QUID NOVI - Latest Issue

QUID
NOVI
Journal des étudiant-e-s
en droit de l’université McGill
Published by the McGill Law
Students’ Association
Volume 37, no 9
23 février 2016| February 23, 2016
QUID
NOVI
QUID NOVI
3644 Peel Street
Montréal, Québec H2A 1X1
[email protected]
http://quid.mcgill.ca/
http://www.quidnovi.ca
EDITORS IN CHIEF
Nathan Cudicio
Alexa Franczak
Hyacinthe Huguet
LAYOUT EDITORS
Peggy Giordano
Marie-Pier Gauthier
Chen Yu
Journal des étudiant-e-s
en droit de l’université McGill
McGill Law’s Weekly Student Newspaper
Volume 37, no9
23 février 2016| February 23, 2016
What’s inside ?
Quel est le contenu ?
ÉDITO
3
UNTITLED
4
a progressive case against bds
6
LAW LIBRARY NEWS
8
Assisted Reproduction: Navigating the Criminalization of
Commercial Surrogacy and Reacting to Unexpected
international women’s day
10
panel on gender equality and rights in asia
11
a civil dress code, plz
12
veggie burgers
13
peer-to-peer perspectives
14
fun and games
15
ASSOCIATE REVIEWERS
Kaishan He
Lindsay Little
Elspeth McMurray
Shy Shalev
Andrew Stuart
Kayla Tink
COLUMNISTS
Charles Daoust
Hyacinthe Huguet
Lindsay Little
Suzanne Zaccour
Want to talk ?
Tu veux t’exprimer ?
Envoyez vos commentaires ou articles avant
jeudi 17h à l’adresse : [email protected]
Toute contribution doit indiquer le nom de
l’auteur, son année d’étude ainsi qu’un titre
pour l’article. L’article ne sera publié qu’à la
discrétion du comité de rédaction, qui
basera sa décision sur la politique de
rédaction.
Quid Novi is published by the McGill Law
Students' Association, a student society
of McGill University. The content of this
publication is the sole responsibility of
the McGill Law Students' Association
and does not necessarily represent the
views of McGill University.
Contributions should preferably be submitted
as a .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 2015 Quid Novi. Les opinions exprimées sont propres aux auteurs et ne réflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’équipe du Quid Novi. The content of this publication does not
necessarily reflect the views of the McGill Law Students’ Association or of McGill University.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
hyacinthe
huguet
Le Quid à l’ère du numérique
De plus en plus de médias délaissent le format papier et adoptent une plateforme numérique. Le Quid sera bientôt l’un d’eux.
En effet, à compter de l’année prochaine, le journal des étudiants de la faculté va passer à l’ère du numérique. Le journal sera
exclusivement publié sur son site web. Celui-ci va être entièrement repensé et reconçu durant l’été afin de pouvoir adéquatement servir ses nouvelles fonctions. Nous avons pris cette décision entre rédacteurs en chef pour plusieurs raisons.
Premièrement, nous sommes persuadés que le format web peut favoriser une discussion intrafacultaire. Le but premier du
Quid est d’encourager ce type d’échanges entre les étudiants. Ainsi, nous allons concevoir la nouvelle plateforme numérique
qui accueillera le Quid de façon à ce qu’elle favorise l’interaction entre les étudiants. Le présent format peut déjà paraître
anachronique pour certains en ces temps de médias sociaux et de brèves instantanées. Cependant, le goût pour le débat et
l’échange d’idées est bien vivant à la faculté. En revanche, il semble que ce type d’interactions prenne place de nos jours sur
les médias sociaux, lesquels permettent des réactions en temps réel, des mises à jour récurrentes, un accès quasi illimité à
l’information et une grande visibilité. Ainsi, nous souhaitons doter le Quid de ces atouts.
Le format web permettra donc aux étudiants de partager un article du Quid sur les réseaux sociaux, de commenter un article
sur ceux-ci ou sur le site internet du journal et conséquemment d’interagir facilement avec leurs camarades. Ce nouveau format a le potentiel de nourrir la discussion intrafacultaire et d’étoffer le tissu social de cette communauté scolaire.
Deuxièmement, la plateforme numérique va permettre au journal d’assouplir son rythme de publication. Actuellement, un
bloc de contenu est publié une fois par semaine. À l’avenir, le contenu du Quid pourra être mis à jour de façon périodique.
Autrement dit, il sera possible à l’équipe de rédaction de publier des articles à mesure qu’on les lui soumet au lieu d’attendre
l’échéance hebdomadaire imposée par la distribution du format papier. La substance du journal s’en trouvera vivifiée. De
plus, certains articles font référence à des faits d’actualité et perdent de leur pertinence s’ils sont publiés après les faits qu’ils
commentent. À présent, nous tâcherons de mettre en ligne rapidement le contenu se rapportant à un évènement en cours et
commandant de ce fait une publication accélérée.
Troisièmement, la nouvelle plateforme va grandement simplifier la distribution du journal. Le présent format implique d’imprimer des dizaines de copies toutes les semaines, tout en sachant qu’une partie d’entre elles ne seront peut-être pas utilisées, et
de les placer dans des points de chute au sein des bâtiments de la faculté qui ne sont pas toujours connus des étudiants. Ainsi,
le nouveau format constitue une option écologique à la distribution papier et un moyen plus efficace de délivrer le Quid aux
étudiants. Dorénavant, un simple clic suffira à ceux-ci afin d’avoir accès à leur journal.
En somme, nous sommes très enthousiastes à l’idée d’effectuer cette transition et d’œuvrer au renouveau du journal. Toutefois, nous gardons à l’esprit que le journal est celui des étudiants de la faculté. Ainsi, nous travaillons au service de ceux-ci. Par
conséquent, nous aimerions entendre vos suggestions sur la modernisation du Quid. Nous vous encourageons à nous faire
part de vos commentaires, idées, objections, etc. Pour ce faire, prière de nous envoyer un courriel à l’adresse suivante : quid.
[email protected]
QN • 19 jan 2016 • 3
QN • 23 FEV 2016 • 3
UNTITLED
REBECCA
LOUIS
Do they think I’m objective? Do they think I’m reasonable? Did my affective response compromise my intellectual merit?
Did I fall into the stereotype? For some of you reading this, you will know exactly where I’m going; you see these questions flowing
from somewhere, a somewhere that you may not be able to put your finger on, but you can feel it. For others, these questions may
appear random, so random that you are puzzled—where is she going with this? I should say that not all of you will find this informative, relatable, or perhaps even “accessible”. The extent to which it is or is not, is likely tied to your perspective, experiences, and
willingness to be troubled or uncomfortable with what you “know” and your “truths”.
I am inclined to note from the outset that I am writing from the position of a Black woman, particularly of mixed Caribbean and White heritage. My identity intersects at the privilege of access to higher education and my lower-middle class upbringing. This may be relevant to my views. Yes, I am Black and I am interested in “Black issues”—I hope my credibility isn’t at stake. I
am (not) sorry that my identity is bound up with the issues that concern me. Black people speaking on topics related to Blackness is
not biased. I do not purport to speak for all Black people, or even some Black people for that matter. I am speaking for myself and
my experiences on this campus. I figure that if I’ve lost some of you by this point, that is okay, those who are still with me, hang on
for the ride. I am not writing this to prove anything, as the following few passages contain mainly questions, not answers. Reflect
with me.
Having pushed for critical legal scholarship and critical race theory to be included in my section of the Foundations course,
I was pleased that a concession was finally made with three weeks left in the course. Questioning the absence of this literature
back in September, I was met with a jarring response “I prefer not to teach in ‘’isms.’” My visceral internal dialogue was activated:
I did not come here for you to teach me about racism; I don’t need the institution’s recognition that experiencing racism is the
objective reality of particular segments of society. What I was seeking was an openness to discussing these so-called “alternative”
literatures, since, just as Hart and Fuller, they offer different ways of thinking about and conceptualizing the law.
Arriving to class on Wednesday morning, I was anxious to hear what my majority White classmates would have to say
about a piece in Patricia J. Williams’ The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Although the conversation started out seemingly well, things
quickly took a turn. For over one hour, the conversation poked and prodded at the identity and credibility of the author, questioned
the academic rigor of the piece, and some even labelled it “confusing”, “distracting”, and “inaccessible”. I was confused. Why were
we not talking about the substantive content of the piece? Why had these same criticisms not been lodged against other authors
we had read? What was “inaccessible” about what she was saying? Would these same criticisms have arose in a law class, say, at
Howard?
There was something disconcerting, to the majority of those speaking up in class, about the fact that the author had
chosen a narrative style to convey her message, even though she was blatant that “subject position is everything” in her analysis
of the law. Moreover, she was explicit that her analytic technique was aimed at describing a “community of context for those social
actors whose traditional legal status has been the isolation of oxymoron, or oddity, of outsider”.1 In discussing other pieces, we
were encouraged not to unduly dismiss an author in light of the parameters they set out for themselves, but here, that thought had
been casually displaced. Why, when we discussed Aboriginal perspectives on law, did the class seem unconcerned or welcoming to
the subjectivity of the author as granting insight into Aboriginal experiences, but Williams’ subjectivity was troubling? If there is so
much concern about Black subjectivities in discussing their racialized experiences—which make up a larger pattern of disadvantage
in society—what is a more “objective” way of “doing” critical race theory? Might there be something we lose in objectifying Black
experiences of the law? I could not help but think about Justice Sparks in R. v. RDS.
1
The Alchemy of Race and Rights at p 7.
QN •
23 FEV 2016
•4
At the youth court trial, Justice Sparks—a Black female judge—dismissed the charges against RDS, stating that the Crown
did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that RDS assaulted the officer. The judge accepted the testimony of the accused, stating
that the officer’s actions were in keeping with the “prevailing attitude of the day”, implying that it was not uncommon for White
police officers to exhibit racial animus toward young Black men in Nova Scotia. These remarks founded the Crown’s appeal on the
basis that Justice Sparks exhibited a reasonable apprehension of bias against the White police officer. Again, I am left asking myself
questions tied to Black subjectivities and notions of legitimacy. If the Crown attorney was Black, would he/she have conceived of
these statements as founding a reasonable apprehension of bias? If a White judge alluded to the racial climate of policing in Nova
Scotia, would their comment have been perceived as biased? What determines whether we label something as biased or legitimate? Interestingly, had Justice Sparks been silent as to why she preferred the testimony of the accused, but still bore in mind the
patterned interactions between young Black men and the police in Nova Scotia in rendering her decision, the decision would likely
not have been appealed. Williams picks up on this by recanting her experience as a Black woman: being non-Black for purposes
of inclusion and Black for purposes of exclusion. The decision to appeal on reasonable apprehension of bias suggests that leaving
Blackness out of the equation achieves the preferred type of objectivity. Diversity on the bench (and in the classroom) is apparently
lauded, but if it becomes too pronounced, there is a risk of being excluded for the very same reason it was included. Williams terms
this experience the paradox of being Black.
I will wrap up by sharing a remark I made to one of my colleagues—a woman of colour— following this classroom experience: I told her that I found this class discussion necessary, although difficult and disturbing, but perhaps I was particularly shocked because I came from what I referred to as a more “left-leaning” school. She smiled and remarked that often, people referred to
her school as “leftist”, but that perhaps it was the ratio of White to non-White students that inclined people to categorize it as such.
Maybe our previous universities were not “leftist” at all. Perhaps the subjectivities of non-Whites just take up space in a way that is
uncomfortable in post-secondary institutions.
QN • 23 Fev 2016 • 5
a progressive case against bds
itai
azerrad
On February 22nd, our student Society will be voting on whether to boycott, divest, and sanction (BDS) Israel. First I would like to
say that what you are about to read is my view only. There are many people on the “No” BDS side that have different views than me.
What I would like to present to you now is a progressive case against the BDS movement. Additionally, I would like to say that I consider myself to be both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli (And no! There is no contradiction in that statement). I believe both Palestinians
and Israelis have the right of self-determination, security, and peace, and it is because I believe in this that I oppose the BDS movement.
Argument 1: BDS is against a two-state solution:
Currently, a two-state solution, where both Jews and Palestinians have their own independent state living in peace side-by-side is the
only framework for peace that has been accepted by both the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Israeli government, and the International community at large (Canada, EU, USA, UN etc.). Both groups have a legitimate right to invoke their national identities’ long history
in the territory in question as a basis for their right to self-determination in the region. However if one were to implement the three
pillars of the BDS platform, especially #3, then a two state solution becomes impossible. This is because a two-state solution is based
on the concept of two states for two people. By stating that all descendants of Palestinian refugees should have the right to return,
this will inevitably end in a one-state solution where Jews will find themselves in the minority. Hence the Jewish state will cease to
exist. The international community was in agreement by passing resolutions 181 and 242 that Jews have the right to self-determination. By advocating that we boycott Israel until it is eliminated, we are advocating for the elimination of Jewish people’s right to selfdetermination. It was accepted and still is accepted by the international community that after the nearly 2,000 years of persecution
of Jews living as unwanted minorities in Christian Europe and the Arab world, they deserve a state to preserve and protect their right
to exist.
Myth: The Jews don’t need a state in 2016
Ever since the creation of Israel, Jewish people around the world have used the availability of a Jewish state in order to protect themselves from discrimination and persecution. In the 1950s and 60s, when almost the entire Arab world expelled the 800,000 Jewish
people who lived in their countries and took away their citizenship and property, the only place that would accept so many Jews
in such a short amount of time was Israel. In the 1980s, during the drought that caused widespread famine in sub-Saharan Africa,
Ethiopian Jews were flown into Israel by the 10,000s. In the 1990s, the over 500,000 Russian Jews who were being persecuted in the
Soviet Union used Israel as a refuge to escape the terrible fallout. Today in 2016, Jews in Europe use Israel as a country to escape
quickly due to the dramatic rise in anti-Semitism that is rampaging through Europe correlating with the rise of far right-wing nationalist parties and neo-Nazi parties. In France, the situation has become so bad that 80% of the Jewish population is considering leaving
the Republic in favour of Israel. Just last year, 7,000 Jews (Or almost 2% of the French Jewish population) left France to move to
Israel.1 In fact, even in North America the vast majority of all hate crimes committed against any religious group is committed against
Jews (57% in the U.S and 56% in Canada).2 3 On a personal note, when I was in grade 5, my elementary school (JPPS) in Montreal had
to be evacuated multiple times in just one week because of constant bomb threats. While no attacks ever took place, another Jewish
school in Saint-Laurent, Montreal (UTT) had its library burned up in flames in 2004.4 Anti-Semitism is real. Jews today now have the
option they did not in 1939: the option to leave their anti-Semitic place of inhabitance, which is important for the survival of the
Jewish people in the 21st century.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/203445
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2014/topic-pages/victims_final
3
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2015001/article/14191/c-g/desc/desc08-eng.htm
4
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/man-admits-to-firebombing-montreal-jewish-school-1.490700
1
2
QN •
23 fev 2016
•6
Argument 2: BDS takes an unbalanced view of the conflict
Furthermore, while BDS ignores the right of Jewish people to self-determination, it also makes the illogical leap that somehow the
solution to this conflict is to blame one side. While some “No” BDS people might not agree with me, I believe Israel has at times
not been the voice for peace and has acted in ways contrary to such voices. However, if our university was to only reprimand Israel
and say that it is only Israel that must change its policies unilaterally without any change of policy by the other side, then that is
an unbalanced view of the conflict. BDS does not understand that Israel’s actions do not exist in a vacuum, and any resolution that
places all the blame on one side of this conflict is not properly representing the facts. The situation is complicated, and to try and
simplify it to just “Israel is bad, boycott Israel,” is to ignore the other actors in the region like Hamas and the PA— Especially Hamas,
which is a classified terrorist organization that denies Israel’s right to exist and has fired over 10,000 rockets into Israel, indiscriminately killing many Israeli civilians. Even if you believe that Israel is a bad actor in the conflict, you must admit that to solely blame
Israel and to only punish Israel for the current situation is unfair and unbalanced.
Myth: Boycotting is an effective way to challenge Israel’s actions
People who advocate for the boycott try and rationalize it as a means of which to try and pressure the Israeli population to change
the government’s behaviour. All that sanction will do is make Israelis feel targeted by the international community for exercising
their internationally recognized right to self-determination. Israelis would furthermore be given the impression that to be pro-Palestinian is to be against Jewish self-determination. Israelis would rightfully feel as though nothing other than the annihilation of the
Jewish state will be enough for the BDS movement. Furthermore, the only thing that boycotts will do is make our university engage
in a collective punishment against Israelis (of which 20% are Palestinian). In fact, the BDS movement will probably have a disproportionately negative effect on Palestinians.5 These boycotts seek to isolate Israel, and give western influences less sway, thus fueling
the Israeli extreme right. If we engaged in an effort of cooperation and exchange with both Palestinians and Israelis, we increase our
“peaceful” influences and go on the right track towards peace.
Myth: Voting No on BDS means that you support Israel unequivocally
Absolutely NOT! I am not in support of every action of Israel. I am opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing agenda for Israel
and his non-acceptance of the possibility for a Palestinian state. Voting no on BDS does not mean that you are voting in favour
of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Voting “No” on BDS just means that you don’t accept the notion that the source of all the
conflict is only the actions of the Israeli government and that both sides need to accept that there exists two legitimate rights to
self-determination. In fact, the anti-BDS camp is a diverse group of people all the way from the conservative right to the left (Me).
While we may all differ on who is to blame for the conflict, we all see that BDS is wrong. In Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada6,
Conservative Party7, New Democratic Party of Canada8 and Green Party of Canada9 have all rejected the BDS movement against
Israel (the Bloc have never been questioned about it). Furthermore, BDS is rejected outright by the European Union.10
However, I hear some Quid readers thinking to themselves: What If I don’t want to get involved in this conflict? That makes it ever
more important that you show up to vote against BDS, because by abstaining you run the risk that our university will be endorsing
a radical position on the conflict. If you don’t believe that our university should be getting involved then voting against BDS ensures
that we don’t!
Finally, I would like to just say that our university must be a place of acceptance, where students from all different backgrounds feel
as if their contribution is appreciated. Boycotting one country may make some Israeli students, such as myself, feel targeted and
unwelcome to share my rich national culture with other people. I therefore invite all McGill students in the Faculty of Law to come
to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) at 3480 Rue McTavish, Montreal to vote against BDS on Feb 22nd.
If anyone has any questions about BDS or wants to understand the Palestinian-Israeli conflict further please feel free to talk to me…
As all of you already know, I am very approachable.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carriesheffield/2015/02/22/boycott-israel-movement-stunts-the-palestinian-economy/#2715e4857a
0b3d92fb874b09
6
https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/576465632884981760
7
http://www.cp24.com/news/boycotting-israel-represents-new-anti-semitism-harper-1.1646745
8
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/jonathon-narvey-libby-davies-forces-ndp-to-face-facts
9
http://www.cjnews.com/news/elizabeth-may-jews-heart-soul-conscience-canada-long-time
10
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/180893#.VrwT7IS-q5Y
5
QN • 23 Fev 2016 • 7
library news
LAW library news
Law Library in the Internet Archive
Nouvelle banque de données : Parchemin
The Law Library now has its own sub-collection in the Internet
Archives digital library, https://archive.org/details/mcgilluniversitynahumgelberlaw, which contains all the books from our
print holdings that have been digitised. All our newly digitised
rare materials will be added to this collection, as well as to the
HathiTrust digital library.
Parchemin est une banque de données notariales du Québec
ancien 1626-1799 produite par la Société de recherche historique Archiv-Histo qui est désormais accessible aux usagers de
McGill. Parchemin contient de plusieurs centaines de milliers
de notices correspondant aux informations contenues dans
l’ensemble des minutes notariales du Québec ancien depuis les
premières heures de la colonisation française en Amérique du
nord jusqu’au 31 décembre 1799, notamment :
NEW: United Nations iLibrary
•Minutes notariales consignées sur tout le territoire du Québec
ancien entre le 12 février 1626 et le 31 décembre 1799
•Minutes notariales portant sur les différents Forts de l’Ouest
(1700-1800) (région de Détroit et Middle West) microfilmées
par l’Institut Drouin vers 1940
•Minutes notariales de l’Acadie (1699-1759) conservées aux Archives départementales de la Charente-Maritime à La Rochelle
(France)
•Minutes notariales du Fonds Baby (1620-1900) de la Division
de la gestion des documents et des archives de l’Université de
Montréal
At present, United Nations iLibrary comprises 750 titles in En•Minutes notariales retrouvées dans les dossiers judiciaires du
glish and 250 in other official languages of the United Nations: Bailliage de la juridiction royale de Montréal (1647-1734)
French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. This initial scope •Actes sous seing privé de la région de Montréal (1648-1790)
covers most of the content published between 2013 and 2015. •Actes des insinuations de la Prévôté de Montréal (1684-1760)
Some 3,000 more titles published between 2010 and 2015 are •Minutes notariales de la Principauté de Liège conservées aux
expected to be available by the end of 2016. The content of the Archives de l’État à Liège (Belgique)
United Nations iLibrary will be regularly updated with approxi- •Minutes notariales de la Province du Brabant wallon consermately 500 new titles published every year on the key topics
vées aux Archives de l’État à Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgique)
reflecting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted
La banque des donnée Parchemin peut être accédée via :
by the United Nations.
Law subject guide > Canadian legislation and cases> Québec
resources
You can access it via Law subject guide> Foreign and International legislation and cases> Foreign & international.
Law Library blog, Facebook, & Twitter
The Law Library is on social media:
• Read the Law Library’s blog http://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/
lawlibrary/
• Like our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/NahumGelberLaw.Library
• Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/McGillLawLibrar
United Nations Publications has recently launched the United
Nations iLibrary, http://www.un-ilibrary.org, the first comprehensive global search, discovery, and dissemination platform
for digital content created by the United Nations. It includes
publications on international peace and security, human rights,
economic and social development, climate change, international law, governance, public health, and statistics. In future releases, the platform will also provide access to other resources,
such as working papers series and statistical databases.
QN •
23 Fev 2016
•8
Move from the
classroom to
the courtroom.
If you’ve set your sights on a career in litigation, you want to apply all
that you’ve learned so far where it really counts – in court. At Lenczner
Slaght, you’ll spend more time preparing and presenting cases, guided
by highly respected lawyers who can help you develop and polish your
advocacy skills. As Canada’s leading litigation practice, we don’t just
offer you more firsthand courtroom experience – we insist on it.
QN • 23 fev 2016 • 9
International women’s
day
iwd
March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), is a time that we celebrate the resilience, resistance, and work of the women-identified folk all across the world. It’s a day to celebrate and remember the ways that women of colour, trans women of colour, and
indigenous women resist violence in their communities. It is also a day to commemorate and remember those who have died
at the hands of violence. We hope that this International Women’s Day will not just be a time to reflect and celebrate, but an
opportunity for us to learn from each other’s experiences.
The Women of Color Collective, Feminist Collective, Contours, Black Law Students Association, Aboriginal Law Students Association, RadLaw, and McGill Students for Feminism have come together to bring you a 2 day IWD event.
Day 1: «Our Voices» Panel featuring Women of Colour and Indigenous women’s experiences of the legal profession. (Moot
Court, March 7, 6pm-8pm)
Day 2: «Speak Our Minds» Arts Night/Coffeehouse featuring spoken word, artwork, beat poetry, music, inspirational dance
around the resistance of women. (Thompson House, March 8, 4:30pm-7pm)
There are still a few spots left for arts night, so if you would like to perform something on the resistance of women, please email
[email protected]
**The Coffeehouse will have vegan food and non- alcoholic beverages**
**For both events, childcare is available upon request**
Funding for these events have been provided by the Law Students’ Association and the Dean’s Discretionary Fund.
https://www.facebook.com/events/184174598606173/
QN •
23 fev 2016
• 10
aplam
panel on gender equality
and rights in asia
PANEL ON GENDER EQUALITY AND RIGHTS IN ASIA
When: Monday, February 22nd, 2016 at 1pm
Where: NCDH 312
*Lunch will be provided.*
Speakers: Prof. Kimberley Manning (Chair of the Simon de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University) and Prof. Karine Bates
(Director and Founder of Research Pole on India and South Asia (PRIAS))
Are you interested in Gender rights? Are you interested in Asia? APLAM invites you to come to our event, enjoy a great meal
and learn about the subject!
Gender discrimination costs lives. Discriminatory treatment in access to health and nutrition, pure neglect, or pre-birth sex
selection affects more than 100 million people in Asia. Gender discrimination affects the daily life of every woman.
Our experts will be talking about women’s conditions in China and South Asia. They will also answer any question you may have
at our Q & A session.
CONFÉRENCE SUR L’ÉGALITÉ ET LE DROIT DES FEMMES EN ASIE
Quand : le lundi 22 février 2016 à 13h
Où : NCDH 312
*Le lunch sera fourni.*
Conférencières : Prof. Kimberley Manning (Principale de l’Institut Simon de Beauvoir à l’Université Concordia) et Prof. Karine
Bates (Directrice et fondatrice du Pôle de recherche sur l’Inde et l’Asie du Sud (PRIAS)).
Est-ce que vous êtes intéressé-e-s par les droits des femmes? Est-ce que vous êtes intéressé-e-s par l’Asie? APLAM vous invite à
notre événement! Partagez un bon lunch et apprenez plus sur le sujet!
La discrimination des femmes coûte des vies. Les traitements discriminatoires dans l’accès à la santé et à la nutrition, la négligence pure, ou la présélection du sexe avant la naissance affectent plus de cent millions de gens en Asie. La discrimination
affecte la vie quotidienne de toutes les femmes.
Nos experts vont parler des conditions des femmes en Chine et en Asie du Sud. Ils vont également répondre vos questions à la
fin de la conférence.
QN • 23 fev 2016 • 11
A Civil Dress Code, plz
mATTHEW
MALONE
The Faculty sport of dressing well and owning it has reached
new heights this year. Our Faculty inaugurated Canada’s first
ever Fashion Law Seminar, and just recently students held a Law
Fashion Show for charity. But before you all sign your membership cards in the natty noblesse, be warned! You do so at your
own apparel.
in happiness) of this profession. Certainly, few other professions
are as appreciative of fitted waistlines and the occasional outré
print that one is likely to see on an average day at this faculty.
But in the 2010s, it clearly has nothing to do with being queer.
Well-accepted doctrine is that straight law students are among
the most over-dressed in this faculty.
Among all the endearing adjectives that the public uses to
describe lawyers (backstabbing, lying, cutthroat, merciless), it is
perhaps our only saving grace that they also use ‘well-dressed’.
Lawyers are snazzy. While doctors selflessly accept their low-key
attire as part of their honourable life purpose, lawyers flash as
bright as the ambulance lights after which they chase. One of
the most popular shows about lawyers on TV refers to them
by their attire – Suits. How far could that possibly be from the
miserable Scrubs?
So why do lawyers and law students dress so well? What is all
this glitz for? One answer came to me during the latest exam
period, just before my torts exam. I saw a classmate sporting an
elastic waist denim cuff-me-officer one-piece with scooped neckline, hair elegantly coiffed. Flawless, in short. Adorned as I was
in a coffee-stained Walmart sweater (practically a tort itself),
with eyes spooky from a lack of sleep, all I could say was: “How
can you wear such a beautiful dress on exam day?”
Looking around at my morning Droit des biens class the other
day, I recently asked myself where this love of dapper appearances in the legal profession comes from. I noticed that the
students were wearing arresting split-neck tees and eye-catching wrap-tops (but only the men). It was as if the only droit
réel that mattered that morning was looking réel good. I started
to feel that there was something wrong with all this dressing
and impressing.
As a gay man, I used to assume that the lawyerly obsession with
looking sharp was an offshoot of the sheer gayness (gayness as
QN •
23 fev 2016
• 12
Her response: “It’s my coping mechanism! Teehee! Teehee!”
Is dressing well a sword for us to stand out among our panicked,
overworked peers? Or is it a shield to protect us against their
high expectations of us and themselves? That would certainly
explain my poor attire on exam day. In dressing poorly and failing to hold myself out as a fashion barrister I made it perfectly
clear that I was not ready to join the noblesse. Not yet.
Law III
lindsay
little & Emma
Loignongiroux
veggie burgers
Hello wonderful people of McGill Law!
As I write this, I am sure that many of you are joyfully imbibing
at coffee house. Some others may be anxiously preparing for
Ottawa interviews. Still others may be biting their fingernails
about clerkship phone calls. I, for one, am doing none of the
above. I am reminiscing about the excellent burger I ate two
nights ago. There is very “Little” law going through my mind
right now (Emma is the pun master, truly).
Why was I thinking about burgers instead of the law? Well,
these burgers were something special. They’re veggie burgers,
partly inspired by what was in my fridge/pantry, and partly by
an Internet blog. I also had a lot of leftovers, so in the past 48
hours, I’ve had… more than I care to admit.
This recipe will make some burgers. A reasonable guess is
about 8, but will be more or less depending on their size.
INGREDIENTS
•
2 sweet potatoes, each approximately the size of a
medium coffee cup
•
½ cup cooked quinoa (you can add more, if you have
more left over. You can also cook some fresh stuff, if you’re
feeling ambitious)
•
1 cup uncooked oats (can be old fashioned, can be
rolled, can be a mix of lots of different kind of oats – if you’re
mixing by hand, small instant oats are best – not large flakes!)
•
½ small onion (any colour)
•
2 teaspoons cumin (if you like cumin. If you don’t like
cumin, it may be a good idea to go for a different burger)
•
1 teaspoon chilli powder
•
½ teaspoon cinnamon (it tastes really good with the
sweet potatoes)
•
1 teaspoon paprika (or some other equivalent smoky
spice)
•
½ teaspoon salt
•
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for frying)
•
As many buns or other bread-like things that you think
you can eat, if you feel like eating them
QN •
23 fev 2016
• 13
DIRECTIONS
1.
Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven by cutting them
in half (keep the peel on), and turning on the oven to 400
degrees Fahrenheit. When soft (read: easily poke-able with a
fork), remove them from the oven (turn the oven off) and let
them cool. Once cool enough, take off the peel.
2.If you have a food processor (I got mine for $8 at
Salvation Army), grind up the oats. Then add in every other
ingredient. Process until all is blended together (this might
take some time, and you might have to stop and mix a little by
hand).
3.If you don’t have a food processor, put all ingredients
into a bowl and mash with a potato mixer. Or smash it with
your hand. Or wrap a can in a plastic bag and squish it down.
You have full creative license. This might be therapeutic for
some of you!
4.Heat up a pan on medium over the stove. Add the
vegetable oil.
5.
Shape the burger-mush into burger shape with your
hands. Fry about 4-5 minutes each side, taking care to crisp
(but not to burn).
6.
Eat on your bread-like things, with plenty of your
favourite toppings!
QN • 19 jan 2016 • 13
Weekly Submission
peer-to-peer perspectives
law
peer-to-peer
program
Perspectives du programme de soutien des pairs/Peer-to-Peer Perspectives
In our weekly series, Perspectives, we’ll be writing about our experiences at the Faculty and what helps us relax, manage stress, and
stay connected. If you have a topic you’d like to see in Perspectives, let us know during our office hours or send us an email at peer.
[email protected].
- Maxime, Stacey, Stefanie, Farnell, Jared, and Melissa, Members of the Law Peer-to-Peer Support Program
Reading Week
Reading Week is just around the corner! The winter semester can
be quite hectic with memos, facta, and mid-term assignments.
Plus, you know, it’s cold and dark all the time. Reading Week can
provide a welcome opportunity to catch up on those readings on
which we have all inevitably fallen behind, but it is also an opportunity to take some time for yourself and to recharge. This week,
your friendly Peer- to- Peer Support Team decided to share how
we have chosen to spend our past reading weeks (note that there
is not necessarily much reading involved!).
I tried to spend some of my 1L Reading Week outside. Even
though Reading Week isn’t always the best time of the year to
be outside, it was a great break from sitting at my desk with my
computer. I went back home to the country for a few days and
one day, we walked down to the river. Somehow, it had frozen
perfectly clearly. You could see everything right to the bottom.
There were so many bubbles frozen part way to the surface.
It was beautiful. Being outside in the quiet, fresh air and open
space was such a nice change from sitting inside doing readings.
-Melissa, 2L
«À l’image des années précédentes, je planifie séparer ma
semaine en deux : une moitié pour me mettre à jour dans la
matière et l’autre pour complètement déconnecter. Pour moi,
ça signifie sortir Montréal et m’entourer des gens que j’aime et
qui me rappellent que la vie, c’est pas si grave. Quelques jours
sans métro, sans neige brune et sans rue Peel me font toujours le
plus grand bien et la distance permet de recharger mes batteries.
Même pour les jours dans la métropole, le bris de routine et le
changement de rythme permettent de s’ouvrir à des perspectives
différentes qui allègent le quotidien. Que ce soit par le travail, la
déconnexion ou un mélange des deux, je crois que la semaine de
congé est le moment désigné pour faire le point et reprendre son
souffle.»
-Maxime, 2L
break to visit my younger brother who was on exchange at HEC
Paris for the semester. Our birthdays are a day apart and fall over
the break—March 1st and March 2nd—, so we were able to celebrate together by sightseeing, eating pastries, drinking wine, and
trying out different restaurants across the city. While I did have
to do a bit of schoolwork towards the end of the week, the break
was what I needed after a hectic time and got me energized for
the rest of the semester. Even if you feel like you can’t take the
entire week off school, just a few days off can really help!
-Stefanie, 3L
Je ne me souviens sincèrement même pas de ce que j’ai fait
lors de ma semaine de lecture l’an passé. Je ne me souviens
même pas si je suis resté à Montréal ou si je suis retourné chez
moi à Québec. C’est peut-être un peu décevant pour ceux qui
cherchent des idées, mais je pense que ça illustre bien la liberté
totale que vous avez de faire ce que vous voulez pendant cette
semaine; si je ne me souviens pas de ce que j’ai fait, de toute
évidence, je n’ai rien fait d’important ou de marquant, et je ne
l’ai pas regretté par la suite. Même si je vous suggère d’au moins
essayer de faire quelque chose de mémorable, le point sur lequel
je veux vous laisser, c’est que faire rien du tout est vraiment correct aussi, et vous n’allez pas en souffrir après.
-Farnell, 2L
I made sure to leave Montreal during both of my past reading
weeks. As busy students, it’s rare that we have a chance to get
out of the city and take some time for ourselves. In my 1L year, I
went camping for the entire reading break and didn’t even bring
my computer or any books. It made for a pretty crazy week before the break, but it was so worth it and I came back completely
recharged. At this point in the semester, many of us are tired and
need a break. In many cases, we will actually be more productive
overall if we take this chance to rest and recuperate rather than
trying to slog through more readings. There are still another two
months to go when you can do all of that. Don’t be afraid to take
Reading Week is a great way to take some time off and relax,
time for yourself!
especially after having handed in your memo on the Friday before -Stacey, 3L
the break! In 1L, I went to Paris for a few days over the Reading
QN •
19 jan 2016
• 14
QN • 23 fev 2016 • 14
fun and games
QN • 23 fev 2016 • 15