QQUUIIDD NNOOVVIIMcGill University, Faculty of Law

Volume 27, no. 7, 31 October, 2006

IN THIS ISSUE...

3..Coffeehouse Referendum- The Yes Side

4.. LSA Midterm Reports

7.. Referendum Ruse

8.. The Sunshine Article

9.. We Are the Very Modelof a Transsystemic Faculty

11.. Revolt is Dead / LongLive Thoughtful Debate

11.. Multicaf

12.. Robert Bourassa

13.. Les aventures du Capi-taine Corporate America

14.. What the Holy RomanEmpire and Canada’s CleanAir Act Have in Common...

15.. Sudoku

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All contents copyright 2006 Quid Novi.

Les opinions exprimées sont propres aux auteurs et ne réflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’équipe du Quid Novi.

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Editors in ChiefCaroline BriandAndrea Gorys

Assistant Editors in ChiefCassandra BrownJulien Morissette

Managing EditorsKarina KesserwanYuri Smagorinski

Layout EditorsAlison Adam

Raffaela CommodariTara Di BenedettoMaegan HoughNaomi Hauptman

Associate EditorsBruce Carlini

Lauren Chang MacLeanOana Dolea

Thomas LiptonVrouyr MakalianPalma PacioccoColin SchulhauserLéonid Sirota

Staff WritersNick Dodd

Alison GlaserRyan KirshenblattOlivier Plessis

Staff CartoonistLaurence Bich-Carrière

Cover ArtistIsabelle Cadotte

AVENTURES DANS

LE MAIN CAMPUSby Caroline Briand (Law IV)

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Je suis présentement inscrite à un cours horsfaculté offert par la Faculté des arts et intituléPhilosophy of Language.

Un jour alors que j’assistais à ce cours, une autreétudiante vint prendre place à côté de moi. Commeje révisais mes notes, je ne voyais cette personneque du coin de l’œil, lorsque je la vis sortir unebouteille de verre brun à col allongé et la poser surla table. Surprise, je me suis naïvement étonnéedu fait que les étudiants de la faculté des artssoient « relax » au point d’amener de l’alcool enclasse.

C’est seulement en me retournant quelquesminutes plus tard que j’ai réalisé l’étendue de monerreur : il ne s’agissait en fait que d’une bouteillede ginger beer. Avec un mélange de honte et desoulagement, je me suis sentie rassurée, étantalors en mesure d’effacer l’odieux préjugé selonlequel les « autres étudiants » ne prennent pasautant leurs études au sérieux que « nous ».

Malgré cette heureuse constatation, un certainmalaise subsistait, grandissant à chaque fois quel’étudiante en question portait la bouteille opaqueà ses lèvres. C’est que, lavage de cerveau juridiqueoblige, je semble avoir développé un dégoûtprononcé pour le ginger beer… et de toutes lesbestioles avec lesquelles il pourrait être entré encontact. �

COFFEEHOUSE REFERENDUM

– THE YES SIDE

by Andrew Mason(Law III)

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On November 7ththere will be a refer-endum on the “Cof-

feehouse Issue”. The SaveCoffeehouse Committeeasks you to vote YES and tooverturn the unilateralchanges made to sponsoredCoffeehouses by the LSAover the summer.

Why should you vote YES?

Occasionally a proponent ofthe LSA’s policy accuses theCommittee of fostering agreedy sense of entitlementto free alcohol at Coffee-house. This is most defi-nitely not the case. Theissue is simple: when a pop-ular tradition is altered theonus should always be onthe “reformer” to justify thechanges.

We sat through a Town Hallwhile the LSA attempted tooutline the irrationale. TheCoffeehouse Committee re-spects the LSA’s attempts toimprove club Coffeehousesand their attempts to intro-duce NGOs and smallerfirms to the Coffeehousescene. What the Committeefails to understand is theLSA’s rather tortured logicabout how these objectivesare going to be met by al-tering the format of spon-sored Coffeehouses.

The LSA was unable to giveany examples of new firmsor non-faculty bodies whowere now interested in‘sponsoring’ (if the word can

indeed still be used to de-scribe Coffeehouses underthe New Order) because ofthe shift in policy. Torys’was mentioned as a poten-tial example – but as oneTown hall attendee astutelynoted, Torys’ decision to re-turn to McGill Law was influ-enced by the fact thatseveral of their recent hireswere from McGill.

In fact, several of the repre-sentatives of the firms thathave ‘sponsored’ Coffee-houses thus far this yearhave actually reacted withdismay to the LSA’s newpolicy: one rep apologizedto the crowd for both thechange of policy and thelack of free alcohol, and at asecond event a rep feltcompelled to purchasesome 30-40 beers with herown money. Ouch.

Club Coffeehouse atten-dance has not changed abit. We are not beatingeager new firms and NGOsoff with bats. So what justi-fication can there be for theLSA’s Coffeehouse reforms?We have dispensed with theLSA’s attempts to justifytheir actions. We will nowexplain why students shouldvote to restore the tradi-tional Coffeehouse format.

There was widespreadanger (or, if I am truthful, inmost cases there was onlyrather mild annoyance) atthe LSA’s decision to moveforward with their ‘reforms’.

Several students were con-vinced that the new policywas a joke, literally. Alas,the LSA had the last laugh.

No-one on the LSA waselected to implement theradical Coffeehouse pro-gram now in place. The LSAknew this summer that aCommittee had been struckto oppose their plans andthat this Committee was incontact with some 100stu-dents and alumni (!), whowere all also opposed to thechanges (or who were atleast in favour of a referen-dum on the matter before afinal decision was made). Ahundred is a sign of consid-erable popular discontent,especially when one consid-ers that the Committee con-tacted students in themiddle of the summer – atime when, according to theLSA, it was allegedly impos-sible for our executive tocontact the student body forits opinion on the subject.

Undeterred and heedless ofcriticism, the LSA coura-geously donned the twinmantle of absolutism and‘we know best-ism’ andplowed ahead with thechanges. Though I was as-sured one week that ‘noth-ing was set in stone’ thenext I was being told thatthe changes were ‘alreadyset in stone’. The way theLSA went about theirchanges to Coffeehouse de-serves the censure of thestudent body and the No-

vember 7th referendum isthe place to do it.

I feel especially sorry for thecurrent first years who havenever experienced the tradi-tional Coffeehouses -though perhaps it is betterto not know what you havelost! It was, as rather fanci-fully described by a friend ofmine, an oasis in the weekof a law school student.Don’t get me wrong, I, likemany other students, stillattend and enjoy this year’s-Coffeehouses. But all thewhile I know that oncesponsored Coffeehouseswere better attended andarguably better enjoyed –those were the halcyondays when firm rep’s didn’tneed to apologize to ourstudents for the actions ofour student executive. VoteYES and let us set it righttogether: the student bodycan and will improve clubCoffeehouses AND restoretraditional sponsored Cof-feehouse. �

LSA MIDTERM REPORTS

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President – Kara Morris

As president, I oversee allthat the executive does.Two main themes that theexecutive has been focusingon are community-building,and supporting the well-being of students duringtheir time at McGill Law. Iam responsible for keepingthe LSA executive motivatedand on-track in regard tothe diverse activities en-joyed by the student bodyevery year. Some majorprojects this year have beenthe reform of Coffeehouseand the lounge renovation.I also maintain a workingrelationship with the admin-istration of the faculty,which includes weeklymeetings with the Dean andattending faculty councilmeetings. As representativeof the Law Students’ Associ-ation I sit on the Committeefor the Coordination for Stu-dent Services to help ensurelaw students are offered thebest possible suite of neces-sary services based on theirstudent services fees. Withthe lounge renovationreaching completion thisfall, I invite students to pro-vide suggestions on whatthe next long-term projectfor the LSA should be. Anysuggestions, questions, orconcerns can be directed tome atpresident.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca

VP Athletics – Cedric Soule

The first two-weeks of Sep-tember were dedicated tohelping out the OrientationCommittee as needed. Thelast two weeks were spent

organizing and finding spon-sorship for the MalpracticeCup, which was well-at-tended on our side. Weeven made a $200 profit,which will go towards LawGames. Since early October,the focus has been on LawGames, finding sponsorshipfrom firms and other com-panies, getting transportand uniforms organized,and liaising with the LawGames organization in Lon-don. The registration drivebegan Monday October 23rd,and will continue for threeweeks. The VP-Athleticsportfolio also includes theordering and dispatching ofMcGill Law sweaters. Thefirst order was completedlast Friday and sweaters arecurrently being distributed.There will a final sweaterorder before the Winterbreak, with a deadline mid-November. I can bereached at vp-athletics.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca

VP-Administration –Myriam Couillard-CastonguayAs VP-Administration, mytasks consist of administra-tive matters: I distributemagazines in the faculty,take the messages on theLSA answering machine,sort outgoing and incomingmail and facilitate the coor-dination between the execu-tive members and theirportfolios. The first big taskI faced was preparing thecall for applications for LSAcommittees last May andsubsequently directing theinterview process and theappointment decisions. Inaddition, I prepare theagenda, take the minutesand administer LSA Council

and also sit on FacultyCouncil and the AwardsCommittee. A big part of myresponsibilities is sendingemails to the student bodyand dispatching or respond-ing to emails from individualstudents. My portfolio es-sentially revolves arounddaily and routine tasks andnecessitates a lot of organi-zation. Any questions?Email vp-admin.lsa@elf.mcgill.ca

VP Academic – Anne Merminod

Chers étudiants,

As VP Academic, I am incharge of representing lawstudents on 9 committees(Comité du Programme,Comité des Examens,Comité de la Bibliothèque,Comité des Prix et Bourses,Comité des Vp-Académiquesde l’Université McGill,Conseil de la Faculté,Conseil du LSA, Réunionsdes exécutifs du LSA,réunions avec Mme la vice-doyenne Bélanger et Mmela doyenne associéeSaumier) et je travaille trèsfort avec toute mon équipepour atteindre les buts queje me suis fixée pendant macampagne. Voici sur quoi j’aitravaillé depuis le moisd’Avril dernier.

Law Partners. I matchedmore than 300 law partnersover the summer. I’ve triedmy best to pair studentswho shares similar interestsor a common academicbackground. Many first yearstudents have told me thattheir upper year law part-ners are doing an amazingjob. Thanks to all of you!

JICP. The Curriculum com-mittee had to decidewhether JICP should be amandatory course in secondyear. Suite à mon articledans le Quid et dans leNotice Board au début dumois d’octobre et en vuedes réponses que nousavons eu des étudiants, desprofesseurs de JICP et desdiscussions intra-comité, leComité du programme adécidé de ne pas forcer lesétudiants à prendre le coursen deuxième année. Parcontre, plus d’informationsera donnée sur le coursJICP, afin d’inciter lesétudiants à prendre cecours le plus tôt possible,sans toutefois leur imposercette démarche.

Easier Registrationprocess. The SAO will haveits own website in the be-ginning of November. Youwill be able to find all theinformation you want onregistration. It will be avail-able in html format to makeaccess to the informationeasier. You will also find anew document with all thepre-requisites for everyclass. The Curriculum Com-mittee is also looking intosetting up a waiting list formore courses. Please sendme an email if you have anopinion on the matter.

New Professors. This yearthe Recruitment Committeewill hire 4-5 full time profes-sors.

Teaching ExcellenceAward. Every year, the LSApresents one professor atthe Faculty with the John W.Durnford Teaching Excel-lence Award. I encourageyou to nominate one of your

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professors for the 2005-2006 award. Please fill outthe nomination form to thedesignated envelope locatedon the bulletin board out-side the LSA Office by16h00 on Wednesday, No-vember 15, 2005.

Prizes and Scholarship.Many students receive ascholarship or prize duringtheir studies. I encourageyou to apply!http://www.law.mcgill.ca/undergraduate/scholar_contin-uing-en.htm

Library. Comme énoncélors de ma campagne, jefais tout mon possible pourque les heures d’ouverturede la Bibliothèque soientprolongées. Comme toutesles bibliothèques du campussont sous la tutelle et lefinancement de l’UniversitéMcGill, la Faculté de Droitn’a pas le pouvoird’augmenter les heuresd’ouvertures de labibliothèque sans l’aval del’Université. Le comité de labibliothèque, encollaboration avec VP-PR etVP-Admin travaillent trèsfort pour trouver une sourcede financement extérieure.Nous allons bientôt faireune étude de marché afinde montrer à nos potentielsfinanceurs que le besoind’augmenter les heuresd’ouverture est réel.N’hésitez surtout pas àm’envoyer un courriel, sivous avez un avis là-dessus.

Wellbeing in the Faculty.La liste des notes sur letableau, autrefois appelé« wall of shame » a étéaboli. Un effort particulierest également mis pourobtenir une plus grandeuniformité entre les sectionsd’un même cours et que lesystème de notation soitplus transparent. Je travaille

également en étroitecollaboration avec le Comitédu Wellbeing qui fait unexcellent travail afin deréduire les sources de notrestresse à tous. Une sessiond’information pour lesétudiants de premièreannée sera aussi organiséepour donner del’information sur la périoded’examen et un pamphletde « study tips » est encréation. Je vous invited’ailleurs à me les envoyer.

Please do not hesitate tocontact me if you have anyquestions or concerns.

Anne MerminodVP-AcadémiqueLaw Student Association/Association Étudiante deDroitvp-academic.lsa@elf.mcgill.ca

VP Finance – Cassandra Brown

As VP Finance, I administerthe 2006-2007 LSA budget.This budget consists of yourstudent fees, the studentfees held in trust for variousother purposes (InnocenceMcGill, Journal of Sustain-able Development, ResearchFacilities), sponsorshipmoney and revenue fromevents at the faculty. Italso consists of the capitalbudget, used to jointly fi-nance the lounge, which iscurrently under renovationand will open for studentsthis Fall. Some of the spe-cific things that I have spenttime on include:

Monitoring investments ofLSA Helping to plan Orientationbudget and tracking allspending related to thiseventPreparing preliminary oper-ating budget for the LSA

2006-2007Working with clubs to re-solve any outstanding fund-ing/expense issues from lastyear Invoicing all sponsors todate for 2006-2007Administering all trust fundsthat are submitted to theLSA (student fees) Working with various mem-bers of the community toplan individual eventsAccounting for all Coffee-house revenues fromdrink/club fundraising salesPaying all monthly expensesof the association (phones,electricity, etc.)Preparing projections/fore-casts of revenues for certainclubs, groups and eventsReimbursing students forexpenses submitted to theassociationContacting members of theComputers Committee toplan 2006-2007 meetingsSitting on Dean’s Discre-tionary Fund committee

Please feel free to send mean email atcassandra.brown@mail.mcgill.ca if you have any ques-tions or comments aboutmy job, LSA finances, reim-bursements or anything elsethat you think is relevant.

VP Public Relations– Claude Lévesque

The portfolio of the VP-Pub-lic Relations (VP-PR) is di-vided between helping topromote activities to stu-dents and securing sponsor-ship from various actors forthese activities. This yearas VP-PR, I have decided tochange the approach usedto solicit funding from lawfirms. The approach I haveused is one of relationship-building between the firmsand the LSA. By taking thetime to meet with represen-tatives of the firms and talk-

ing about each othersneeds, I have being able tocreate opportunities advan-tageous for all parties.

At the beginning of mymandate, I had the objec-tive of raising sponsorshipby 15% from $49 000 tojust above $56 000. By thetime this will be published, Iwill have raised $65 000.This success is due to theapproach I have used andto the new Coffeehouse pol-icy. This new money willhelp pay for new equipment(like the new sound systemand a new television for thelounge); for more Speakers’Series (expert panels anddiscussions); for maintain-ing (and likely increasing)the human rights bursaries,and much more. In the nextfew months, interesting an-nouncements should bemade regarding sponsor-ship.

If you have any questions,don’t hesitate to contact meat vp-pr.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca

VP External – Erica Martin

My portfolio this year hasbeen a grab-bag of activi-ties, representing the LSAoutside of the faculty in dif-ferent capacities. I’ve metwith the reps of other lawfaculties at CADED, coordi-nated with the ConcordiaFine Art Students Associa-tions to secure art for theswanky new lounge, sent aletter of condolence to theDawson Student Union onbehalf of the LSA, invitedNGO’s to LSA events, coor-dinated meetings with theStudent Society of McGillUniversity (SSMU) to distrib-ute Clubs Funding, andmuch more. A big part ofmy portfolio is trying tokeep law students linked up

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to the rest of McGill by pos-tering on various eventsaround the faculty, sendingopportunities for involve-ment on Notice, distributinginformation on lower cam-pus, and inviting McGillservices to the atrium totalk to law students. I amalso the Law Rep to SSMUcouncil (and I sit on the Ex-ternal Affairs committee). Iam always looking for feed-back on how best to repre-sent you! Let me know atvp-external.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca

VP Internal – Hilary Johnson

My major projects this yearhave been overseeing theOrientation Committee andmaking Coffeehouse happenevery week. The final Orien-tation Ball was the mostsuccessful yet, taking placeat the Montreal Museum ofFine Arts. So far we havehad many fun and success-ful Clubs coffeehouseswhere the variety of food,drink and activities has im-proved significantly over lastyear. Other upcomingevents include a loonie linefor Centraide and a Remem-brance Day ceremony. I amalways looking for volun-teers for coffeehouse; if youare interested in helpingout, email me at vp-inter-nal.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca

VP Clubs & Services– Stéphanie Bachand

En tant que VPClubs & Services, unegrande partie de mon tempsest consacrée aux clubs etautres groupes étudiants.Dès la première semaine decours, j’ai organisé unerencontre d’informationet d’échanges avec lesreprésentants des diversclubs. J’insiste sur le mot

échange : essentiellement,je suis là pour vous, alorsn’hésitez pas à me faireparvenir n’importe quellesuggestion, opinion,demande spéciale… Then Iorganized Club’s day onSeptember 13: more than30 clubs were there to pres-ent their projects and re-cruit new members, as wellas the CDO and some serv-ices from lower campus. Fortwo hours, the Atrium wasboiling with dynamism andenergy… Je me suis ensuiteoccupée de l’inscriptiondes clubs, en collectant lesformulaires, listes demembres et constitutions eten m’assurant que tousaient un statut « officiel ». Ily a présentement 34 clubset groupes étudiants dans laFaculté, sans compter ceuxqui sont encore au stade de« projet »… J’aimeraisremercier tous ceux quiinvestissent temps eténergie dans les diversclubs, et encourager tousles étudiants à profiter aumaximum de la vieétudiante à la faculté ens’impliquant dans un clubou autre groupe étudiant. Jevous invite à consultez lesite Internet du LSA pourmieux connaître les diversclubs et leurs responsables.Si vous voulez mettre surpied un club, il n’est pastrop tard – contactez-moi!

After registration was done,it was time to collect andanalyze funding requests forthe Clubs’ fund – the mainsource of funding for clubs.Through this fund, $11 000is allocated to LSA clubsduring the year, $5 000coming from the LSA and$6 000 from the SSMU. De-cisions are made by the Par-ity Committee, composed offour executive members ofboth students’ association.With so many interesting

projects and limited re-sources, decisions are noteasy to make. In total,around $18 000 (!) was re-quested by LSA clubs forthe first semester – we allo-cated around $7 000. As amatter of making decisionstransparent, I wrote everyclub a letter explaining whatthey got funding for, andmost importantly, on whichbasis decisions were made.J’ai aussi commencé àmettre sur pied une banquede sources de financementalternatives sur le siteInternet des clubs. Je vousencourage à la consulter, àl’utiliser et à me proposertoute autre source definancement que vousconnaissez. Il est importantde rendre l’information leplus accessible possible,pour s’assurer que tous lesprojets que vous avezpuissent être réalisés.

I also sit on the Dean’s Dis-cretionary Fund committee,which is composed of twoLSA executive members andtwo LSA council members.The DDF seeks to supportboth individual students andgroups of students who un-dertake the organization ofan event or activity for thebenefit of the McGill Lawcommunity. Applications areanalyzed on a rolling basis –I encourage you to apply atany time if you plan on or-ganizing an event! Projectsfunded so far this year in-clude: Disorientation Hand-book, John Humphrey’sWorkshop series and RacialProfiling Conference.

Je m’occupe aussid’assigner les coffeehousesdes clubs et je suis à leurdisposition pourl’organisation et la tenue deleur coffeehouse – uneoccasion par laquelle ilspeuvent non seulement

amasser des fonds, maisaussi faire connaître leursactivités aux membres de laFaculté. Jusqu’à maintenant,les coffeehouses des clubsont été un réel succès : denombreux étudiants etprofesseurs ont pu profiterde ce moment pouréchanger, rire et mieux seconnaître dans uneambiance des plusagréables – musique,boissons spéciales,nourriture et autres activités(limbo, twister, jeux, tirages,etc.) étaient au rendez-vous. Merci au HumanRights Working Group, BlackLaw Students Association etMcGill Health Law Publica-tion! J’ai aussi aidé àl’organisation ducoffeehouse tenu par leCentre de développementprofessionnel et le McGillLaw Young AlumniAssociation la semainedernière, qui fut lui aussi unsuccès. Pour connaître leshôtes des prochainscoffeehouses, je vous inviteà consultez le calendrier desévénements de la Faculté.

Other day to day tasks in-clude keeping in touch withclub representatives and thestudent body in general. Iassist students in startingnew clubs or finding onethat fits their interests. Imake sure the clubs’ web-site is up-to-date. I meetwith clubs representativesto discuss funding issues orother issues. I do my bestto assist them – if necessary– to organize any project. Jecrois aussi qu’il estimportant d’accorder auxclubs la place qui leurrevient en leur offrant decollaborer avec l’AÉD pour lamise sur pied de diversprojets. Un exemple?Plusieurs étudiants étantconcernés par la quantité detasses jetables gaspillées,

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l’AÉD a demandé àEnvironmental Law McGillde négocier avec Pino pourque les personnes ayantleur propre tasse aient unrabais. Quelques jours plustard, cette mesure était enplace : amenez votre propretasse et obtenez 0,10$ derabais! Cet exempledémontre que lacollaboration entre l’AÉD etles clubs peut être efficaceet bénéfique pourl’ensemble des étudiants…et notre environnement!

Another project that haskept me very busy duringthe first weeks of school isthe Bogenda. It is (finally)ready! Come pick it up atthe LSA office, along withyour personalized CopyNova member card (for re-bates on photocopies, print-ings, etc.) and a rebatebook for various discountsin Montreal! Sorry for thelong wait – technical andprinting problems aside, itwas a lot of work! I spentmany hours in the firstweeks of school taking pic-tures, scanning pictures,formatting pictures, collect-ing contact info, putting to-gether information aboutclubs, services, LSA…andmore! Thanks to everyonewho helped out! The Bo-genda will soon be availableonline on the LSA website.

N’hésitez pas à mecontacter pour toutequestion, commentaire ousuggestion : vp-clubs.lsa@mcgill.ca �

“Abuses of authorityby a student soci-ety executive, in an

attempt to manipulate thecouncil and the voting pub-lic should not be tolerated.The purpose of a referen-dum is to solicit the will ofthe voters. If that will issomehow tainted by a bi-ased question or by proce-dural irregularities, then thelegitimacy of the referen-dum is called into question.”

So opens Joshua Krane’sapplication to the Students’Society of McGill University’sJudicial Board. Approachedin early October about analleged violation of theSSMU constitution and theircontractual obligations, Mr.Krane, Senior Advocate withStudent Advocacy haswaded through SSMU andFEUQ by-laws, old decisionsof the Judicial Board, theClarity Act, the SSMU Con-stitution, and principlesenunciated by ElectionsCanada in order to build hisargument.

As the L1 who brought thecase to Mr. Krane, I’ve hadthe opportunity to witnessfirst-hand some of the prin-ciples enunciated in classapplied to the world aroundus.

Starting with the SSMU con-stitution, I’ve seen howwe’re asking the JudicialBoard to “read-in” the con-cept of neutrality to theSSMU constitution’s articleon referenda questions,which only textually de-mands clarity and precision.In asking a clause to beread-in we’re essentially

saying that the word has al-ways been there. Inessence, a neutral questionposed by a quasi-legislativebody is part of the principlesof fundamental democracythat such a body has amandate to follow. Justthink, is a referendum ques-tion valid if it’s based uponargumentation rather thanfact? Should a representa-tive body be able to swayvoters in a referendumquestion, or should they berequired to campaign on anissue, rather than havequestions framed to carrytheir point for them?

A second interesting issueto arise from this case isthat of a relational contractbetween the two parties atquestion in the referenda,the SSMU and the Fédéra-tion étudiante universitairedu Québec. I’ve learnedthat the contract is not sim-ply a piece of paper, butrather a legal relationshipthat exists between twoparties, the “paper contract”is simply evidence of its ex-istence. In this relationship,SSMU has been paying amembership fee to theFEUQ for 5 years in ex-change for successful lobby-ing efforts (improvementsto student aid, internationalstudents off campus workopportunities, investment inyouth projects) towards theprovincial and federal gov-ernments. In FEUQ’s by-laws, there are notice andprocedural requirements forending the contractual rela-tionship, but SSMU hasfailed to follow those, think-ing it only has to follow its

own electoral bylaws (whichI allege it hasn’t). Mr. Kraneadvocates that the FEUQand SSMU bylaws must beread to be overlapping (asthey do not contradictthemselves), and that SSMUhas an obligation to followits contractual obligations asoutlined in the FEUQ by-laws.

This case will be going for-ward to a judicial board; assoon as one is appointed.While a J-board should beappointed by an outgoingSSMU executive, that hasn’toccurred. This allows SSMUto appoint its own justicesto hear this specific case!While most McGill law stu-dents probably believe inprinciples of fundamentaljustice and that law is intan-gible, SSMU could attemptto appoint justices who be-lieve in more of a textual in-terpretation of aconstitution and a disregardfor unwritten contracts.

SSMU should hopefully beappointing a J-board to hearthis case soon. Students in-terested in seeing law inter-preted at the universitystudent governance levelshould come by and watchthe proceedings unfold. I’lllet students know on Noticeas soon as a date’s beenfound. Those interested invoicing their disapprovalwith SSMU on this issueshould vote online startingFriday Nov 3 at www.elec-tionsmcgill.ca/vote. �

REFERENDUM RUSE?Back to the Board for SSMUby Eric van Eyken (Law I)

ERRATUM: In last week'sedition, Angus MacLeanRennie (Law I) was not

properly credited for his ar-ticle on the Court Chal-

lenges Program. So here itis, people. The Mystery ofthe Anonymous Writer is

solved at last!

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THE SUNSHINE ARTICLEby Alison Glaser (Law II)

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Well geez I am tired.I handed in mylegal meth on

Wednesday, my civil law obspaper on Friday. And now Iam done. Except that I kindof ignored my other sub-jects this week. You knowwhat I could really use? Aweek off!!!!

Yes people, today’s sun-shine article is a rant on ourlack of a midterm break inthe first semester. This is fu-eled by two things: first, Isit on the Committee onStudent Affairs which hasthe mandate to approve thecalendar of dates. The otherday at the meeting I sug-gested that we begin tolook at the reasons behindwhy our school year is setup the way it is. This gotme a lot of flack from therest of the committee. Sec-ondly, Bishop’s Universityjust got a midterm break inthe fall. U de M also has amidterm break. I find thissucky (for us obviously).

Here are the reasons whyour school year is the way itis:

We must have a 13-weeksemester and each course issupposed to have 39 hoursof contact time. Since inregular McGill almost allcourses are worth 3 credits,and all courses have onehour of teaching time percredit, then most coursesmeet 3 times a week forthirteen weeks. Also, regu-lar McGill is set up so thatyou either have a course forone hour every Monday-Wednesday-Friday or for anhour and a half every Tues-

day-Thursday. Then, wemust have 12 weekdaysavailable for the examina-tion period, and exams canonly take place at 9 am orat 2 pm (i.e.: there is nopossibility of night exams).In the winter semester,exams must end before May1st as the University doesnot want students to haveto pay for another month’srent. Finally, all statutoryholidays must be taken off.These things are all non-ne-gotiable.

In making the schedule, therules are as follows:

We start after Labour Day.We have one day betweenexams and the last day ofclasses. We finish by the22nd of December, and startup after the 2nd of January.However, these things onlycome into effect if they canbe implemented without af-fecting the other priorities.Thus, if in order to get theappropriate number of Mon-day-Wednesday-Fridayclasses we need to start be-fore Labour Day or on Janu-ary 2nd. That is ok! If weneed more days, thenexams can last until Decem-ber 23rd! This is obviouslyvery troubling, especially tothose who generally goaway somewhere during theWinter Break.

How do I know this, youask? Back in 2003 I workedfor the Dean of Students’office. One of my jobs wasto create the calendar ofdates until the year 2011,and so of course I had toknow what the prioritieswere. Incidentally, I was the

one who suggested thewhole Tuesday turning intoMonday thing. Now I knowthat everyone hates it – butto be fair, I actually sug-gested we do that on thelast day of the semester soit would be more optional.Regardless, the alternativewas beginning school beforeLabour Day or endingexams on Dec 23rd, and so Idecided that this was a bet-ter option.

Why am I telling you all ofthis? Because I think thatthe list of priorities hassome fundamental flaws.Consider this story my Zai-die tells: he once visited awelding factory. When hewas there he noticed thatthere were 5 people whohad to be there to do somejob that clearly only 4needed to do. He askedthem why they needed 5people and they said“dunno, it says so in regula-tions”. So he went to theboss and he said the samething “says so in regula-tions”. To cut down a verylong story, they finally dis-covered the reason was thatthe fifth guy was there tohold the horse so that itwouldn’t bolt. So the pointof this silly story is to makean analogy. I strongly sus-pect that the reason wehave these priorities is that“it says so in regulations”.

I think it is time that we re-examined these priorities,and perhaps include amongthem a break of some kindin the fall. Perhaps extendthe Thanksgiving break by aday or so. I believe that thiswould be good for student’s

mental health. The breakcould be a good chance torecharge the batteries,catch up on some work, andget mentally and physicallyready for the upcomingexam push.

Ok, end of rant. Next week:more sunshine. �

PORTES OUVERTESMcCarthy Tétrault

mercredi 15 novembre17h à 19h

Venez découvrir l'environnement de travaildu cabinet McCarthy

Tétrault et rencontrer sesavocats, stagiaires et

étudiants

Bouchées et rafraîchisse-ments seront servis.

Inscriptions au Centre dedéveloppement professionnel.

OPEN HOUSEMcCarthy Tétrault

Wednesday November15th, 5pm to 7pm

Discover the McCarthyTétrault work environment

Meet lawyers, stagiairesand students in an infor-

mal setting.

Appetizers and beverageswill be served.

Registration at the CareerDevelopment Office.

WE ARE THE VERY MODEL OF

A TRANSSYTEMIC FACULTYby Francie Gow (Law III)

31 octobre, 2006

9

This song was first performed at Skit Nite 2006. The lyrics are being published in response to requests from students whoheard it at the Halloween Coffeehouse without the benefit of the PowerPoint presentation (it goes a little fast).

To the melody of “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” from Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

We are the very model of a transsystemic facultyWe’re told that it’s an education of the highest quality

We know the Lords of England and can quote judgments historicalWe know each section of the Code in order categorical

Although we’re not entirely sure what’s meant by transsystemiaOur Dean assures us it’s the latest trend in academia

Though profs who can define the word are something of a rarityThey pepper our exams with it to build up our dexterity

We’ve managed to cook up a stew of dazzling complexityOur poor first years are in a state of permanent perplexity

Instead of simply owning up to our split personalityWe call ourselves “the model of a transsystemic faculty”

But if we want to get our B’s we’ll have to learn to play alongWe really must defend our school through thick and thin, through right and wrong

As long as we are proud of it no one will be the wiserWe’ll banish all who dare suggest that it’s bull... fertilizer

And if you think it won’t catch on, I tell you friend, you’d best look outOur brilliant profs are busy churning transsystemic textbooks outSoon word will spread around the globe about our new material

(I hear we’re going to advertise it on a box of cereal…)

All jurists spend their lives in the pursuit of the veridical McGill grads know the only path to truth is bijuridicalAnd if you don’t believe me you’d be better off at U of TWe’re proud to be the model of a transsystemic faculty

A RIDDLE TO PONDER: “CALL MY NAME AND IBREAK. WHAT’S MY NAME?”

QUID NOVI

10

REVOLT IS DEAD / LONG LIVETHOUGHTFUL DEBATE!by Alex Herman (Law I)

OCTOBER 31, 2006

11

If it should happen that themen of some one periodwere agreed upon any suchrules, that would provenothing for the following pe-riod; for among democraticnations each new genera-tion is a new people.

Alexis de Tocqueville

In reading Mr. Plessis’sarticle from last week, Iwas taken by his ac-

count of the discussion weboth attended upon thestate of the Canadianmonarchy. The meetingbegan with an informal in-troduction by none otherthan the former archdeaconof Montreal, a card-carrying(and tie-wearing) memberof the Monarchist League ofCanada. The venerableman, who read from notesscribbled on the back of atorn envelope, spoke indeep tones, recalling attimes the Gospel of John, attimes Charlton Heston.What could be expectedfrom the Quebec branch ofan organization whose pam-phlets sport a sparklingimage of Harry, Prince ofWales, and whose websiteoffers a send-away model ofthe Queen’s very own reddispatch boxes?

Mr. Plessis’s article aptlyconveyed the collective sen-timents of the fifteen stu-dents in the room, halfwaybetween deference and in-difference. The archdeaconwas certainly from another

era (one of grandparentspicking up Prime Ministersfrom train stations andjudges flirting with youngwomen in court rooms) andwe all felt that era safely re-moved from our own. If wefailed to criticize his histori-cal references, ranging fromthe Whitlam crisis in Aus-tralia to King Beaudouin ofBelgium abdicating fortwenty-four hours so thatan abortion bill could bepassed, it was perhaps be-cause we knew far less onthe topic. Perhaps becausehe reminded us of ourgrandfathers.

But was he a mere noveltycharacter from some sort ofregal cabinet of curiosities?The distance in age andmindset between his gener-ation and our own was sovast even the most opinion-ated among us refused tooffer him more than timidquestions. We all sat, mo-tionless on the woodenchairs of Thomson House,and pretended he was acharacter in a play. We likelythought along the lines ofde Tocqueville, whether weknew it or not. But is it rightto be quiet and let an insti-tution so removed from ourdaily lives continue its exis-tence unchallenged?

Earlier generations wouldhave revolted. They wouldhave burned flags, stormedpalaces and destroyed theidols. Taking to the streets,whether in Paris, Montreal

or Berkeley, they wouldmarch for a cause theywere stubborn enough tobelieve in. Would the lawstudents have joined them?Probably, after considerabledebate among their ranks,they would have thrown intheir lot with the masses.But not us. Not today. Now,while vestiges of the monar-chy live on, unrepresenta-tive to the people of thiscountry, incurring costs of$35 million a year for theupkeep of Rideau Hall andtrips to the tundra taken bythe Lieutenant Governor ofManitoba, we prefer to bepolite in our questioning,analytical in our reasoningand docile in our reaction. �

Je fixe un mot que je necomprends pas, assisparmi les tuiles jaunes à

l’odeur d’hôpital. Mais montextbook ne me protège pas.Le coin de mon oeil voitl’homme qui attend.Immobile et si près de moi,un mur nous sépare.Incommunicabilité de lapauvreté. Un autre parle etje n’arrive qu’à écouter,l’oreille tendue, commecaché parce que n’osant laregarder, la Souffrance. Lesmanteaux d’hiver froissent etles néons remplissent l’air.Une demi-heure refuse des’écouler. Je fais semblant delire, de préparer unlendemain, alors que lui estavachi dans les marches,avec ses bottes et sa tuque.Comme une plante, commeun humain, il attend dans unprésent diffus.

Dehors, il fait froid et je medemande où se sont réveilléstous ces gens à l’écart dutemps. Adossé au pied dumur, sur le sol puant, je medemande : Vont-ils m’étriper,avec leurs visages si laids ?Ils auraient bien raison deme la partager, cette solitudequi les rassemble ici, nullepart, si tôt. Pour quelquessandwichs, me voici au cœurde la Cité Interdite, devantun spectacle que nul ne doitvoir, devant un mal indicible.Des humains conversententre eux dans une cuisinecommunautaire et je perdspied. Mon cœur se débat, jecède, je renie l’humanité : jesuis le plus vil.

Je remonte vers la lumière etm’enfuis. Sans avoir su leurparler. �

MULTICAFby ChristopherCampbell-Duruflé(Law II)

LAW

LIMERICK VIIby Francie Gow

(Law III)

Scary movies canhelp you rememberThe terms you willneed in DecemberThere's no need to

studyJust rent something

bloodyAnd learn to disgorge

and dismember

Throughout his careerRobert Bourassa wasthe subject of contes-

tation and even today, 10years after his death, thereis strong public oppositionover the naming of thecommercial street “Park Av-enue”, in Montreal - “RobertBourassa Avenue.”

The opposition is under-standable, because RobertBourassa never had thecharisma of Pierre ElliottTrudeau or René Lévesquebut on close inspection,Bourassa was an intriguingpersonality – a very stillwater running very deep.He graduated first in law in1956 from the University ofMontreal, yet he madenothing of his legal training.He was completely devoidof vanity, but completelydedicated to politics. Hehad a full-time barber be-cause, while having his hair-cut at the Ritz Hotel, he hadonce been criticized for theway his hair had looked onTV the evening before. Hehired the barber’s assistanton the spot. The assistant,who was a ju jitsu expert,also acted as a bodyguardand file clerk.

Bourassa had a chauffeur,as well, because he neverlearned to drive, and be-cause he believed, in anyevent, that driving was awaste of time. He lived inthe old Imperial Hotel inQuebec City when firstelected as an MNA in 1966and continued on when hebecame Premier of Quebecin 1970. The rate was$8.00 per night and he onlymoved out during the Octo-

ber Crisis of 1970 when theSûreté du Québec, whowere guarding him, refusedto live in the hotel, becauseit was far beneath their dig-nity and the scale grantedthem, under their collectiveagreement.

It will be remembered thatBourassa won the nomina-tion for leadership of theQuebec Liberal Party in1970 against Pierre Laporteand Claude Wagner. PierreLaporte came on to thestage after the vote, shookhands with Bourassa andpromised his support. Wag-ner, who was extremely im-perious, neither came onthe stage, nor promisedsupport, but next week ameeting was arranged atBourassa’s hotel room.Wagner had posed as thepoor boy, the servant of thepeople, but he was thunder-struck when he sawBourassa’s hotel room witha bed, one chair, a sink anda small bathroom.

Wagner had the choice ofthe bed or the chair to siton. There was no reconcili-ation of the two leaders andafterward Bourassa told methe story privately, but suchstories never came out fromhim publicly. He was a pri-vate person and respectedthe privacy even of his op-ponents.

Trudeau once describedBourassa as “un mangeurde hot dogs”. It is trueBourassa could eat five hotdogs for lunch, but in theevening he dined with staff,colleagues and friends atabout 11:00 p.m. in the

Café d’Europe, which hadthe finest cuisine and wines.He was also a very gener-ous host and each year heand his wife had the wholecaucus to a dinner dance ina private country hotel athis expense.

Bourassa had little wealth ofhis own and had actuallybeen born and brought upin his working class, Mon-treal East-end riding. In hisdesire for transparencyBourassa had decided tohave all ministers declaretheir assets in detail and toput those assets above acertain value in trust, inorder to avoid any conflictof interest. We were thefirst government in Canada,either provincial or federal,to adopt such a law andPeter Lougheed, the Pre-mier of Alberta, telephonedme to complain. I hadknown Peter in the practiceof law and he said, “Bill,can’t you get Bourassa towater it down?” ButBourassa went ahead any-way. One minister owned ashopping centre and othershad large accumulations ofstocks and bonds, butBourassa was under thelimit even to declare, to theamazement and dismay ofthe Parti Québécois.

Bourassa had great politicalsense, but he could bewrong like all of us. Webrought down the languagelaw – Bill 22 – in 1974 andit properly promoted bilin-gualism. At about 11:30 inthe evening of the day wehad deposited the Bill in thehouse, I met Bourassa walk-ing in the garden of the Na-tional Assembly. I wastroubled by the fact that wehad put both language andeducation in the same bill.The 11:00 p.m. TV Newshad been terribly critical

and both the anglophonesand the Parti Québécoiswere against us, butBourassa was ecstatic. Hesaid: “Bill, vous voyez, nousavons les deux côtés contrenous. Nous allons passerentre les deux.” But we didnot pass through the mid-dle. We were squashed likeham in a sandwich in thenext election in 1976.

Bill 22 protected the Frenchlanguage, while leaving aplace for the English lan-guage in Quebec, but it washated by the Parti Québé-cois because it was a ra-tional compromise of thetwo confrontational lan-guage groups in Quebec.Bill 22 was also misunder-stood by the Anglo Quebecpopulation. Even the edu-cation provisions were moregenerous to allophones thanthe education provisions ofTrudeau’s Charter of Rightsof 1982. But to this day, Ican’t explain it to anyone,and the two parts of thepopulation are very con-frontational over a moreradical law – Bill 101.

Despite the language de-bate, which divided the rid-ing of NDG, my sticking tomy position was appreci-ated, so that in three elec-tions I never lost a poll andnever got less than 79% ofthe vote. More than 80% ofthe electorate voted and onone occasion 87% votedand I got 87% of that vote.Mind you NDG at that timewas like the deep South ofthe US of forty years ago,solidly Liberal. The ridingwas lost in 1989 when thecandidate vacillated. Vacil-lation is not appreciated inpolitics and was not appre-ciated by either side inNDG. �

QUID NOVI

ROBERT BOURASSAby William Tetley QC, Professor

12

13

LES AVENTURES DU CAPITAINECORPORATE AMERICA:

«Les cauchemars du Capitaine»by Laurence Bich-Carrière (Law III)

OCTOBER 31, 2006

WINE TASTINGMercredi 1er novembre à 19h30

Thomson House basement (restaurant)

15$ pour les membres, 20$ pour les autres

RSVP : vino.mcgill@gmail.com

Prix Gulrajani-Casullo du meilleur rapport qualité-prixAwarded at the October 11th tasting

Jacob’s Creek Shiraz 2003Barossa Valley, South Australia, SAQ price: $20

14

Voltaire once quippedthat the Holy RomanEmpire was neither

holy nor Roman nor an em-pire. Of course, anyone onthis side of the Atlantic andin my age demographicdoes not attribute such wit-ticisms to Voltaire but ratherMike Myers’ musings in Cof-fee Talk with Linda Richmanon Saturday Night Live. IfMyers was still with SNL,this week’s ‘discuss amongstyourselves’ topic could eas-ily have been: “Canada’sClean Air Act is neitherCanada’s, nor Clean, nor anAct. Discuss.”

On October 19, 2006, theConservative governmenttabled Bill C-30, akaCanada’s Clean Air Act, andissued a Notice of Intent toDevelop and ImplementRegulations and OtherMeasures to Reduce AirEmissions. In a nutshell,they propose to: Regulate fuel consumptionin vehicles from the 2011model year onwards; Impose new or stricter reg-ulations on 30 residential orcommercial products (likedishwashers and broilers);andDevelop short-term (2010-2015) intensity-based tar-gets and long-term (2050)targets of 45-65% below a2003 baseline.

‘Nutshell,’ unfortunately,being the operative word –for a problem that will touch

every facet of Canadian life,I cannot believe that’s allshe wrote!

Not Canada’s…As this is not a subject mat-ter covered in Wills and Es-tates, I will assume thatmany of you may not havecome across the ‘intensity-based’ target approach be-fore. Greenhouse gas(GHG) intensity is the ratiobetween a country’s GHGemissions to its GDP – es-sentially it measures eco-nomic efficiency. Having anintensity-based target is es-sentially like saying thatyou’ll surf the net less inclass rather than actuallylistening more.

The approach was madepopular by President Bushwhen he pulled out of theKyoto Protocol in 2001.Bush’s alternative plan todeal with climate changewould yield a reduction of18% in GHG intensity by2012. Any good lawyer indiscovery would, of course,find that the US GHG inten-sity had naturally fallen by16% from 1990 to 2000, atrend expected to continue.Bush’s target would there-fore only minimal reducethe growth in absoluteemissions. Canada’s eco-nomic efficiency has alsorisen resulting in a 14%drop in GHG intensity from1990 to 2004. I don’t haveany projections on trends ofGHG intensity for the future

– but I bet I know whodoes. Watch this spacenext spring, when the tar-gets are expected to be re-leased – I bet there will besome interesting math…

Nor Clean…I will have long retired frommy *brilliant* legal career,before the first real targetcomes into effect 44 yearsfrom now. At first glance,the 45-65% targets mayseem close to the 60 to80% reductions scientistsbelieve are necessary toavoid dangerous climatechange, yet the Governmenthasn’t come clean here ei-ther. Their targets use a2003 baseline, while the in-ternational community uses1990 as theirs. In the inter-stitial Canada’s emissionshave risen by 24%. I un-derstand the petty partisandesire to do away with pre-vious government policies,but GHG emissions are likesome rights – they are ab-solute and have got to bedealt with.

Nor an Act….All the proposed plans arejust that – proposals. Theyare intentions that the gov-ernment is thinking of regu-lating. Bill C-30 seeks toamend a bunch of Acts intoone big one. Seeing as allopposition parties have con-demned the Bill and insteadsupport Bill C-288 (a privatemembers’ Bill calling for theImplementation of the

Kyoto Protocol), C-30 is un-likely to get past a secondreading.

The funny, or sad, thing is –we already have an Act –the Canadian EnvironmentalProtection Act. Last yearGHGs were added to the listof toxic substances (Sched-ule 1), which the Ministercan regulate under section93. Therefore, there is noneed to go through exten-sive public consultationsand a lengthy legislativeprocess, we can regulatenow! While doing indirectlywhat you can’t do directly inconstitutional law is inter-esting; redoing directly whatyou can already do directlyin environmental law is fu-tile…

Being crowned by the Popedoesn’t make you holy andintroducing a useless pieceof legislation doesn’t countas action. Germans can’tpretend to be Romans andHarper can’t pretend he isdoing something. Canadi-ans deserve more than a re-ally bad joke when it comesto action on climate change.�

Claire Stockwell is a co-co-ordinator of the Environ-mental Law McGill, afounding member of theCanadian Youth ClimateCoalition and sleeps with acopy of Kyoto Protocolunder her pillow.www.ourclimate.ca

WHAT THE HOLY ROMAN EM-PIRE AND CANADA’S CLEANAIR ACT HAVE IN COMMON….by Claire Stockwell (Law II )

QUID NOVI

15

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

hardDaily Sudoku: Sat 28-Oct-2006

(c)

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udok

u Lt

d 20

06.

All

right

s re

serv

ed.

4 9 6

2 6 8

8 5 7

1 9

2 9 3 1

4 2

6 3 1

9 1 8

4 5 6

SUDOKU: ‘CAUSE WHAT ELSE ARE YA

GONNA DO IN CLASS?October 28th, 2006 Puzzle from www.dailysudoku.com

OCTOBER 31, 2006

16

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