Journal des étudia nt-e-s

en droit de l’université M cGill

McGill Law’s

Weekly Student Newspaper

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WHAT’S INSIDE? QUEL EST LE CONTENU?

WANT TO TALK?

TU VEUX T’EXPRIMER?

ÉDITO 3HAS LIBERALISM `FAILED`? 4WHAT IS A UNIVERSITY? 5OPEN LETTER TO THE LSA ON THE MUNACA STRIKE 6PUBLIC INTEREST CAREER DAY 6HELLO FROM THE PICKET LINES 7STRIKE UPDATE 8A PUB DIVIDED 9CRIME_08 10THE JOY OF BEING ALONE 11ETHICAL OIL OR DISASTROUS ENVIRONMENT POLICY? 12A MESSAGE FROM YOUR 1L CLASS PRESIDENTS 14A MESSAGE FROM YOUR VP ACADEMIC 15LE HOBO 16LAW LIBRARY NEWS 17UNE MONARCHIE MUNICIPALE AU QUEBEC 18LE VIADUC ROUEN ET UNE BALLADE DANS CENTRE-SUD 19HELLO FROM THE 4TH FLOOR 20UN/SOLICITED ADVICE 22OVERHEARD AT THE FAC 23

QUID NOVI

3661 Peel Street Montreal, Quebec H2A 1X1

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EDITORS IN CHIEFAmanda PetrakisHélia TaheriThomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen

ASSOCIATE REVIEWERSKatherine AbarcaAlexandra Belley-McKinnonIvana CescuttiEliza CohenKelly CohenGiselle DavidianKai Shan HeAlexandra LazarAngèle Périllat-AmédéeCatherine HamillGolnaz NayerahmadiAnh Thang NguyenJames NowlanLaura ScheimDaniel Tsarevsky

LAYOUT EDITORSKatherine AbarcaJérémy Boulanger-BonnellyNicholas ChoinièreRodrigo A. GarciaKai Shan HeMaxime PuteauxGabriel Rochette

STAFF WRITERSLudovic BourdagesDavid GrovesLee McMillanAlexandre MichaudAustin del RioMichael Shortt

CARTOONISTAndrew Baker

Envoyez vos commentaires ou articles avantjeudi 17h a l’adresse : quid.law@mcgill.ca

Toute contribution doit indiquer le nom del’auteur, son année d’étude ainsi qu’un titrepour l’article. L’article ne sera publiee qu’a ladiscretion du comite de redaction, qui

basera sa decision sur la politique de redaction.

Contributions should preferably be submitted asa .doc attachment (and not, for instance, a“.docx.”).

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 2011 Quid Novi.Les opinions exprimees sont propres aux auteurs et ne refletent pas necessairement celles de l’equipe du Quid Novi. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the McGill LawStudents’ Association or of McGill University.

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J o u r n a l d e s é t u d i a n t - e - s

e n d r o i t d e l ’u n i v e r s i t é M c G i l l

M c G i l l L a w ’s W e e k l y S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r

RENARD

É D I T O

QN •OCTOBER 4 2011 • 3

HÉLIATAHERI

C o - E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f

Découragée, sachant que je n’allais paschoisir la littérature française à la place dudroit, ma professeure de littérature m’ademandé de lui faire une promesse : «Promets-moi que tu ne vas pas laisser ledroit capturer ton esprit vagabond! », «Jamais, jamais; je ne pourrais plus me re-garder sinon. » One year of law schooland I think I have kept my promise; monesprit est toujours aussi rebelle. Cette pe-tite anecdote avait pour but de justifier cequi va suivre : words, written one afterthe other without any particular order, wi-thout any purpose, without any attemptwhatsoever to prove anything. Justthoughts, spitted out by a senseless soul.The following does not deserve to be cal-led an editorial; be aware!

Décidément, je suis incapable d’écriresans raconter une histoire! C’était unejournée orageuse et la jeune fille de monhistoire ne regrettait pas d’avoir préféréles souterrains du métro à la baignoirequ’était devenu le trottoir. Quelques mi-nutes plus tard, elle n’était plus si fière deson choix. C’est en voyant une autre jeunefille, à peu près de son âge, écroulée parterre, complètement abattue, en train depleurer qu’elle se rappela l’ampleur decertaines décisions qui paraissent banalesà première vue.

L’image était pénible à voir; les larmespatinaient sur le visage massacré de lafille, et pourtant, ce qui bouleversa le plusla jeune fille de mon histoire était la vuedes troupeaux de gens qui passaient à

côté d’elle, sans jeter un coup d’œil, sansse retourner la tête. Elle réfléchit. C’esttrop dur de voir, alors on ferme les yeux?Où en sommes-nous? Que sommes-nousdevenus? Nous vivons dans notre petitebulle sans nous faire de souci pour les au-tres. Nous ne voyons pas plus loin que lebout de notre nez. Certains parlent del’actualité, s’impliquent, font du bénévo-lat, veulent faire une différence. Et pour-tant, arrivé cinq heures de l’après-midi,dans le métro, ce troupeau ne pensaitqu’à rentrer chez soi, qu’à aller prendreune bière avec des amis. L’éclair frappa lajeune fille de mon histoire pour unedeuxième fois. Ami, ça veut dire quoi? Lesdictionnaires ne l’ont jamais convaincue;ils manquent de sensibilité, de vivacité; ilséteignent la flamme qu’est l’amitié. An-toine de Saint-Exupéry a fait un davantagemeilleur travail : « Je ne suis pour toiqu’un renard semblable à cent mille re-nards. Mais si tu m’apprivoises, nous au-rons besoin l’un de l’autre. Tu seras pourmoi unique au monde. Je serai pour toiunique au monde. » « Je suis un renard,pour combien de personnes? », pensa lajeune fille de mon histoire. Je suis un re-nard aux yeux de qui? Ai-je le privilèged’être un renard unique? Aux yeux decombien de personnes? Ai-je des amis?Après tout, « les hommes n’ont plus letemps de rien connaître, les hommesn’ont plus d’amis. » Then why does Face-book tell me that I have 400 friends?Friend, friend, friend, by dint of repeatingit, the word loses its meaning. It has lostits meaning. There is a very thick line bet-

ween a friend and an acquaintance; doyou remember? Friend, a single soul inha-biting two bodies ; Friend, a walk besideyou ; Friend, a talk in silence; Friend, nowords but meanings; Friend, a thought;Friend, a smile; Friend, a look; Friend, afight; Friend truth. La jeune fille de monhistoire savait que si le troupeau enten-dait ses pensées, il éclaterait de rire; etelle ne comprenait pas pourquoi. Elle re-garda le troupeau, « Tu as besoin des amispour vivre, c’est une partie de ta vie, et situ n’en possèdes pas, et bien je suis sale-ment désolée pour toi. » S’assoyant à côtéde la fille écroulée par terre, elle pensa.Une partie de la vie est dépourvue dusens si on n’a pas des amis. Le mot neveut plus rien dire; Saint-Exupéry devraitse retourner dans sa tombe. Certains ap-pellent ça l’évolution de la langue, moij’appelle ça l’hécatombe de la langue, dusens le plus profond des mots. The littlegirl of my story started to cry. Words have lost their meaning; we don’tthink about them anymore, we don’t care.She looked at the girl on the floor andwondered how. And she kept thinking,why? Why do we call anyone our friend?How can people so easily let go of thosethey call their friends; how superficial;how fake. How can they not care? C’esttriste de découvrir que tu n’es qu’un re-nard parmi d'autres pour les gens. Que tuas été apprivoisée par ceux qui ignorentce qu’est apprivoiser, par ceux qui ont ou-blié le sens des mots. Elle fixa le troupeau.Et vous, combien de personnes avez-vousréellement apprivoisées?

4 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

DAVID

GROVES

L a w I

HAS LIBERALISM ‘FAILED’?

On September 14, in an online conversa-tion with fellow writer Gail Collins on theObama administration, New York Timesconservative columnist David Brooks an-nounced that, in light of White House’scurrent troubles, he was happy to nolonger be on the left. He wrote, “For 50years liberals have dominated Hollywood,the media, the universities, publishingand every mode of communication withthe possible exception of talk radio andTed Nugent concerts,” but have failed in“get[ting] the country to think more likethem.” Continuing on, Brooks stated thatliberals who blame Obama’s current prob-lems on a lack of loyalty to progressiveideals fail to note that America doesn’twant those ideals at all.

As pundits go, Brooks has long been aWhite House favourite, and they oftenturn to him and his columns for advice. In-deed, after making his criticism known, hewas contacted by four different membersof the administration to rebut his claimthat Obama’s current jobs bill is an un-popular, ideological mess. In their re-sponse, they argued for the pragmaticcharacter of both the bill and its associ-ated deficit-reduction plan, maintainingthat they were not “engaged in an ideo-logical project to overturn the ReaganRevolution”.

Now, I don’t want to use this columnspace to get into a discussion of Obamaand progressive disappointment. Nor do Iwant to tackle the general silliness ofBrooks’ argument that liberals have beenusing mainstream culture to force theirperverted views on poor America. But I dowant to take issue with Brooks’ characteri-zation of the “failure” of liberalism overthe last 50 years, because it’s clear thathis opinion has a huge effect on WhiteHouse strategy. Obama’s recent legislativepush, as well as the arguments he madefor health care and financial reform, seem

to accept implicitly that Brooks is right,that Americans don’t like progressive poli-tics, and that the only way to sell a bill isto refuse, as much as possible, the ideathat liberalism played any role in its devel-opment.

The problem is that Brooks is ignoring theinteraction between political movements,especially progressive ones, and commu-nities. The central goal of a political move-ment is to persuade broader society thatits ideological positions should be ac-cepted and acted upon. When they suc-ceed, their ideological positions disappearfrom public debate; they become ‘com-mon sense’. In short, the difference be-tween ideological positions and ‘commonsense’ positions is the degree to whichthey are accepted. Common sense posi-tions, such as the view that the govern-ment should provide some form ofprotection against illness or workplace in-jury, were once ideological positions, evenunpopular ones. It took decades of per-suasion and argumentation to move theseideas from the ‘progressive’ column to the‘that’s just a good idea’ column. In an-other example, the belief that homosexu-ality should not be considered a crime isso broadly agreed upon as ‘commonsense’ in modern Canada that it is nolonger a subject of serious debate. How-ever, until 1969, that belief was a politi-cally progressive one, which meant therewas a sizable, perhaps even majoritarian,opposition to it.

By saying that liberalism ‘has failed’ overthe last 50 years, Brooks is asking us tobelieve that progressive politics have hadabsolutely no effect on the content ofmodern common sense. This can becleared up with a quick thought experi-ment. Think about North America in 1961.Now compare that with North America in2011. Ta-da! Environmental protection,nuclear non-proliferation, the expansion

of civil rights and equality: these are allpolicy spheres with their roots in progres-sive thought. Over the last 50 years, thesevalues and others, have moved from theleft-wing to the mainstream. While we’restill fighting to expand and strengthensome of these fields, broader society hasaccepted their inherent value. To arguethat liberals have failed to persuade sug-gests that they’re still arguing for thesame things. To the contrary, the progres-sive movement has evolved in light ofprior successes, developing some ideasand picking up new ones. Why re-fight oldvictories?

Beyond that, though, Brooks is judgingconservatism and liberalism in a way thatseems to inherently favour his perspec-tive. Conservatism, especially his brand, isthe defense of a status quo; it’s alwaysgoing to start from a more widely ac-cepted position. Progressivism is a chal-lenge to the status quo; it’s a persuasiveattack; it’s an advance. It will almost al-ways look weak and out-of-favour, be-cause anytime any of its policies are infavour they stop being issues to fight for.A more realistic way to assess the successof liberalism, in America and Canada, is tolook at change, in public policy and publicopinion, over time. Are we closer now asa society to the ideals that progressivismseeks than we were before? Now, obvi-ously I can’t make the claim that we are inevery way – both the American and Cana-dian tax codes are less progressive thanthey have been, efforts to deal with cli-mate change meaningfully have gonenowhere, drug policy on both sides of theborder remains confused and tragic – butthe opposite claim, that liberalism has“failed”, can’t be made either. In otherwords, the rumours of liberalism’s deathhave been greatly exaggerated. Let’s justhope Obama gets the memo.

WHAT IS A UNIVERSITY? SOME

THOUGHTS ON THE INJUCTION

What is a university? Is it a place wherestudents come to learn and faculty cometo research, a place where knowledge isproduced and individuals are trained? Oris it more than this: an ideal, a communityfounded on and embodying the beliefthat the full and free exchange of ideashas some fundamental value? My rhetori-cal construction of this question allows foronly one answer, I admit. But I actuallywant you to consider the question: whatis a university? This is a question that hasbeen on my mind since the McGill admi-nistration sought and obtained an injunc-tion severely curtailing the ability ofstriking MUNACA workers to picket.

The university is a unique institution inour society, and fundamental to its uniqueidentity is a commitment to the search forknowledge. The character of this know-ledge may vary from department to de-partment, ranging from the practical tothe abstract to the arcane. But the com-mon thread animating the functioning ofthe otherwise unconnected disciplineshoused by a university is a commitment tothe open exchange of knowledge andideas. Exchange of ideas necessarily re-quires more than a cursory commitmentto freedom of expression. On thecontrary, freedom of expression is thevery essence of a university. It is writteninto its structure, as the basis of facultytenure.

It is for this reason that I was shocked tohear about this injunction and to read itsterms. (For those of you who haven’tdone so, these include: “TO CEASE ANDABSTAIN from impeding, obstructing orinhibiting the free circulation of pedes-trian or vehicular traffic within four (4)meters of the entries and exits” of McGillproperty; “TO CEASE AND ABSTAIN from

assembling in a group of more than fif-teen (15) persons within four (4) metersof the entries and exits”; “TO CEASE ANDABSTAIN from using a microphone, spea-ker, loudspeaker, stereo, or any other toolor machine used for the purpose of ampli-fying voice or sound within twenty-five(25) meters” of McGill property.)

Regardless of how you feel about thestrike, or about strikes in general, I askyou to think about this measure in thelight of a university’s underlying commit-ment to the inherent value of free expres-sion. In its weekly email of September26th, the McGill administration claimedthat it sought the injunction becausepicketers were preventing the delivery ofsensitive materials and endangering thesafety of pedestrians. It repeated theseassertions without further clarification byemail on September 29th. All I can say tothis is that in my experience the picketershave always been courteous, respectfuland accommodating. These latest state-ments by McGill come in a line of mislea-ding characterizations of the “threats”posed by striking workers, and I remainskeptical as to their truth value. Equally si-gnificant, however, was the additional jus-tification put forth by the administrationthat the “noise level […] was unacceptablyhigh.” It is this latter complaint that parti-cularly unnerves me. This justificationproposes, essentially, that the inconve-niences and annoyances suffered by onesector of the McGill community trump therights to free expression of another.

Lest you object that this “noise” suppo-sedly obstructing the research and tea-ching at this institution is simply that –noise, low-value speech - take a momentto consider the function of a picket for anotherwise voiceless and invisible commu-

nity. The administration sends us weeklyemails outlining its position on the strike(emails I would ask you to read with agrain of salt, mindful of the partial inte-rests of the source). MUNACA workershave no such captive audience. They havetheir bodies and their voices, and the pu-blic spaces in which to manifest their pre-sence. They have the strength of numbersand the ability to use this strength to re-mind us of their existence; to remind usthat they are standing at the gate, waitingfor a contract to be reached. This kind ofnoise is eloquent.

The ideal of free expression is an abstractprinciple. It is sometimes an inconvenientprinciple, but it is nonetheless fundamen-tal to the very meaning of a university. Ifwe do not hold to our ideals when theyare inconvenient, they lose their meaning.In seeking such a dramatic curtailment ofthe free expression and assembly of MU-NACA workers, this administration has es-sentially stated that the raw production ofknowledge has a greater value than theanimating principle of this institution. Thisis not a position with which I can agree.

McGill is not a business. It has obligationsdeeper than the smooth and efficientfunctioning of the academic machine. It isa community with a social function andwith foundational principles that it has anethical obligation to uphold. This adminis-tration may have convinced the Court ofthe justice of granting an injunction; it hasnot convinced me of its rectitude in see-king one. This particular injunction expireson October 3rd. As a student and a mem-ber of the university community, I call onour administration to refrain from em-ploying such tactics in the future.

RUTH

AINSWORTH

L a w I I

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 5

6 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

It is my understanding that the LSA execu-tive has made the decision to remain neu-tral in the dispute between theadministration and MUNACA. I can cer-tainly sympathize with this decision. Opin-ions in the faculty run the entirespectrum, so it is hard for the LSA to takea position that won’t get some peopleupset. However, I challenge them to domore. However…

The reason they should be doing more, isbecause as law students we understandthat remaining neutral on an issue rarelymeans having a neutral effect. It meansfavouring the status quo, and allowingthose who have the upper hand to remainin their position of power. In the currentconflict, its seems as if MUNACA hasplayed all its cards, while the administra-tion is content to continue to play hard-ball and let the strike drag on. Theadministration seemed unperturbed in ane-mail from Vice-Principal Di Grappa thatsaid the conciliation process would con-tinue until the end of October. Silencefrom the LSA does nothing to get our serv-

ices back or to get MUNACA employeesback to work.

MUNACA’s demands seem to be basedmainly on wage parity and pension secu-rity comparable to those of other universi-ties in the city. If McGill is receiving thesame amount per student from the gov-ernment as other universities, and is al-lowed to charge the same fees, why isthere this discrepancy in pay for the serv-ice workers? Until the LSA comments onthe situation, it is essentially saying thatthe university’s refusal of these demandsis a fair position without offering any justi-fication.

If the LSA did make a statement and it wascontrary to what I believe, at least I wouldbe getting an informed opinion from areasonably impartial body. LSA memberssit on the university senate and otherbodies, and are much more familiar withthe university’s financial statement than Iam. We have empowered you throughvoting last spring to speak on our behalf.You have undoubtedly already spoken for

us to the law faculty, the larger adminis-tration, SSMU and countless other bodies.Are you going to refrain from speakingnow just because the people you repre-sent are listening?

The human element in this situation isthat in better times we come in contactwith MUNACA employees almost daily.They work hard to facilitate our educationand our futures. Some students go andvisit them and march alongside them onthe picket line, and I know this booststheir morale. To have a statement of sup-port on behalf of the LSA however, woulddo even more to buoy the spirits of peo-ple in a very tough spot. If the LSA is goingto deny support to those who support us,I would at least like to hear a good reasonarticulated.

With admiration for other fine work donethis year.

Sincerely,Chris Durrant

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LSA ON

THE MUNACA STRIKECHRIS

DURRANT

L a w I I

SAVE THE DATE! NOVEMBER 2, 2011

IS PUBLIC INTEREST CAREER DAY!CDO

La Journée Carrières en intérêt public aura lieu le mercredi 2 no-vembre 2011. As many of you will recall, Public Interest CareerDay used to take place every February after Civil and CommonLaw Career Days and right before reading week. The Career De-velopment Office sincerely hopes that this shift to the Fall se-mester will increase employer and student attendance, as well ashighlight the Faculty’s commitment to Public Interest careers.

Afin de mieux desservir les besoins des étudiants, ceux-ci ont étéinvités cet été à partager leurs suggestions et offrir des commen-taires concernant les employeurs dont la participation seraitsouhaitée. Les clubs et associations, ainsi que les professeurs dela Faculté ont également été consultés, de manière à optimiserune représentation inclusive de la diversité du domaine de l’in-térêt public.

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 7

HELLO FROM THEPICKET LINES

THOMAS

CHALMERS

S A O a n d M U N A C A m e m b e r

It has been five weeks since MUNACAmembers have 'downed tools' and pickedup placards to walk the line in front of theUniversity, and we are certain it will bemany more weeks before we can greetyou back at our regular posts in the Fac-ulty of Law. To those who have supportedus, both in person and in spirit: our deep-est appreciation. We know this is a diffi-cult time for all, but rest assuredMUNACA members are determined to seethis fight to the end. We are demandingrespect and decent working conditions,the same conditions that exist in the restof the University sector. We are alsoaware that this is a watershed moment inLabour/Management relations at McGilland the success or failure of our strugglewill have a direct impact on all employeesat McGill, be they Support Staff, M's, Fac-ulty or retirees, and we are determined todefend the rights of all concerned. We ap-preciate the difficult circumstances ofthose still on the job and we hope we cancount on their support.

I have been privileged to walk the picketline with a number of Law Students andthey have asked me questions about ourdemands and how they can support us; soI thought I would address their questionsand concerns here.

Firstly, we would ask you not to put youreducation in jeopardy; no union in goodconscience would ask you to miss classes.We would, however, ask you to informyourself. Ask questions of your Profs, theFaculty administration, the LSA, the Uni-versity and, of course, us. Our demandsare simple and reasonable. We are notdemanding anything that does not haveprecedent elsewhere in the university sec-tor. We are demanding parity with otherinstitutions in the university sector, a de-cent wage increase that covers the cost ofliving, and protection for our pensions. Itis not complicated; anyone who tells youthat is just trying to avoid taking a posi-tion. If you do not want to take a position,that is fine, but please don't obscure theissues by calling them complicated be-

cause they are not. If you wish to supportus please feel free to join us on the picketlines; we enjoy the company and appreci-ate the support. Email HMB and ask herwhy she is unwilling to negotiate a fairand reasonable contract with her supportstaff. Ask alumni to get involved by send-ing emails in support of us and by inform-ing the university that their continuedfinancial support is contingent uponlabour peace, ask your professors to takea stand, as their pensions are at risk aswell, and most importantly, demand theservices that you deserve and have cometo expect.

Here's to hoping that the strike is oversooner than expected. With your help Iam certain it will. Take care 'til we seeeach other in the faculty.

TC on behalf of the Law Faculty/LibrarySupport Staff.munaca.law@gmail.com

The format of the Career Day has also been adjusted to maxi-mize students’ interaction with the employers. Students canchoose to participate in all events or attend the one that bestsuits their needs and schedule. The panel and kiosks are bothbooked during the universal break to allow all students to take asmuch advantage as much as possible of the presence of publicinterest employers.

12h45-13h45: Panel Discussion (room 312)A panel of speakers will discuss their respective areas of practicein the area of public interest law. Each speaker will have 5 min-utes to speak, and a Q&A period will follow. Please note that panelists will also have kiosks where you will beable to speak with them!

13h-15h: Career Fair (Atrium)Venez rencontrer des employeurs potentiels à leur kiosque dansl’Atrium, discutez de vos intérêts et des processus de recrute-ment avec leurs représentants!17h30-19h30: Speed-Meet (Atrium)Come listen to public interest lawyers who will describe and an-swer your questions about their career path, work and work-place environment.

Save the date, mark your calendar, and come ready with yourquestions!

We look forward to seeing you on November 2!

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PA G E

8 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

STRIKE UPDATERADLAW

LEGAL ISSUES ARE HEATING UP

This week we want to update you on a couple of key changes tothe strike situation. Like we did in last week’s Quid, we want togive you a different perspective on the strike than the McGill ad-ministration is providing.

Scabs on campus:First off, an inspector from the Labour Commission recently vis-ited McGill to investigate allegations that the university was vio-lating ss. 109.1, 109.2 and 109.3 of the Quebec Labour Code.The statute provides that only managers are legally allowed todo the paid work of employees that are on strike.Having visited both the downtown and MacDonald campusesand speaking with 100 McGill employees, the inspector foundMcGill had contravened s. 109.1 of the Code by using 15 replace-ment workers (commonly known as ‘scabs’) to fill in the gapsthat had been left by the striking MUNACA staff. Whoops! Thisincluded a person who had been hired at the end of August whowas found working full-time as a secretary, i.e. clearly not a man-ager.

The plain language of the statute prohibits this course of action.The McGill community should see this report as a red flag point-ing to the real risk of a broader use of scab labour during this dis-pute. As students who respectfully submit to the rule of law, we

expect better from our administration. Whether we like it or not,anti-scab legislation forms part of the law of Quebec. The partieswere at the Labour Board yesterday, October 3rd, for a hearingto determine the impact of the report.

Does McGill respect the spirit of s.2 (b) of the Charter? On Friday September 23, McGill successfully obtained an injunc-tion to restrict picketing, the effect of which is to limit the free-dom of assembly and speech of MUNACA staff. To comply withthe university’s injunction, MUNACA members have been picket-ing in smaller groups and have been making less noise. Picketersare also obliged to stay 4 metres away from entrances to allMcGill buildings - the places where some of them have workedfor over 39 years. However, the injunction was only valid untilyesterday, so you’ll likely have seen another update from McGill by the time this article reaches you!

What can I do? Showing your support is truly important for those on strike. Youcan join a picket line, where a button, write a letter, or bakesome treats to distribute. Smiles and high fives are also wel-come! Law students join the picket line together weekly – emailradlaw.mcgill@gmail.com if you’d like to come.

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 9

Late one night all the United States wereat the bar, drinking and carrying on asthey had done every Thursday for as longas they could remember. Usually theirconversation revolved around their twofavourite subjects, upon which they al-ways agreed: how much better they werethan the British, and that this bar was thegreatest place on earth. But this Thursdaywas different. Certainly they had beendrinking more than usual, times were richfor all of them; but now some of thestates began to murmur that not every-thing was perfect in the bar. Perhaps, theysuggested meekly, things could be evenbetter. It so happened this suggestioncame mostly from states in the North. TheSouthern states were shocked by such aninappropriate change of conversationalmaterial, “Why ruin the party?” theycried, and proposed another round ofcocktails instead, “Let us toast the bar,and liberty!” The drinks were excellent, atad strong maybe, and everyone calmeddown for the time being.

Just before closing time, Missouri, whohad been glaring at his ex-girlfriendKansas all evening, strode across the roomand demanded an explanation for theirmessy break-up the week before. All theNorthern states sighed in exasperation,Kansas and Missouri had been a terriblecouple, they pointed out. Ignoring whathad been an obviously abusive relation-ship, the Southern states began to egg-onMissouri by banging on the tables andshouting at Kansas to stop playing hard-to-get. It was none of the Northern states'business who-dated-who. As the debateover Missouri and Kansas became increas-ingly acrimonious, the Southern andNorthern states began drifting towardsopposite ends of the bar.

South Carolina, a degenerate alcoholic,had been muttering to himself in the cor-ner for some time when he got up toleave. “This place isn't what it used to be,”he slurred, “why I remember when it wasopen-bar every night and you never hadto pay your tab.” Under his breath, SouthCarolina mumbled something about build-ing a new bar. No one took this very seri-ously, South Carolina was a notoriousblow-hard after all, but Massachusettsrecommended he hand over his car keys;Illinois would be the designated driver.South Carolina proclaimed he wouldnever ride with Illinois, who was such anawful prude, and would rather leave withhis bros' Georgia, Alabama and Missis-sippi. Unfortunately they were alsowasted and could barely stand. Texas hadonly recently become a regular at the barbut was already well respected becausehe was so good at beer-pong and darts.Louisiana, knowing how 'easy' Texas wasafter a few keg-stands, proposed thatTexas drive them all home and stop overfor a few drinks at her place afterwards.This made Arkansas terribly jealous, so heinsisted on at least riding in the trunk.Florida, who had just turned twenty-one,was very impressionable and simplywanted to look cool in front of the oldercrowd. All these states headed for thedoor.

This outrageous behaviour was too muchfor the Northern states, “How can anyonejustify drunk driving in this day and age?”they pleaded. South Carolina, belligerentas ever, sneered that drunk driving was asacred right and lurched towards the exit.New York moved to block the door. Nowall the Southern states turned to see whatVirginia would do. Virginia was the oldeststate, a bit snobbish but someone theothers looked up to because he had in-

vented freedom and drunk driving, beingquite the party animal in his own day. Yetlately old Virginia detected a lack of re-spect from his peers, which was intolera-ble for someone who had helped buildthe bar. Eager to prove he was nopushover, Virginia drained his last sip ofwhiskey and placed a lead pipe on thetable. Tennessee and North Carolina,though not the brightest of dudes, wereold friends of Virginia and saw that hemeant business, so they volunteered tohelp in any way they could. Kentucky andMaryland were having great difficultymaking up their minds on the merits ofdrunk driving. Kentucky had dropped a lotof acid back in the day so the onset ofschizophrenia was understandable; Mary-land was still hung up on her fling withVirginia but was quite put off by the leadpipe. None of this was lost on the bar'sother patrons, France and Britain, whomoved discretely behind the counter andbegan placing bets on what would happennext.

Suddenly, South Carolina stood up on hischair, screamed “YEEEHAAAWWW” andhurled a full pint glass across the room. Itshattered in Massachusetts' face. The en-tire bar became deathly quiet. Everyoneknew South Carolina was a bad drunk,now it was obvious that he was totallyshitfaced. The Northern states made itclear that if South Carolina apologized toMassachusetts then maybe no one elsewould get hurt. South Carolina paused,climbed down from his chair and thenpromptly smashed it over Massachusetts'head.

All hell broke loose. South Carolina dovebehind a table, screaming at Alabama andMississippi to do something. Those twohad been talking big for a while but they

A PUB DIVIDED: THE AMERICANCIVIL WAR AS A BAR FIGHT

MAX

FLOMEN

L a w I

10 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

backed off when New York started throw-ing haymakers. Virginia, disgusted by thegeneral lack of chivalry, grumbled aboutalways having to do everything itself. Leadpipe in hand, Virginia took on New York,New Jersey and all of New England, whofoolishly came at him one by one and pre-dictably received the beat down of a life-time. Smiling dumbly, Tennessee andNorth Carolina joined the melee, watchingVirginia's back until they noticed Ohio andPennsylvania. One had Missouri in asleeper hold while the other knocked himout with an upper-cut. Impressed, Ten-nessee was about to ask Ohio and Penn-sylvania if they had been working outrecently when Michigan drop-kicked himfrom behind. Amidst the chaos Kentuckymentioned something about “trippingout” before fainting.

With Rhode Island in a headlock and stillfighting New York with the other hand,Virginia allowed Illinois to come up behindhim and smash a bar stool over his head.Temporarily concussed, Virginia begandoubting the wisdom of drunk driving. Atthat moment West Virginia walked into

the bar and threw a brick at Florida, whowas not really doing much of anything.None of the Northern states were at all in-terested in taking on Texas (they had seenwhat he had done to Mexico while work-ing as a bouncer) but luckily for themTexas was mostly interested in doingbody-shots off Louisiana while Arkansasstood there awkwardly. California rolledher eyes and fixed another martini as thefight continued to rage.

Having dispensed with the first round ofchallengers, Virginia demanded satisfac-tion for Pennsylvania's eye gouging ofNorth Carolina. As Virginia lunged atPennsylvania, Maine stuck out his leg andtripped him into the counter. MeanwhileMichigan and Wisconsin had managed topin Georgia on the ground while Ohiopressed a lit cigarette to his face andpoured brandy on the wounds. Even Mas-sachusetts thought this was a bit much,until they dragged South Carolina, stillscreaming obscenities, from underneath atable and gave him the same treatment.By this time Mississippi was somehowmissing an arm and North Carolina looked

even worse. When Virginia finally startedto come to, Ohio and Pennsylvania wereboth standing over him. The fight wasover, and they all agreed it had been atremendous effort by everyone. Britainand France reluctantly called the para-medics before slipping out the back exit.

Drinks were poured, plans for a new barwere drawn up and all the states won-dered how they could have gotten so ex-cited over the issue of drunk driving.Could it have been all the drinking, somewondered? They soon dropped the sub-ject, however, shifting to their newfavourite topic: their collective excellencein all areas of bar fight brutality. Certainlyno strangers would think twice aboutstepping into their bar uninvited. “U-S-A!U-S-A! U-S-A!” they cheered. Just then ablack man walked into the bar, sat downand ordered a beer. Only some of theNorthern states noticed, and those thatdid fidgeted nervously. Except Vermont.Vermont smiled. Huddled in the corner,their voices lowered, the Southern statesglared menacingly.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PA G E

JONATHAN

BROSSEAU

L a w I

tu m’as attendu sur la grève de

ce que saturne chantait et la corde

à danser fouette de tendres mollets

les jupes virevoltées le chauffard

a bu un peu trop une de moins ça

ne change rien sauf pour eux un tunnel

lumière je l’ai lu avec mes doigts

son corps frigorifié sur l’asphalte

d’ordinaire l’ordinateur rêvait

sous la pluie d’éléphants anticipés

CRIME_08

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 11

KRISTA

KAIS-PRIAL

L a w I I I

It's Wednesday evening and you're at the library"studying". You're on Facebook chat with threepeople, someone is asking for notes on Gmailchat, you have an email to respond to for thatfaculty club you never seem to have enoughtime for, and you get a text from an old friendwho really wants to catch up.

You read the words "catch up", and you think toyourself, “Yeah, I'd really like to catch up.” Catchup with readings, catch up with the pals, catchup with emails, workouts,new music, the latest films,phone calls to grandma (younever call! you never write!),current events, politics, laun-dry, The Wire (so addictive!),grocery shopping, bill paying,life-changing decision mak-ing....

BAM! Your head explodes.This may have happened toyou once (or many times) be-fore. We are so bombarded by activities, oppor-tunities, options, temptations, obligations andpressures. You're talking to a million peopleabout last night, or planning for tomorrow, in-stead of focusing on the moment you're in rightnow. You feel pressure to do it all. But can youdo it all? No. No, you can't.

But you know what you can do? You can bealone. (Re)discover the joy of being alone. Takea mental vacation from North American soci-ety's obsessive need to be constantly in contactwith friends, loved ones and frenemies. Face-

book is fun, but it is so ridiculous. You do notneed to know what 600 of your friends aredoing at every stage of the day.

But do you need to spend some time alone?Yes! Yes you do. Time to think, to breathe andhave space, to remember who you are and whatyour values are, what you want from your timehere! Because that stuff is important, and youdon’t want to become deaf to your inner voiceamidst the constant drone of "Krista K-p is in

Toronto for the weekend!Booyah!" status updates.

I challenge you to a day ofAloneness. I challenge you to aweekend of aloneness, if youthink you can handle it. Turn offyour phone. Deactivate Face-book, unplug your computer.Don't make any plans. You areindeed very busy and impor-tant, but the world can wait aday or two.

Just chillax and feel the joy of being with your-self! Take a walk, take a nap, read a novel(heaven forbid!), make a cup of freakingchamomile tea. You could even go by yourself tothe cinema! Parisians do it, so it must be cool.

Ahhhh. Deep breaths. It'll all work out. And thistime, you don't have to text yourcrush/mom/partner/best friend to be reassuredabout that. Because you can just ask yourself,and you'll know.

THE JOY OF BEING ALONE

12 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

ETHICAL OIL OR DISASTROUSENVIRONEMENT POLICY?

AUSTIN

DEL RIO

The Alberta tar sands are having a miser-able time these days keeping out of themedia spotlight.

First there was the wave of American en-vironmental protestors that descended onthe Whitehouse several weeks ago de-manding Obama withhold approval of thecontroversial Keystone XL Pipeline project.

Then last week, Canadians held a protestof our own on parliament hill where 117fierce and perhaps slightly overzealousopponents of the pipeline were arrestedfor breaking through a police barrier.

And now, as of last Thursday, eight noblepeace prize laureates have signed onto aletter unequivocally condemning theHarper government for its support of theAlberta tar sands and its failure to take ac-tion on climate change.

Phew! Can’t a guy just pump some goodold, wholesome oil out of the ground any-more without getting the third degree?

For those just catching up with this wild-fire issue, the Keystone XL project, fi-nanced and controlled by TransCanadaCorp., would be an expansion to the al-ready built Keystone pipeline which hasbeen delivering raw crude oil fromHardisty, Alberta, through Saskatchewan,Nebraska, Oklahoma, and then on to Illi-nois for processing. The XL pipeline, whichoverlaps partially with the original Key-stone line, will add an additional 529 kmof Canadian pipe and will bring the totallength of the XL pipeline to 3190 km. Afterseveral minor planned additions, the orig-inal Keystone line will be expanded to3456 km. Now that’s a lot of pipeline!

But more importantly, it is a substantialincrease in the amount of actual crude

that is about to be piped out of Canada’sTexas of the North.

In fact, we would see the number of bar-rels of heavy crude exported to the US in-crease by nearly 700,000 barrels a day,and that is just too high a price to pay indamage to the environment, according tosome critics.

World renowned climate scientist, JamesHanson, one of the 1000 environmentalprotestors to be arrested in Washingtonsome weeks ago, believes that approval ofKeystone XL would be “essentially gameover” in the fight against climate change.

He argues that the project will increasecarbon in the earth’s atmosphere by 200ppm (parts per million), according to a re-cent Globe and Mail article, and that thiswill “endanger the entire planet.”

In the same article though, Andrew Leach,a business professor at the University ofAlberta, refutes these claims and arguesthey are simply not true. According toLeach, even using the data put forward byHanson, there would only be a significantclimate impact over 1000 years from now– and considering the advances in envi-ronmental technology we expect to seebefore then, the environmental impact ofthe pipeline is hardly anything for anyoneto get worried over.

And besides, as many supporters of theproject would contend, didn’t the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency in the US re-cently release their revised environmentalimpact report and find, for the secondtime, that the pipeline would have a mini-mal environmental impact? (yes, theydid.)

Of course, the Harper government hasbeen a firm supporter of the oil sands andthe Keystone project since 2005 when thepipeline was first proposed. And the gov-ernment has held fast to its claim that anypotential environmental impact of the oilsands is far outweighed by the tremen-dous prosperity and employment that ex-ploiting these natural resources provides.

But for the great majority of us that aren’tswayed by either “the sky is falling” ver-sion of the climate change argument, northe “jobs, jobs, and more jobs” mantra ofthe economy vs. environment debate,what are we to make of this new KeystoneXL pipeline?

Ezra Levant offers a fascinating way out ofthe seeming deadlock between these twopositions.

Ethical-Oil is a buzz word that is gaining inpopularity and renowned all acrossCanada, and is a concept Levant spawnedin his book released last year under thesame title: Ethical Oil.

The concept of ethical oil is simply that asa Western society still in the beginningstages of a green technology revolution,whether we like it or not, we still need oil.And even though Canadian oil may be thedirtiest of all the oils extracted around theplanet, it stills comes from a country thatscores very high on issues like humanrights and economic and social justice –

L a w I

“But for the great majority of us thataren’t swayed by either “the sky isfalling” version of the climate changeargument, nor the “jobs, jobs, andmore jobs” mantra of the economyvs. environment debate, what arewe to make of this new Keystone XLpipeline?”

AND, HOW SAUDI ARABIANS ARE TAKING OVER THE CANADIAN MEDIA

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 13

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PA G E

when compared with the other oil pro-ducing nations in the market, such asSaudi Arabia, Libya, Venezuela, and Nige-ria.

A recent TV ad produced by EthicalOil.org,a non-profit advocacy organizationchaired by Levant, put it in these words:

“Fact: We bought over 400 million barrelsof oil last year from Saudi Arabia. Webank rolled a state that doesn’t allowwomen to drive, doesn’t allow them toleave their homes or work without theirmale guardian’s permission, and a statewhere a women’s testimony only counts

for a half of a man’s. Why are we payingtheir bills and funding their oppression?”

EthicalOil.org has itself been makingheadlines as of late, after several largeCanadian media broadcasters, includingCTV and the Oprah Winfrey Network, can-celled their contracts with the non-profitgroup to air their TV ads. The networkshad been contacted by Norton Rose, amultinational law firm which purports tobe an ardent human rights supporter, in-forming the networks that the Saudi Ara-bian government would be filing adefamation lawsuit against them if theyproceeded with airing the ads. The net-

works acquiesced to the legal threat andhave had to endure the inevitable publicbacklash and public cries of cowardiceand lack of commitment to free speech.Ezra Levant has made no attempt to hidehis contempt for in his own words, theseeming “cowardice in the face of Saudibullying.”

In any case, no matter the actions of asmall repressive totalitarian regime, thedebate over the Alberta oil sands is farfrom over.

14 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

REMINDER: SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS!Envoyez vos contributions à quid.law@mcgill.ca.Deadline: every Thursday at 5 p.m.

GUIDELINES:- Send your contributions as Word documents attached to the email.- Include a title, your name and your year of study in the document itself (not in the email).- If your article includes a photo, include it as an attachment in JPG format.- Send in posters for events in PDF or JPG format.

!

Hi Guys,

It's your 1L Class Presidentshere! We are so excited aboutthe opportunity to representyou all and are very honouredthat you have chosen us toserve you. Let's make this yearGRAND together.

Pendant nos campagnes élec-torales, nous avons signaléque notre mandat est de vousreprésenter au conseil del'AÉD. Par conséquent, noussoulèverons les questions quisont les plus importantes pourvous dans ce forum afin d’as-surer que la première annéen’est jamais ignorée! Pour fa-ciliter une communication ou-verte, nous vous encourageons

à partager vos préoccupationsdirectement avec nous. Deplus, nous avons hâte d’organ-iser une réunion ouverte «town hall » cette année.

On a less serious note, getready for an exciting year filledwith lots of fun events! Wehave many ideas up oursleeves including speed datingwith other faculties, a sickChristmas bash, a Halloweenparty with the med faculty,and a free massage day - that'sright!!

Looking forward to workingwith you all,

S and D

SANDRA

AIGBINODE &

DOMINIC

DIFRUSCIO

1 L C l a s s P r e s i d e n t s

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR1L CLASS PRESIDENTS

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 15

GEORGIA

PAPADOLIAS

V P A c a d e m i c

A MESSAGE FROM YOURVP ACADEMIC

Peer-To-Peer Tutoring Program for FirstYear Students

I remember sitting through my first yearcourses, thinking: “Didn’t I spend twohours reading this case last night? Am Ithe only one lost around here? Why isthat student typing every word down? De-cember is going to be painful.” On nousavait pourtant dit, dès les premiers joursde la rentrée, que nos candidaturesavaient été méticuleusement étudiées.We were also told that if we did not havefaith in ourselves, to at least have faith inthe admissions process and the Faculty.Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit,maybe not. Les professeurs nous rap-pelaient qu’ils étaient disponibles, et quenous ne devrions pas hésiter à passer lesvoir à leur bureau pour poser nos ques-tions. Even though most professors wereempathetic and supportive, I just remem-ber feeling too overwhelmed, too behind,and therefore too embarrassed to ask forhelp and clarifications. The weeks werealso flying by, too quickly.

As one of the LSA members this year, mygoal is to help you improve your academicexperience. This doesn’t only involve an-swering questions about degree require-ments and procedures for extensions.One of my roles is to help you adjust toyour new environment as you graduallylearn to understand law grades. Anotherone of my objectives is to encourage stu-dents to reach out to their colleagues foracademic support. After all, we take thesame courses in first year, and everyoneknows a student who knows an upperyear student who has had that professor. Iam not only referring to summaries. Dis-cussing a concept you do not understandwith a student and taking the time to re-flect on it can be far more effective than

simply collecting as much information asyou possibly can before an exam. Al-though the law partners program is meantto ease your transition to the facultythroughout the year, the new peer-to-peer tutoring program is solely for aca-demic help, either in ContractualObligations, Constitutional Law, Torts orCivil Law Property. I encourage all firstyear students who are having trouble withtheir courses to seek support from anupper year student through this program.There is still time to catch up before De-cember exams, and it is important thatyou try to minimize your stress as much aspossible before this period. If there is acourse in particular that you are havingtrouble with, or if you have a couple ofquestions in two or three classes, Istrongly encourage you to participate inthe program by getting in touch with me(vp-academic.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca). Re-member that your professors are alwaysavailable to guide you. However, if youthink you may feel more comfortable witha student, perhaps you can benefit fromthis program.

Upper year students: Nous avons besoinde vous pour le programme de tutorat!Sans votre participation, ce programmene peut se concrétiser. Si vous avez euplus de facilité dans un ou des cours depremière année, et si vous avez du tempspour aider un étudiant qui a de la diffi-culté dans certains cours, svp commu-niquez avec moi.(vp-academic.lsa@mail.mcgill.ca)

First Year Series

Vous avez peut-être déjà constaté que le4ème étage du Nouveau Pavillon Chancel-lor Day constitue un carrefour de servicesaux étudiants de la faculté. Votre Secré-

tariat des Études, ainsi que votre DoyenneAdjointe (Études et Vie Étudiante) œu-vrent sur des projets destinés à agré-menter votre vie étudiante et à facilitervotre intégration harmonieuse à un envi-ronnement nouveau.

Vos collègues des années supérieuresvous ont possiblement déjà conté une oudeux histoires troublantes concernant lespremiers quelques mois de votre séjour àla faculté, que ce soit la rédaction du ré-sumé d’arrêt, la centaine de pages à feuil-leter avant le troisième cours, le rite depassage qu’est la période des examens dumois de décembre. Ce qui importe desouligner, c’est que vous n’êtes pas seuls àentamer cette aventure. The personnel ofthe 4th floor is available to ensure thatyou have the academic and career sup-port you need to make the most of yourtime at the faculty. Outre la panoplie deservices qui vous sont offerts, de nou-velles initiatives ont été mises sur pied etperfectionnées afin d’optimiser votre ex-périence à la faculté. One of these recentprojects are the First Year Series.

En effet, une brochette de séances d’infor-mations s’échelonnant sur toute l’annéescolaire a été organisée par votreDoyenne Adjointe (Études et Vie Étudi-ante) pour vous donner un coup de mainà certains moments critiques de votrepremière année. D’ailleurs, vous avezprobablement déjà assisté aux deux pre-mières intitulées «First Year Academic Ori-entation» durant lesquelles on vous aintroduit aux deux traditions juridiques etau transystémisme de McGill. Outre desexplications sur l’écoute active, la prise denotes, l’écriture juridique, le langage et levocabulaire, bref, tous les outils tech-niques, ces séances d’information ontégalement comme objectif de vous inciter

16 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

à planifier votre cheminementacadémique et professionnel. Le troisièmeatelier du 19 septembre était consacré àune présentation de votre Centre deDéveloppement Professionnel. Your CDOpresented an overview of recruitmenttimelines and introduced you to MyFu-ture, a job search and career tool whichprovides students with an efficient way tosearch for articling positions, recruitmentinformation and summer jobs, and whichalso allows students to register for work-shops and view employers’ profiles. Othertopics of this information session includedthe Winter optional first year course, sum-mer courses, non-course credits, ex-changes, Minor program, and MajorConcentration Programs.

Si vous n’avez pas encore assisté à cesséances d’information, il n’est pas troptard, car il vous en reste trois! La qua-trième séance d’information aura lieu lemercredi 9 novembre. La période des exa-mens de mi- session arrive à grands pas.Cet atelier a pour but de vous éclairer surles méthodes de préparation aux examens

de droit et à apaiser vos inquiétudes. Vousignorez à quoi vous attendre durant cesquelques semaines, et l’on vous a dit àmaintes reprises que les examens de droitdiffèrent largement de tout autre typed’examen que vous avez passé durant vosétudes antérieures. Comment allez-vousgérer efficacement votre temps? Une nuitblanche n’est peut-être pas la solutionidéale. Tenter de lire chaque mot de votrerecueil d’arrêts, et de religieusement tran-scrire le tout dans vos notes, non plus. LeDr. Ted Baker, Directeur du McGill Coun-seling Service, participera également à cetatelier afin de souligner l’importance demaintenir un mode de vie équilibré etsain.

Le lundi 23 janvier, nous vous invitons àassister au « Post-Exam Survival Session.»Vous avez pris le temps de respirer durantle temps des fêtes, et vous avez reçu vossix notes. You might be feeling disap-pointed, angry, confused, or you just don’tknow what your next step should be. It isimportant that you reach out to your pro-fessors and to the 4th floor for help and

guidance. It is not too late to plan aheadaccordingly, and you must take the timeto reflect on your performance and criti-cally assess your strategies in order tobegin your Winter semester with theproper approach. Enfin, bien que vousvous apprêtez à amorcer votre périoded’examens de fin d’année, le mercredi 7mars nous vous préparons déjà à votredeuxième année en vous expliquant Min-erva et en faisant un survol du choix decours offerts, que ce soit à la faculté dedroit, aux autres facultés de McGill ou àd’autres universités.

The Peer-to-Peer Tutoring Program, aswell as the First Year Series, have been de-signed to give you support during yourfirst year. I encourage you to take full ad-vantage of the resources and opportuni-ties offered at the Faculty. If you have anyquestions, if you feel you need to speak tosomeone about your courses, or if you’rehaving trouble coping with the stress oflaw school, please do not hesitate to con-tact me or to pass by the LSA office.

Chante-moi une belle chanson.

Il crie dans l'caniveau,Qu'on lui devrait son fils.

Mais chante-moi une chanson.

Le grand hobo d'en haut,Quête couché dans pisse.J'ai l'ATM dans face,Pour licher l'immondice,

Et toujours pas d'chanson?Pour flatter les grands tristes!

Enwaye, j'y donne deux piasses,Pour être sûre qu'y décriss.J'va mettre mon blé au chaud,Au lieu d’flamber en con.

Pi l'grand hobo dans haut,Me doit toute une chanson!

HUGO B.

LAFRENIERE

L a w I

LE HOBO

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PA G E

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 17

Question - AnswerQ: “Why can’t I bring my morning coffee in the Law Library?”A: You can bring water and other beverage in sealed containers,but we do not allow any kind of food in the Library because foodsmells and leftovers can attract insects or rodents, and we wouldnot like to have mice and cockroaches here.

If you do not know how to start writing your first memoTake a look at the books about legal writing. To find them in thelibrary, you can search our Classic catalogue by the subject ‘legal

composition’, or simply browse the shelves in the KE250 andKF250 sections of the 4th floor.

WestLaw Legal Memoranda & Points of Law can now bebrowsed by topicLegal Memoranda & Points of Law cover the common law juris-dictions in Canada (provincial and federal). Legal Memorandaare structured research documents that typically possess the fol-lowing elements: they present a legal issue, conduct a thoroughlegal analysis of the issue (case law, legislation, legal trends, etc.),and arrive at a conclusion. Points of Law memos follow a struc-ture as Legal Memoranda, but may not pertain to a specific factscenario and/or arrive at a fact-based conclusion.

Regulations Added to QuickLaw QuickCITE® CitatorNow you can note up regulations from 10 jurisdictions withQuickCITE: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,

Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundlandand Labrador, Yukon and Northwest Territories. In late Septem-ber, you will be able to note up regulations with QuickCITE forthe Federal and Nova Scotia jurisdictions.The new icon QuickCITE® Citator appears online as

McGill Book FairCome and support the sale. It's for a good cause (endowed stu-dent bursaries) and the selection of books is outstanding.

In this column, we would be delighted to answer all of your li-brary-services-related questions. Please send your questions toSvetlana Kochkina: svetlana.kochkina@mcgill.ca, Liaison Librar-ian Nahum Gelber Law Library.

LAW

LIBRARY LIBRARY NEWS

JOYEUSE ACTION DE GRâCES !

Le Quid est en vacances pour l’Action de Grâces !Notre prochain numéro sortira le mardi 18 octobre.

Deadline for submissions: Thursday, October 13.

18 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

En 1997, Denys Tremblay, un enseignanten art environnemental à l’Université duQuébec à Chicoutimi, est proclamé roi duvillage de l’Anse-Saint-Jean par référen-dum. Il s’agit symboliquement de la pre-mière monarchie d’Amérique du Nord.

Appuyé par une majorité de 73,9%,l’homme prend le nom de Denys Ier del’Anse, et souhaite par son couron-nement relancer l’économie de la région,durement éprouvée après le déluge de1996. L’éphémère Royaume de l’Anse-Saint-Jean espérait ainsi attirer l’atten-tion des médias afin de donner unsecond souffle à son industrie touris-tique, notamment en amassant les fondsnécessaires à la mise en place d’unevaste sculpture environnementale sur leflanc du Mont-Édouard représentant levisage et la main de saint Jean-Baptiste.

Le sacre du monarque a lieu le 24 juin1997 en l’église de cette petite munici-palité du Saguenay. 1500 personnes as-sistent à la cérémonie, largementcouverte par la presse de l’époque, tantnationale qu’étrangère. Le roi a alorsprêté les serments religieux, civique etconstitutionnel, avant d’y aller d’un ser-ment d’allégeance à son peuple. Il fautdire en effet que cette monarchie consti-tutionnelle d’inspiration française sevoulait des plus démocratiques : bienque nommé à vie, le souverain pouvaitêtre destitué en tout temps parplébiscite, sa fonction n’était pas hérédi-taire, pas plus qu’elle ne procurait deprivilèges, et l’institution en elle-mêmen’a rien coûté aux Anjeaneois. Le mairecontinuait d’y exercer ses fonctions, bienqu’en tant que représentant du monar-que.

La population, très enthousiaste, assisteeffectivement à une certaine repriseéconomique permise par cette nomina-tion avant-gardiste et artistique : on créeune monnaie de collection, le « del’Artde l’Anse », une nouvelle bière, la «Royale de l’Anse » et on divise le terri-toire de la municipalité en duchés,comtés et baronnies, en collaborationavec la Commission de toponymie duQuébec, qui sont mis en vente avec lestitres de noblesse qui les accompagnent.La forte exposition médiatique – Sa Ma-jesté donne plus de 200 entrevues auxquatre coins de la planète, de Londres àTokyo, en passant par la Russie – permetd’amasser des fonds pour le projetd’aménagement sculptural de Saint-Jean-du-Millénaire, dont le coût est évalué àun million de dollars.

La création d’un tel « royaume » visaitégalement à ramener à une échelle lo-cale la notion de patrie. Le roi devait in-carner les valeurs fondamentales de sessujets, et l’identité de ce « peuple » s’estcristallisé non seulement dans la per-sonne du souverain, mais égalementdans toute une série de symboles ré-galiens : devise, drapeau, monnaie, tim-bres, emblème, hymne national,château-musée, etc.

Le plus intéressant dans toute cette his-toire, à tout le moins pour les étudiantsen droit que nous sommes, c’est que l’in-stitution de cette monarchie municipaleétait parfaitement légale, légitime etconstitutionnelle : ni lois ni conventionsne venaient l’empêcher, d’autant qu’elleavait été proclamée par référendum.Dans son premier discours du trône, leroi s’était même adressé directement à

la reine Elizabeth II, alors en visite offi-cielle à Terre-Neuve, pour lui demanderde reconnaître une monarchie autonomeau Québec. C’était là, en fait, une con-ception qu’il avait mise de l’avant bienplus tôt : dans le débat social précédantle référendum sur la souveraineté de1995, Denys Tremblay avait proposé,dans un mémoire jugé très original, quePaul Martin soit proclamé roi du Québec.Cette idée d’une nation politiquementsouveraine sans qu’il y ait de séparationlégale était selon lui le meilleur moyende satisfaire le plus de gens, les Québé-cois voulant, à son avis, « Un Québec in-dépendant dans un Canada uni ».

Au final, le règne de Denys Ier aura duréprès de trois ans. Face à des accusationsde mégalomanie et à l’impossibilité detrouver un financement suffisant à sonprojet d’aménagement paysagé, le roiabdique solennellement en présence dela mairesse et de deux citoyens, non sansaccorder son pardon à ses détracteurs.

De cette brève aventure peu évoquéeaujourd’hui, on retiendra le courage d’unpetit village qui a cherché à se prendreen main et à se sortir du marasmeéconomique par un projet novateur,dans lequel l’Art tenait une place essen-tielle. Dans nos époques troublées, com-ment ne pas souhaiter que d’autrescommunautés tiennent compte de ceprécédent et trouvent à leur tour des so-lutions inédites à leurs problèmes spéci-fiques?

LES CHRONIQUES HISTORIQUES

ALEXANDRE

MICHAUD

L a w I

UNE MONARCHIE MUNICIAPLE AU QUEBEC

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 19

Il serait intéressant de sonder les étudiantes et étudiants decette prestigieuse faculté perchée à flanc de montagne pour leurposer la question suivante : où habitez-vous? Selon mes estima-tions grossièrement imprécises et sommaires, près de 99,5% decelles-ci et ceux-ci n’habitent pas le quartier Hochelaga-Maison-neuve. Sur la base de ce calcul peu scientifique, il n’est pas ex-agéré de présumer que la plupart d’entre vous n’ont jamaisentendu parler du viaduc Rouen. Tout au long de l'année, je vousproposerai donc un petit “walking tour“ pour vous permettred’aller à la rencontre de cette ville qui recèle de petites mer-veilles.

Comment se rendre au viaduc?

Rien de plus simple. Débarquez à la station Préfontaine (ligneverte) et prenez la sortie « Hochelaga Sud ». Marchez directionSud sur la rue Préfontaine et tournez à droite sur la rue Rouen :devant vous se dressera le viaduc. Comme vous le verrez, celui-ciest un véritable joyau urbain : au fil des jours, les artistes de ruerecouvrent ses parois de magnifiques graffitis, de slogans an-tiracistes et, parfois, d'œuvres d’une valeur esthétique moin-dre... Fait intéressant, les graffitis que vous contemplerezdisparaîtront quelques heures (ou jours) après votre passage : leviaduc Rouen est vivant et change d’allure au gré de la créativitéde ces artistes qui mettent un peu de couleur dans la grisaille dece no man’s land urbain.

Poursuivez ensuite votre route vers l’Ouest. Pour lesgourmand.e.s, arrêtez-vous à la charcuterie polonaise entre Gas-con et Bercy pour vous envoyer une bonne saucisse ou pouracheter de la choucroute à deux piastres. Satisfaction garantie.En dégustant vos achats, marchez vers le Sud pour aller rejoindrela rue Ontario. Avant de reprendre le métro (Frontenac), je voussuggère fortement d'aller faire un tour au marché Frontenac (ou-

vert le samedi, angle des rues Iberville et Ontario) ou au caféTouski, une merveilleuse coopérative de travail où tout est beau,

bon, pas cher! (2361, Ontario Est).

ESCAPADES URBAINES : LA NOUVELLE CHRONIQUEQUI VA TE FAIRE SORTIR DU PLATEAU

JEAN-

PHILIPPE

MAC KAY

L a w I I

LE VIADUC ROUEN ET UNEBALLADE DANS CENTRE-SUD

20 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

GEORGIA

PAPADOLIAS

o n b e h a l f o f t h e S A O

HELLO FROM THE4TH FLOOR

At some point during their studies at theFaculty, every student will have encoun-tered the personnel at the Student AffairsOffice, while gleefully handing in a fac-tum, a take-home exam, or a term essay.For certain students, interaction with theSAO ceases the moment an assignment ismercifully time stamped and dated.

However, the SAO provides informationand guidance for both graduate and un-dergraduate students on programs, de-gree requirements, registration, advising,course changes and schedules, proce-dures for withdrawal, exam schedules andconflicts, deferred and supplementalexams, rereads, academic standing, leaveof absence or term away, and graduation.Bien que la grève a présentement un im-pact inévitable sur les services ordinaire-ment offerts par votre Secrétariat desétudes, il est néanmoins important quevous soyez au courant des ressourcesdisponibles à la faculté. Voici donc unaperçu des services offerts :

Program, degree requirements, advising

La Vice Doyenne à l’enseignement JayeEllis, la Doyenne Adjointe au études et vieétudiante Aisha Topsakal, ainsi que la Re-sponsable du Secrétariat des étudesNancy Czemmel sont disponibles pourvous orienter dans vos démarches et vousfournir des conseils pédagogiques concer-nant la sélection de cours ainsi que laplanification de votre cheminementacadémique. Whether you are concernedabout prerequisites for an advancedcourse, or about achieving a balance be-tween lecture courses or small seminars,courses you are genuinely interested in orothers you feel pressured to take, the Stu-dent Affairs Office can guide you. A de-gree audit form, as well as a B.C.L/LL.Bdegree overview chart, have been pre-

pared to assist you, and are available onthe Student Affairs Office website. De plusamples détails sur les choix de cours et lesexigences du programme peuvent êtretrouvés dans le document intitulé Regis-tration and Program Requirements 2011-2012 et qu’il est possible de consulter àpartir du lien suivant :http://www.mcgill.ca/law-studies/courses/. This document mayoffer some answers to questions regard-ing exchanges and study abroad pro-grams, non course credit options, outsidelaw and non law credits. Although thereare temporarily no drop-in hours for themoment due to the strike, the SAO ordi-narily devotes Mondays: 9:00 a.m. -10:00a.m; Tuesdays: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m;Wednesdays: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.;Thursdays: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. to help-ing students who seek academic or per-sonal advice, and who wish to stop bybefore or after class.

Exam schedules, course schedules, regis-tration

Exam and course schedules for both Falland Winter terms will always be availableon the website, under the CurrentCourses and Registration tab. If you havetwo overlapping examinations, three con-secutive examinations in two days, or areligious conflict, you have the option ofwriting the examination in advance of theregular examination. You will be asked tosign a confidentiality agreement, and youmust inform the SAO before the deadline.Cancelled classes, review classes, class-room location changes, and location ofmake-up classes will also be listed on thewebsite. The SAO will also post noticesadvising students of any class cancella-tions near the Moot Court entrance or inthe Atrium.

Dates, deadlines, forms

The SAO also provides an updated list ofimportant dates and deadlines and a cal-endar of key dates for extension requests,exchange applications, reporting examconflicts, applications for graduation, termessays, writing & drafting projects andterm papers, available at the followingwebpage: https://home.mcgill.ca/law-studies/information/deadlines/. Applica-tion forms for deferred examinations,take-home exams for library pick up, re-view of a final grade, group assistants,non law courses, outside courses, majors,minors, clerkships, legal clinic course,major internships, honours, study-awayand exchange, are available athttps://home.mcgill.ca/law-studies/forms/.

Deferred and supplemental examinations

Students may inform the SAO, prior to orwithin 24 hours of the examination, ofreasons for their requesting permission towrite a deferred examination. Deferredexaminations are available to studentswho, for medical reasons or analogouscauses, cannot write examinations at thenormal time. Supporting documentation,such as a doctor’s note, is required. For in-formation on policies and procedures re-garding examinations, visithttps://home.mcgill.ca/law-studies/infor-mation/exams/.The SAO also grants permission to write asupplemental examination, available to astudent who has failed a course, but whois not required to withdraw from the Fac-ulty. Such an examination may be writtenin up to two courses which do not exceeda total of seven credits together. The SAOcan also provide information on how theresult will appear on your transcript, andhow it is calculated in your GPA.

QN • OCTOBER 4 2011 • 21

Room bookings, lockers, lost and found

Le Secrétariat des études en droit s’oc-cupe également de gérer la réservationde locaux et de salles de cours. Durantvotre séjour à la faculté, il se peut quevous ayez à réserver un local pour la réu-nion d’un club ou d’une association. LeSAO vous demande d’envoyer un courrielà info.law@mcgill.ca pour faire une de-mande de réservation. S’il s’agit, toute-fois, d’une réservation pour uneconférence ou un événement, vous devezabsolument compléter un formulaire àcet effet et le faire parvenir à la mêmeadresse. The SAO tries to respond to yourrequests within 2 working days, but clubsmay be more successful with getting theirfirst choice if they are able to plan aheadand make requests in advance, particu-larly for large rooms such as the MootCourt. Vous pouvez également communi-quer avec les préposés à l’accueil pourtoute question.In early September, the Student AffairsOffice posts the locker assignment list invarious places around the Faculty, mainlyin the basement area near the cafeteriaand on the SAO Bulletin Boards. This year,large lockers have been assigned to firstyear students only. All other lockers areopen to upper year students. Once youhave selected a locker, send an email toinfo.law@mcgill.ca with your locker num-ber, enter ‘lockers’ in the subject line. Ifyou have not been assigned a locker, or ifyou encounter any problems with yourlocker, do not hesitate to contact the SAOfor any questions or concerns. In early

May, the SAO will send out notices re-questing all students to vacate theirlocker so that they may be cleaned for thenext academic year. Also, if you have lost a pair of glasses, awallet or your computer charger any-where at the faculty, your first stopshould be the Student Affairs Office. If lostarticles go unclaimed for a couple ofweeks, they are forwarded to the Univer-sity Lost and Found Office in the FerrierBuilding.

Posting notices and exam numbers

Si vous souhaitez afficher une annonce,une publicité, une invitation à une activ-ité, vous devez absolument faire étampervotre document au Secrétariat. Postersthat are not stamped by the SAO will beremoved. Puisque vous êtes déjà au 4èmeétage, pourquoi ne pas penser àrécupérer votre numéro d’examen ? Examnumbers are typically distributed duringthe first week of October for the fall termand the first week in February for the win-ter term. Since written exams are an-swered anonymously, students mustremember to pick up their four-digit examnumber from the SAO. Remember thatyou cannot enter an exam room withoutan exam number and your McGill ID Card.

IMPORTANT! SAO SERVICES DURING THEMUNACA STRIKE:

Until further notice, SAO hours will beopen from Monday to Thursday, 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-15:00. The SAO will be

closed on Friday and will not be holdingdrop-in hours at the moment. The MU-NACA strike has meant a slowdown inemail responses. Please only contact theSAO with urgent questions. Classes andevents will proceed normally, but it is im-portant that you keep in mind that certainprocedures have changed temporarilydue to the strike, such as the submissionof papers and assignments, for example.General inquiries can still be sent toinfo.law@mcgill.ca.

If you would like to make an appointment(Fridays only), please send an email di-rectly to one of the following:

Student Affairs Officer:Nancy.Czemmel@mcgill.caAssistant Dean (SLL):Aisha.Topsakal@mcgill.caAssociate Dean (Academic):Jaye.Ellis@mcgill.ca

Registering for moots, clerkships, legalclinic course, group assistants and jour-nals

Due to the staff shortage, the SAO will nolonger be registering students who havebeen selected for non-course credits. Se-lected students can register themselvesfor the following non-course credits:clerkships, mooting, legal clinic course,group assistants and journals. Do not hes-itate to email Nancy Czemmel(nancy.czemmel@mcgill.ca) if you en-counter any difficulties.

Interested in improving your French or English? Interested insupporting your friends/colleagues as they work to improve theirFrench or English? Interested in free coffee or tea? Interested inhaving non-law conversations with fascinating people? If so,come join us in this initiative to improve and promote bilingua-lism at the faculty.

Les rencontres se tiendront chaque Lundi de 13h00 à 14h30 àThomson House (local 404) pendant la pause universelle. Thé et

café seront gracieusement offerts par le LSA. L'idée principaledemeure de créer une ambiance décontractée où tous pourronspratiquer leur français et anglais oral. After all, practice makesperfect!

Note: This exchange is open to all law students! Questions?Email: jaimie.tax@mail.mcgill.ca or emily.elder@mail.mcgill.ca.

LSA LANGUAGE EXCHANGE/ÉCHANGES LINGUISTIQUES

22 • 4 OCTOBRE 2011 • QN

Hey there, crew! We’ve been somewhat lazy about gettingthings done in time for our extremely patient editors. Thisweek’s column will be a bit slap-dash, but please come back nextweek for a special Q&A edition !

Dear Beverley,

It’s the first week of October already and I'm having trouble re-membering people's names. I talk to people that I’m sure I havemet before, but I can't seem to put names to their faces. Themore time that passes, the more stressful it gets. How do I navi-gate this awkward social situation?

- Stress Induced by Coffeehouse

SIC,

We’ve been there. Not just your two loyal advice-givers - everysingle student at the faculty has been there. Some people areworse at remembering names than others, and if you are the for-mer, don’t sweat it! Just ask, “Oh hey, can you spell your namefor me?” which is pretty smooth. If the answer is something like“B-E-N” accompanied by an accusatory look, you can cover with,“No Ben - not your first name, obviously, your last. To look youup in the Bottin, and on facebook and LinkedIn! What’s yournumber, by the way?” And then you just come across as kind ofcreepy rather than forgetful. Problem solved.

Dear Beverley,

I’m an Anglophone and my level of spoken French is less thanideal. I have decided to take extra-contractual obligations inFrench and would like to intervene but have so far been too shyto bust out my broken grammar and extremely AnglophoneFrench accent. Although people tell me the accent is cute, I’mscared of sounding stupid in front of my extremely intelligentand perfectly bilingual colleagues. Advice?

- Feeling Shy & Low-spirited

FSL,

First of all, I’m sure many of your peers feel the same way. Forthe record, we are not all “perfectly bilingual.” You are not alonein the pursuit of bilingualism!

As per faculty policy, students are allowed to ask questions and/or respond in the language of their choice, regardless of the lan-guage of instruction. That being said, do us a favor and ask your-

self a few questions. Why did you enroll in the French course?Did it have anything to do with your pursuit to bilingualism andmastering the French language?

Don’t be shy! Take advantage of this opportunity; now is yourchance to improve. Our advice: go for it! Once you break the ice,we promise it will only get easier. The worst thing that couldhappen is you make a mistake or two and prompt some chuckles– feel free to switch back to English! But know that the laughteris loving and your efforts are hugely appreciated. If you reach apoint where you can’t express your ideas or opinions in French,there is no shame in changing to English.

You should take note that there are numerous ways to improveyour spoken French both on campus and in Montreal. You canlook into taking a French course during the semester (SSMU of-fers French conversation mini-courses), you can look for aconversation buddy/ group on craiglist.ca or kijiji.ca or you cantake advantage of the LSA Language Exchange that takes placeevery Monday from 1:00 pm till 2:30 pm in Thomson House,Room 404.

Bonne chance et bon courage!

Dear Beverley,

I woke up on Saturday morning with a hangover and saw theweather was less than ideal. I skipped the Malpractice Cup, andinstead went to the gym and curled up at home with some rea-dings. Did I miss anything?

- Didn’t Rain in the YMCA

DRY,

Not cool. We could be angry, but instead we just feel bad foryou. You paid for, and then missed, one of the best events of theyear. While Law *spoiler alert* lost the Cup again this year, it’snot really about the trophy. The organizers did a great job bykeeping us moving and providing garbage bags rain apparel forthose of us that needed it. There was plenty of pizza, timbits andhealthy competition to feed on in between events, and the post-Cup beer was well deserved. Be sure to put on a jacket and comehelp us take the Med students down next year!

Well folks, that’s all for this week’s Un/Solicited Advice. Wedon’t have much to say without you, so please write in todear.beverley@gmail.com - no question too silly! No commenttoo inane! No offer of a date will be left unconsidered!

UN/SOLICITED ADVICEMISSED DEADLINES EDITION

BEVERLY

2L: I want to know if my TA is gay, hisjeans are way too tight!

Quid EIC: I suck at peeling carrots, butyou should see my cumcumber peelingtechnique… Quite gifted with a knifeand a cucumber!

2L, in Family Law: Quebecers are noto-riously bad procreators.

Prof. [redacted]: Si quelqu’un ne res-pecte pas un contrat, vous pouvez l’atta-cher dans votre cour et lui faire deschoses…

Prof [redacted]: You can't just say 'Oh, Idon't think that's what they reallymeant'. I'm sorry, but the Civil Codeisn't something that was drafted on anapkin!

JICP Guest Speaker: Laws do not comeabout by spontaneous combustion!

Prof Leckey: Few of you write on Fa-ther's Day, "To my favourite relative inthe direct line in the first degree".

Prof. [redacted]: Paul Bernando was… Idon't want to say… the incarnation ofevil!

Prof. Gold: It's hard being a professor:my students don't age. I always see thesame age of faces and then I look in themirror...

OVERHEARD AT THE FAC

ENVOYEZ-NOUS CE QUE VOUSENTENDEZ !

quid.overheard@gmail.com