments are what they are, however. In all sincerity, we at the Quid Novi would like to wish Justice Leckey good luck as he embarks on this new phase of his career. It’s certainly off to a strong start, with well wishes pouring in from colleagues, students, Le Devoir and the CAQ! The way things are looking, McGill Law may one day have yet another Supreme Court justice alum to invite back for finger foods and cocktails in the Waxman Common Room.
CETTE SEMAINE... INSIGHTS
COMMUNAUTÉ
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3 |BRAVING THE COLD
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