Fiat Justitia: the Pre-Law Review 2014 Edition

Home , Allen Linden

Fiat Justitia: The Pre-Law Review 2014 Edition

A Publication of the McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society

Journal Staff

Editor-in-Chief Ari Zuckerbrot

Assistant Editors George Armoyan Roland Barlier Cole Bricker James Collacutt

Testimonials Editor Siobhan Reid

Layout Justin Hung Kelsey McDonald Stephanie Willsey Ari Zuckerbrot

Advertising & Marketing Frank Hawkins Eric Wiebe

Front and Back Original Cover Art Jenna LaRose

And a Special Thank You to… The Honourable Allen Linden Professor Margaret Somerville Julian & Sara Zuckerbrot Jamie Hussman Kimber Bialik

The Admissions Representatives from McGill Faculty of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, Queen’s Law School, and Western Law

1 Table of CONTENTS

JOIN US IN LAW...... 4 A letter to our readers by Justice Allen Linden

EUTHANASIA IN QUEBEC - AN INTERVIEW WITH MCGILL PROFESSOR MARGARET SOMERVILLE...... 6 By Sasha Engel Hercz

A BALANCING ACT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS VS. SECULAR GOALS...... 10 By Sarah Firestone

GET OUT THE VOTE? EXCEPTIONS AND ABUSES OF THE UNITED STATES VOTING RIGHTS ACT...... 16 By Emma MacDonald

QATAR’S SPONSORHIP SYSTEM: THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT PERPETUATES MODERN DAY SLAVERY...... 19 By Sarah Kahn

THE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE CCRF AND THE PARTI QUEBECOIS’ CHARTER OF VALUES...... 24 By Richad Hirani

LAW SCHOOL INFORMATION McGill Faculty of Law...... 32 Osgoode Hall Law School...... 34 Queen’s Law School...... 36 Western Law School...... 38

LAW STUDENT TESTIMONIALS...... 40

HOW TO APPLY TO LAW SCHOOL...... 45 By Harrison Freeman

ABOUT THE MCGILL PRE-LAW STUDENTS’ SOCIETY...... 47 By Kimber Bialik

2 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Editor’s Note

As my class and I enter our final year as undergraduates, we wonder: “What comes next?” Many of us believe the answer to that question is law school. But do we really know what it means to be a lawyer and what a legal education involves?

We are grateful to the Honourable Justice Allen Linden, a former Federal Court of Appeal Judge and noted legal author and scholar, for taking the time to put down his thoughts for the benefit of our readers. He points out that there are many different ways to practise law, and many benefits of a legal education, even for those who do not go on to practise.

Each law school has a different approach to providing a legal education and, in this issue, admissions representatives from four Canadian law schools answered the question “Why should a McGill undergraduate student attend your institu- tion?”

For a different perspective, this issue also includes words of wisdom from students currently studying law at schools across North America. In addition, we have an article describing the application process for Canadian students applying to schools in both Canada and the United States.

All of these resources appear in Fiat Justitia for the first time this year in order to help McGill undergraduates make informed decisions as they navigate the law school application process.

Fiat Justitia is also meant to be a space where McGill undergraduate students who are interested in legal issues can have their work published. We have selected pieces that tackle current and contentious legal issues in Quebec and the rest of Canada, including religious freedoms and euthanasia. We have also chosen essays that address legal issues outside of Canada, such as voting regulations in the U.S. and the treatment of migrant workers ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

As Editor-in-Chief I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the journal, as well as the McGill Pre-Law Society executive board. On behalf of all of us, I hope you find this year’s edition ofFiat Justitia interesting and useful.

Sincerely,

Ari Zuckerbrot Editor-in-Chief

2014 Edition 3 Join Us in Law A message to our readers from The Honourable Allen Linden

Mr. Justice Linden is a retired Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal. He had a disnguished career in the legal profession, serving for 32 years in the Canadian Judiciary as well as teaching at Osgoode Hall Law School for almost two decades. He is also the author of Canadian Tort Law (9th ed. 2011, with B. Feldthusen) and Canadian Tort Law: Cases Notes and Materials (14th ed. 2014, with L. Klar and B. Feldthusen), books that are used in law schools across Canada. Justice Linden continues to teach at Pepperdine University, School of Law in California.

f you are intelligent, diligent, honest, articulate, idealistic, optimistic, join us in law. The study of law, and also its practice, beckons those who love intellectual challenge, who are ready to Iwork hard and who are committed to helping to build a better world. If you are solely interested in making a lot of money, do not join us in law; you will be miserable. That is not to say that one cannot make a decent living practising law, but to enjoy one’s life in the law, one must feel the calling to serve one’s clients in their quest for “justice,” that elusive term, to help one’s community, even to contribute to a better Canada. One can do this as a lawyer not only in Parliament or the Judiciary, but also in one’s everyday work, solving problems of businesses, families, and individuals, all of whom may need intelligent and wise legal intervention on occasion.

But first, of course, there is the pesky matter of the LSAT and three years of heavy study at law school. You may be surprised that some of the legal material is really fascinating; most of the teachers are clever and may even be funny sometimes. If you really want it, work hard and you will get through it, and be called to the bar.

How lucky you are to be joining the legal profession these days! Not as lucky as it was a few years ago, however. There may be fewer high paying jobs in large commercial firms nowadays, certainly a major concern for many of you. Commercial work is undoubtedly challenging and satisfying for those who choose to do it. The economy is rebounding and so the number of jobs will increase. Consider, however, that there are many avenues of challenge and fulfillment other than in the corporate world, as exciting as that may be for some of you.

4 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review A Letter from The Honourable Justice Linden

This is a time for courage and creativity for those who are entering the profession. Remember, when you are called to the bar, you do not need to a “job” in a large law firm to work – you can start your own firm or join a small one. Yes, “hanging up a shingle” as they used to say, in your home town or in a suburb of a city is open for you. You can engage in general practice, doing house deals, injury cases, divorces, DUI defenses, wills and estates, and small commercial matters making a reputation for yourself and, surprisingly, earning a living while doing so. This can be enjoyable. You will be independent and “be your own boss.” You may run for city council, mayor, or MLA or MP; you may even end up one day as the local Superior Court Judge, as unlikely as that may seem today.

You can choose to do criminal cases, mostly on legal aid, win a few, get bigger cases, help an inno- cent person stay out of jail, get still bigger cases, win a murder case, get even bigger cases, become a respected member of the criminal bar. Maybe one day become a judge in the Ontario Court of Justice or its equivalent in other provinces, where most of the criminal work is done.

Another challenging option is immigration and refugee work, especially if you are connected to one of our many minority communities. You can help worthy people build a better life for themselves and their children among us by overcoming the legal barriers that may thwart their dreams.

Are you good at dealing with emotional people involved in family break-ups? If so, family law battles over kids, finances, even dogs, need lawyers who can calmly handle the dispute rationally and assist the couple to get through the trying times.

Some of you may be attracted to public service. Being a prosecutor, a department of justice lawyer, a city solicitor, counsel for an N.G.O. or labour union, all present fascinating legal issues to resolve.

Teaching or writing law should be considered by those of you so inclined. One can teach at a law school, if possible, but also at a community college or even at high school. You can write a newspaper column, a blog, a magazine article, even a book!

Living life as a lawyer can be exciting, challenging, enjoyable, dignified, and fulfilling – whatever area you practice in. Life in the law can, at times, also be tedious, boring, frustrating, even scary. The paths to success in law (as in life) are varied; there is something for everyone to do advising others, both individual and corporate, which is rewarding both financially and psychically.

Lucky you, fledgling lawyers soon-to-be. You have thrilling years ahead of you. Whatever field you choose to pursue, do it joyfully, nobly, proudly, and humanely. I wish I could start over again with you all as colleagues in law. Join us!

The Honourable Allen Linden

2014 Edition 5 Euthanasia in Quebec: An Interview with McGill Professor Margaret Somerville

By Sasha Engel Hercz

On June 4th, 2014, the Quebec National Assembly passed Bill 52 and became the first province to legalize doctor-assisted death as part of comprehensive end-of-life legislation. Called An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, it allows physicians to perform euthanasia on patients who suffer from incurable serious illnesses. Even though euthanasia is ille- gal federally, Quebec is deeming “medical aid in dying” as within provincial jurisdiction.

In order to get a better understanding of the legal, societal, and ethical impli- cations of this controversial Act, I sat down with McGill Faculty of Law professor Margaret Somerville. Professor Somerville’s focus is in medicine, ethics, and the law. The following is the record of a conversation we had about Bill 52, euthanasia, and one’s right to personal autonomy. The conversation took place before the bill was passed, and while it was still being debated in the Quebec National Assembly.

6 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Sasha: Thank you for having me Professor Professor Somerville: Be careful. Rodriguez Somerville. I wanted to come here to talk about was about physician-assisted suicide, not Bill 52 and the legalization of euthanasia, which euthanasia. But I agree with you they are the has become a prevalent issue in Quebec. same class of situation and, for most purposes, you can put them together. The trouble with Professor Somerville: A prevalent issue in all the Supreme Court case was that it was a 5-4 Western democracies. decision so they are not absolutely clear about their position. Sasha: Yes, but specifically with Bill 52 it’s become a more acute issue in Quebec. I wanted However, I’m not surprised Quebec is doing to talk about four specific things: Bill 52, your this. If Quebec can find an issue where they opinions on euthanasia generally, the right to can disagree with the rest of Canada, they will. personal autonomy and, finally, palliative care in The rest of Canada sets up a blood system, Canada. To start off, why is it that Quebec, in Quebec sets up their own blood system. The particular, is putting forward Bill 52? rest of Canada sets up a cancer drugs system, Quebec doesn’t want to belong to it. Professor Somerville: You have to put it in a much larger context. There are identity- Sasha: Seems like Canada goes left, Quebec based social movements such as the LGBT goes right. movement and the feminist movement, and you can put with them the pro-euthanasia Professor Somerville: Exactly. It’s no surprise. activists. They’ve adopted liberal social values and they call them progressive values. What Sasha: Why do they use the term “medical aid that means is that they reject more conservative in dying” in the bill? traditional values. Thus, whenever there is a clash of values they give priority to individual Professor Somerville: The reason they autonomy and I call it “intense individualism.” use that term is because they don’t have the They believe it’s a position based in what’s constitutional power to do this. It contradicts called moral relativism and utilitarianism. the Criminal Code. They’ve called it “medical Nothing is right or wrong it all depends on aid in dying” and they don’t even talk about circumstances. And they add to that, whether PAS (physician-assisted suicide) or mention it’s right or wrong depends on if there are assisted suicide because Quebec’s argument is more benefits or harms. They think Bill 52 will that euthanasia is medical treatment. They’ve solve more problems than it will cause. They defined it as part of palliative care. What they don’t want people to try other treatments. say is that palliative care includes medical aid Pro-euthanasia activists will say: “As far as I’m in dying as well as terminal palliative sedation. concerned, if you’re suffering and want to die, Terminal palliative sedation is a form of slow that is your right.” euthanasia where you give the person an anesthetic and they remain unconscious. In Sasha: In light of the Sue Rodriguez England, they passed this and what happened Supreme Court case1 which set the precedent is that staff in hospitals were told not to look that euthanasia isn’t an acceptable practice, after these people and not to keep them alive. what does this bill say about the Quebec In fact, some hospitals were getting financial government’s attitude towards federal benefits from putting people on this pathway. jurisdiction? Sasha: What difference would it have made if 1 In 1991 a British Columbia resident named Sue Rodriguez they called it “euthanasia”? was diagnosed with ALS, a chronic debilitating disease. In 1993, Rodriguez fought for the legal right of physician-assisted suicide, taking her case to the Canadian Supreme Court. She would end up Professor Somerville: The reason they losing the case in a 5-4 decision, setting the precedent in Canada that wouldn’t say it is because it’s clear that physician-assisted suicide is not legally permitted.

2014 Edition 7 euthanasia is analogous to homicide under the in a day. It’s a process. criminal code. It’s what I call “euphemizing euthanasia.” When you go and ask people in a Professor Somerville: The first thing you need poll if they support euthanasia, less people will to ask yourself is if it’s inherently wrong. If it’s say yes in comparison to those who will say yes inherently wrong, you don’t do it. You don’t if you ask if they support medical aid in dying. manage something which is inherently wrong. I 60 percent of people in Quebec and the rest of believe that intentionally killing another human Canada did not understand that medical aid in being is inherently wrong. dying was to receive a lethal injection. Sasha: I was wondering, could you elaborate Sasha: Could you talk more generally about on the notion of the slippery slope that why you think that legalizing euthanasia could you discussed in your article to the Quebec be risky for some people in our society? And legislature on Bill 52? who, exactly, is most at risk? Professor Somerville: There are two slippery Professor Somerville: The people who are slopes: there’s a logical slippery slope where if most at risk are people who are vulnerable: you allow one thing to occur in one capacity, old, very young, disabled and fragile people. the scope that it applies to is going to expand. What we can see from what has happened in For example, in Belgium now they will allow the countries that have legalized euthanasia children to be euthanized. At what point does – such as the Netherlands and even more so the scope stop expanding? There is also a in Belgium – is that there is a lot of abuse of practical slippery slope where, even if you put euthanasia. 32 percent of the doctors in the in rules, people don’t obey them. For example, Flanders region of Belgium who answered a abuse is a practical slippery slope. People don’t survey that asked if they had done euthanasia follow the regulations even after they are in said that they had not done it in accordance place. with the law. There is a concern that people being euthanized don’t know they are receiving In fact, I propose that if you allow euthanasia a lethal injection. In Belgium, at times, nurses you shouldn’t have doctors doing it. It were carrying out euthanasia. People who have undermines the Hippocratic Oath of doctors. no expertise in euthanasia perform procedures It’s similar to the “hangman’s bible,” where even when it is regulated. Frankly, it’s gotten they trained hangmen to be good at killing. out of hand. We would need to train people to be good at euthanasia. Sasha: But Dr. Somerville, isn’t there an argument to be made that regulating euthanasia Sasha: But looking at the argument of would get rid of botched underground personal autonomy, why do you think that euthanasia procedures? elderly people shouldn’t have the right to decide when and under what conditions they can end Professor Somerville: Look Sasha, if our their lives? current law says it’s first-degree murder and people aren’t obeying that, then why would they Professor Somerville: Because, while obey euthanasia law? This idea that people are how each of us dies is extremely important doing it anyways so we may as well make things to us as individuals, it’s also important to legal is ludicrous. our community. It’s contradictory to our fundamental value of respect for human life. Sasha: Right, but by putting it under If euthanasia is permitted, it skews how society government regulation and government values human life. scrutiny, doesn’t it bring the issue into the open? It’s not like this is something you can do Sasha: What if those who are suffering

8 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review honestly feel they are burdening their family? situations when you wish someone would die because it’s too hard. But there’s a huge Professor Somerville: Make them feel like difference between wishing they would die they’re not. Make them know that we will look and making them dead and that’s what we are after them and they are not a burden. Surely talking about with euthanasia. I ask people to the answer to “Am I too much of a burden to think about the society you would want your you?” isn’t “Yes you are and I will kill you.” grandkids to live in.

And you raise the issue of palliative care. Sasha: I want to conclude by asking you one It’s an issue that 70 percent of people who last question. There was a couple in Toronto need palliative care can’t get it. While we have with terminal illnesses who jumped off their incredible palliative care in Montreal, it isn’t apartment building. What would you say to accessible to the people who need it. them if you could?

Sasha: What does our government do to Professor Somerville: That was suicide; solve the issue of access to palliative care? entirely different from physician-assisted Presumably, palliative care is financially suicide and different from doctors authorizing draining, while the euthanasia proposed in for one to die. Bill 52 would have a minimal burden on the infrastructure of the medical field. Sasha: Isn’t the cause the same? Had euthanasia been available wouldn’t they have Professor Somerville: Yes, euthanasia is had another means of dying? cheap. But we shouldn’t have a society where people are seen as products and when you are Professor Somerville: Had we known they no longer useful you are discarded cheaply. were going to commit suicide we would have done everything we could to stop them. Sasha: Why hasn’t our government done We would have tried to look at any options anything about improving our palliative care? available to help them.

Professor Somerville: You know why? Sasha: Well, thank you so much Professor Because these people are sick, fragile, and they Somerville. I appreciate your time and this are not a powerful voice in society. There’s a insightful conversation on euthanasia and Bill saying in ethics that you test the ethical tone 52. of a society not by how it treats its strongest, most powerful people, but by how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable. And that’s who these people are.

Sasha: What about dignity and the right to die with dignity, especially for people with debilitating diseases such as ALS? Why shouldn’t they have the right to die in a dignified state?

Professor Somerville: I think it’s a misuse of the concept of dignity. That equates dignity with independence and control. That equates dignity with being a human and doing. It implies that only when you do things can you have human dignity. I’ve been in many

2014 Edition 9 A Balancing Act: Religious Freedoms vs. Secular Goals

By Sarah Firestone

reedom of thought, conscience, and permissible and strike down legislation that religion are fundamental attributes is not. Section 1 provides that fundamental Fof a free and democratic society.1 freedoms are, “…subject only to such reasonable Though “guaranteed,” no freedom is absolute. limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably An individual’s religious practices must be justified in a free and democratic society,” a restricted where they infringe on the rights of formula which places the onus of justification others or conflict with laws aimed at protecting on the government that passed the law.3 Section the public. Ian Linden described this clash as 2(a) of the Charter guarantees freedom of the “bind of binary oppositions,” a conflict of conscience and religion.4 extremes.2 In determining both what is encompassed Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and by “freedom of religion” and when an Freedoms (CCRF) the courts decide whether encroachment is “reasonable” the courts have a legal encroachment on religious freedom is developed judge-made principles to assist in interpretation including the sincerity of belief, the context of the perceived encroachment, the object and purpose of the law at issue, and the proportionality of the encroachment on the individual as compared with the benefit of the law on society. Similarly, a body of law has developed as a result of provincial human rights rulings regarding religious practices. The development of the concept of “reasonable accommodation” recognizes many of the same principles as the Charter jurisprudence to achieve a just but workable balance between conflicting rights. An analysis of the following cases: Hutterian Brethren v. Attorney General, R v. Big M Drug Mart, Bhinder v. CN, Multani v. Commission Scolaire Margeurite-Bourgeoys, and Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem proves that though there are certain broad principles involved, issues involving freedom of religion require a case-by-case analysis. Implicit by the very inclusion of Section 2 (a) in the Charter is the recognition that Source: Wikimedia Commons The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba freedom of religion demands a separation

10 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review of church and state. In A Letter Concerning To determine what is just in balancing Toleration, philosopher John Locke argued for competing interests, it is helpful to determine absolute separation between church and state. the attributes of a “just law.” According to He wrote, the government “consists only in Thomas Aquinas in his Treatise on Law, a “just outward force; but true and saying religion law is one with a legitimate purpose which consists in the inward persuasion of the relied on reasonable or proportionate means mind.”5 He advocated for state secularity as a to achieve it”9; this definition is incorporated check on the power of the church, but Locke’s in Section 1 of the CCRF.10 The interpretation philosophy was predicated on a Christian of the law reflects societal values, which do not society; he did not foresee the additional remain static. complexities in maintaining absolute separation in a multicultural or “inter-cultural” society such as contemporary Quebec. Religious freedom versus licensing ...applying Charter requirements was the issue in the case of Hutterian Brethren v. Attorney General. The Hutterian community of Alberta brought a protections constitutional challenge to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming its right to freedom of religion was infringed by the requirement for photo identification on Alberta drivers’ in particular licences.6 The requirement had the effect, they argued, of forcing them to compromise their religious beliefs. situations cannot be The Hutterites’ belief that photos are forbidden is rooted in their interpretation of the term “likeness” in the Second a strictly mechanical Commandment. The Commandment states, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”7 The exercise but must court found that this perceived encroachment by the provincial licensing authority was not substantial and was justifiable under Section 1, remain flexible. since preventing fraud is a pressing public goal and, also, because the Hutterites do not require a driver’s licence to practice their religious faith. Recognizing the importance of evolution The process of judicial reasoning is in the law, Chief Justice McLachlin explains explained: “The seriousness of the limit on that the “synthesis of the rule of law with freedom of religion varies from case to case, seemingly contradictory religious belief systems depending on ‘the nature of the right or has always been a matter for the courts.”11 She freedom violated, the extent of the violation, states that “the rule of law must incorporate and the degree to which the measures which within itself some space for the manifestation impose the limit trench upon the integral of religious conscience” because of this principles of a free and democratic society.’”8 conflict.12 She describes the role of the courts The Court here acknowledged that the facts of in the pursuit of just law as “managing a each case must be closely examined on their dialectic of normative commitments… [where] own merits to arrive at a rational, reasonable, the courts are, in effect, called upon to carve proportional and “just” conclusion that out a space within the rule of law in which balances societal goals and religious freedoms. religious commitments and claims to authority

2014 Edition 11 – sometimes wholly at odds with legal values Christians, and thus infringed upon their and authority – can manifest and flourish.”13 freedom of religion. The Court determined R v. Big M Drug Mart was one of the cases that the law was not a reasonable infringement where the dialectic was managed by the courts under a Section 1 analysis. Accordingly, the through their application of Section 1. It is the legislation was struck down in its entirety. seminal Charter challenge to “The Lord’s Day The judgment read: “A truly free society is Act,” a law which prohibited businesses from one which can accommodate a wide variety of being open on Sundays. The law privileged beliefs, diversity of tastes and pursuits, customs Christianity above other faiths by giving special and codes of conduct.”15 In other words, one status to the Christian Sabbath and, as such, particular religion should not be privileged violated Section 2(a) of the Charter. by the state. The Court found that it was Significantly, the Court in this case noted intolerable for a “Lord’s Day” to be imposed that “freedom of religion” includes the right upon all citizens of a secular society. Justice of protection for non-belief and a refusal to McLachlin recognizes this case as illustrative participate in any religious practice (such as of the tension that arises when religious a religiously mandated day of rest). Justice conscience encounters the rule of law in a Dickson adopted an expansive view of modern liberal democracy.16 religion, which included the manifestation of The rights dialectic described by Justice religious beliefs by worship or practice.14 The McLachlin does not occur in a legislative Court found that that the law had a Christian vacuum. Provincial human rights legislation purpose, which discriminated against non- strives to prohibit discriminatory practices in schools, playgrounds, hospitals, and workplaces, by requiring accommodation only when such requirements would not cause undue hardship. In Bhinder v. CN, the railway required all of its employees to wear hard hats while on the job. This impeded Mr. Bhinder’s ability to practice his religion since, as a Sikh, he could not wear a hard hat over his turban.17 This requirement was found to be discriminatory because it infringed upon Bhinder’s right to freely exercise his religion by wearing a turban, but it was found to be a valid bona fide occupational requirement. Since the helmet requirement was considered to be a legitimate safety regulation, it was therefore deemed not discriminatory, and so no accommodation was necessary.18 In Multani v. Commission Scolaire Margeurite- Bourgeoys, the Sikh practice of wearing a ceremonial dagger, called a kirpan, was under consideration. Multani was expelled from his school for carrying a metal kirpan. The Court reversed the school board’s decision, finding evidence that the student sincerely believed that his faith required him to wear the dagger. The Court decided that an absolute prohibition unjustifiably impaired the student’s religious rights, since there had not been a

Source: Wikimedia Commons single reported incident of violent kirpan use

12 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review in schools and, therefore, there was insufficient required. As such, this approach also assumes evidence that the kirpan endangered other that a case-by-case analysis is vital to determine students.19 The use of the kirpan was if religious freedom has been infringed upon. accommodated with the requirement that it The Court’s approach can be contrasted be contained in a cloth sheath following a “minimal impairment” test.20 The result of the reasonableness analysis in this case might have been very different had there been evidence of past injuries from kirpans in schools. Thus, Aquinas’ approach, which advocated that reasonable and proportionate means must be taken to achieve society’s greater goals with minimal detriment to individual rights, was adhered to in this instance. Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem arose out of a dispute over the construction of a sukkah (a temporary structure built for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot), on the balcony of a Montreal apartment building. In its ruling, the Supreme Court refined the definitions of “freedom of religion” in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights Source: Wikimedia Commons A Ceremonial Kirpan and Freedoms and in Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The majority, with Ian Linden’s notion that any definition relying on R v. Big M Drug Mart, held that of religion must take into consideration the protecting freedom of religion could include competing concepts of religion, rights, and tolerating a practice where the individual feels secularity.24 Linden explores the historical connected to their religion, even if the practice belief that the sacred and the secular are is not required by a religious authority.21 inherently linked. He explains that the modern Religion was defined by the court in this conception of human rights is derived from way: “religion is about freely and deeply held a notion of human dignity shared by the personal convictions or beliefs connected to monotheistic faiths. He proves that, even in the an individual’s spiritual faith and integrally medieval period, “dignity” made its recipients linked to one’s self-definition and spiritual “fit for political purpose” and part of God’s fulfilment, the practices of which allow providential dispensation.25 Similarly, the individuals to foster a connection with the decisions referred to above reflect a Canadian divine or with the subject or object of that society becoming more secular, where freedom spiritual faith.”22 This definition highlights of religion and secularity infringe only that religion is individualized. Arguing for minimally upon one another. the majority, Justice Iacobucci explained that Yet, after a series of highly controversial religious rights need not be practices or beliefs accommodation cases in Quebec involving recognized by experts as mandatory, but the the wearing of veils in public spaces, the nexus with religion must be shown by the province formed the Bouchard-Taylor individual claiming the right to be sincere and Commission to hold public hearings and study connected to the divine or a function of his or “accommodation.”26 Charles Taylor argued her spiritual faith. The belief or practice must for secularism as a way to “manage” religious be in good faith, not fictitious or capricious.23 diversity.27 The report was released in 2008, and As a consequence of this analysis, a religious its recommendations were put into legislation view or practice is subjective, and testimony through Bill 94, entitled “An Act to Establish from the aggrieved individual would always be Guidelines Governing Accommodation

2014 Edition 13 Requests Within the Administration of Certain have strengthened laws by testing their Institutions.” Section 4 of the act expressly limits and by providing a platform for the adopts “the principle of religious neutrality of development of analytic tools to aid in the the state where the state shows neither favour laws’ applications. As Linden posits, human nor disfavour towards any particular religious rights complaint jurisprudence has become the belief ”.28 This is reminiscent of the judicial “ideal bearer of human rights.”33 The Canadian language in R v. Big M Drug Mart and in Locke’s courts, therefore, have the responsibility of A Letter Concerning Toleration. maintaining individual religious freedoms while Section 5 of Bill 94 sets out the test best reflecting the goals of Canadian society. for accommodation. For accommodation to be “reasonable,” it cannot impose “undue hardship” on those providing accommodation.29 Undue hardship can be measured by costs, adverse impacts on operations, and infringements on the rights of others. Finally and most controversially, Section 6 provides that individuals involved in the delivery of government services are to show their faces on the grounds of “security, communication, or identification purposes.”30 These criteria comprise the Quebec National Assembly’s legislative definition of “reasonableness” and seem to provide justification for banning veils in the public sphere. The high profile court challenges, the creation of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission and the subsequent legislative response, demonstrate the validity of Chief Justice McLachlin’s observation that the courts are a forum for dialectic, and that religious challenges to the law and practices offer a platform for public discourse which can be the impetus for change. In Canada’s multicultural society, “it is inevitable that some religious practices will come into conflict with the laws and regulatory systems of general application.”31 Resolving those conflicts requires a case-by-case examination by the Canadian courts. Through legislation limiting freedom of religion and subsequent court challenges, the nature of the law and the limits of religious freedoms in Canada have evolved. Justice LeBel, in Multani, explained that applying Charter protections in particular situations cannot be a strictly mechanical exercise but must remain flexible.32 In some circumstances, court challenges

14 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Endnotes

1. Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 567, S. 28. 2. Linden, Ian. “Secular versus Religious Accounts of Human Rights in the Public Domain.” As found in New Media and Communication Across Religions and Cultures. Edited by Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, Rukhsana Ahmed. Page 9. 3. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 1, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. Emphasis is the author’s. 4. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 2[a], Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. 5. Locke, John. A Letter Concerning Toleration. United States of America: Hacking Publishing Company Inc., 1983. 6. Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 567, S. 29. 7. “Exodus 20:4 (New American Standard Version).” In Bible Gateway, Accessed November 20, 2013. Emphasis is the author’s. 8. Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 567, S. 87. 9. Aquinas, Thomas. Treatise on Law. As cited in Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 567, Page 184. 10. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 1, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. 11. McLachlin, The Right Honourable Beverley M. “Freedom of Religion and the Rule of Law: A Canadian Perspective.” As found in Douglas Farrow, ed., Recognizing Religion in a Secular Society: Essays in Pluralism, Religion, and Public Policy. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004, Page 21. 12. Ibid. Page 20. 13. Waind, Jonathan. “Canada, Religion & Human Rights.” McGill University. Montreal, Quebec. January 25 2012. 14. Waind, Jonathan. “The Charter Cases: Big M Drug Mart.” McGill University. Montreal, Quebec. January 30 2012. 15. R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295. S. 94. 16. McLachlin, The Right Honourable Beverley M. “Freedom of Religion and the Rule of Law: A Canadian Perspective.” As found in Douglas Farrow, ed., Recognizing Religion in a Secular Society: Essays in Pluralism, Religion, and Public Policy. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004, Page 26. 17. Bhinder v. CN, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 561. S. 3. 18. Ibid., S. 46. 19. Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite‑Bourgeoys, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 256, 2006 SCC 6. S. 59. 20. Ibid., S. 133. 21. Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem, [2004] 2 S.C.R. 551, 2004 SCC 47. S. 40. 22. Ibid., S. 39. 23. Ibid., S. 46-47. 24. Waind, Jonathan. “Introduction.” McGill University. Montreal, Quebec. January 9 2012. 25. Linden, Ian. “Secular versus Religious Accounts of Human Rights in the Public Domain.” Page 4. As found in New Media and Communication Across Religions and Cultures. Edited by Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, Rukhsana Ahmed. 26. Waind, Jonathan. “Canada, Religion & Human Rights.” McGill University. Montreal, Quebec. January 25 2012. 27. Ibid. 28. Bill 94 S. 4, An Act to establish guidelines governing accommodation requests within the Administration and certain institutions, 1st Sess, 39th Leg, Quebec, 2010 [Bill 94]. 29. Ibid. 30. Ibid. 31. Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 567, S. 90. 32. Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite‑Bourgeoys, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 256, 2006 SCC 6. S. 148 – 153. 33. Linden, Ian. “Secular versus Religious Accounts of Human Rights in the Public Domain.” Page 9. As found in New Media and Communication Across Religions and Cultures. Edited by Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, Rukhsana Ahmed.

2014 Edition 15 Get Out the Vote? Exceptions and Abuses of the United States Voting Rights Act

By Emma MacDonald

Ostensibly, the 15th Amendment to in the Southern U.S. (Section 4[b]).3 While these the United States Constitution, enacted in 1870, provisions had been widely successful,4 the prevented a man’s right to vote from being 2013 Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. limited based on “race, colour or previous Holder struck down Section 4(b) of the VRA as servitude.”1 However, this provision was not unconstitutional, rendering Section 5 unusable, truly implemented in much of the Southern and putting voting rights at risk once again. United States until the Voting Rights Act (VRA) These sections were added to the VRA was passed in 1965, and the Amendment faces due to the fact that violations of the 15th widespread opposition to this day. Amendment were arising from laws passed Before the VRA was passed, appointed and at state level, and were technically legal due elected officials alike found ways to subvert the to the power vested in each state by the U.S. progress made by the civil rights movement Constitution. Officials could pass restrictive through the use of “voting regulations”: voter ID laws under the premise of limiting passing restrictive voter I.D. laws, redrawing voter fraud, for example, while really intending voting districts, and limiting voting hours.2 to decrease minority voter turnout. Proving Because it is legal for voting regulations to legislators’ motives is difficult, however, be determined by individual states (rather so Sections 4 and 5 were put in place as than at the federal level), there had been a mechanisms to limit this discrimination. history of discrimination as a result of states The decision made by the Supreme Court circumventing the VRA. It is owing to this in June 2013, though, has severely limited the history that Sections 4 and 5 were added to the capacity of the Federal government to curtail Act, and upheld until the 2013 Shelby County v. such practices. The Court’s ruling in Shelby Holder Supreme Court decision. These additions County v. Holder overturned Section 4(b) of the to the act were the result of the high likelihood Act, which determined the jurisdictions Section of abuse of the VRA. They mandated federal 5 would require to seek preclearance, and pre-approval for any changes made to voting specified what that would entail.5 For example, laws at the state level (Section 5) and applied to the photo ID laws and redistricting that were sixteen jurisdictions, including eight entire states blocked in Texas in 2010 were immediately validated following the ruling.6 Based on voter turnout data, these proposed changes are likely to disproportionately affect black and Hispanic voters.7 Because voter ID laws this strict had been blocked in the past by the VRA, their specific effect on major elections remains to be seen. However, statistics show that these demographics are up to 10 percent less likely to register to vote in jurisdictions with photo ID requirements than in those without.8 The black and Hispanic voter registration rate, 9 Source: LBJ Library already lower than that of other demographics, President Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks after the would decrease further as a result of the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6th, 1965 previously blocked laws being passed. This

16 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review example clearly illustrates the need for a preclearance, was deemed unconstitutional mechanism to prevent voting laws from having on the basis of state equality, rather than discriminatory effects, whatever their stated sovereignty. As Justice Kennedy argued during intent. the Shelby County v. Holder case,11 “Congress has The decision in Shelby County v. Holder is made a finding that the sovereignty of Georgia regarded by some – such as Chief Justice is less than the sovereignty of Ohio.”12 The John Roberts, who called Sections 4 and 5 reasoning of the Court contended that if states “outdated and unworkable”10 – as overdue. are subject to federal laws, they should at least Others see it as opening the doors to essentially be congruent. unchecked discrimination. While Sections 4 In the past, this unequal treatment between and 5 did much to limit discriminatory voting states was considered constitutionally valid laws from being put in place, they were also because the states that Section 4(b) covered constantly under fire from the time of their did have a history of restricting the ability of introduction. Under the federal system of the minorities to vote to a greater degree than United States, provisions such as Sections 4 and states that were not covered.13 It is because of 5 of the VRA that are imposed by the Federal this that the Supreme Court upheld Sections 4 government and challenge state sovereignty, are and 5 four times before Shelby v. Holder.14 When negatively received at the state level. Balancing the United States Court of Appeals heard state and federal powers is an important aspect Shelby County v. Holder in 2012, the Court let of the country’s democratic structure, so state Sections 4(b) and 5 of the VRA stand, arguing pushback towards federal initiatives in the U.S. that, even if a state’s law is not put forward is to be expected. with discriminatory intentions, it is nevertheless However, Section 4(b) of the VRA, which unconstitutional if it would have that result.15 named certain states as subject to federal The real impact of voting laws rather

Source: Wikimedia Commons Areas covered by the VRA. Red represents statewide coverage, blue represents county coverage and pink represents township coverage.

2014 Edition 17 than their stated intent is important, as voting In an attempt to update the coverage restrictions can have serious consequences formula that Section 4(b) used to provide, that disproportionately impact minorities. One the Voting Rights Amendment Act (VRAA) example in which backers of a proposed bill was introduced in Congress in January 2014. admitted to having discriminatory intentions The VRAA aims to reintroduce preclearance was the 2011 limitation of early voting in laws for jurisdictions with a history of Florida.16 As Michael Herron explains, the discrimination but, to make it more relevant, law aimed to eliminate Sunday voting, which it only references violations occurring within has proven to be the day on which African the past 15 years,19 placating the concerns of Americans vote most.17 Laws put forward critics such as Chief Justice John Roberts, who by covered states are not always so clearly call Sections 4 and 5 outdated.20 Until the act discriminatory as this, but have proven to limit gains the support it needs to pass, however, access to minority voting more often than in discriminatory changes to voting laws will go uncovered jurisdictions even when their intent largely unchecked. is stated otherwise.18

Endnotes

1. “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 15., available at http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ ourdocs/15thamendment.html. 2. Linda Greenhouse, The More Things Change… The New York Times, Feb 20, 2013, http://opinionator.blogs. nytimes.com/2013/ 02/20/the-more-things-change/?. 3. Ibid. 4. NAACP, The Voting Rights Act is Still Needed. Available at, http://www.naacpldf.org/files/case_issue/ Voting%20Rights%20 Act%20Infographic.pdf. 5. Bill Mears and Greg Botelho, Outrageous or Overdue? Court Strikes Down Part of Historic Voting Rights Law. CNN, Jun 26, 2013, http://cnn.com/2013/06/25/politics/scotus-voting-rights. 6. Aaron Blake, Supreme Court Vacates Texas Voter ID and Redistricting Rulings. The Washington Post, Jun 27, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/27/supreme-court-vacates-texas-voter- id-and-redistricting-rulings/. 7. Christopher Drew, Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID. The New York Times, Feb 21, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21voting.html. 8. Ibid. 9. Thom File, The Diversifying Electorate – Voting Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin in 2012 (and Other Recent Elections). U.S. Census Bureau, May 2013, https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-568.pdf. 10. Bill Mears and Greg Botelho, Supra note 5. 11. Shelby County, Al v. Holder, Attorney General et al., S. Ct. 12-96 (2012). 12. Adam Liptak, Justices to Revisit Voting Act in View of a Changing South. The New York Times, Nov 9, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/us/supreme-court-to-revisit-voting-rights act.html?pagewanted =1&_r=0. 13. Linda Greenhouse, Supra note 2. 14. Ibid. 15. Shelby County v. Holder, United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit. May 18th, 2012. http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/D79C82694E572B4D85257A02004EC903/$file/ 11- 5256-1374370.pdf. 16. Jim Greer, as cited in Dara Kam and John Lantigua, Former Florida GOP Leaders Say Voter Suppression was Reason They Pushed New Election Law. Palm Beach Post, Nov 25, 2012, http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ state-regional-govt-politics/early-voting-curbs-called-power-play/nTFDy. 17. Michael C. Herron and Daniel A. Smith, House Bill 1355 and Voter Registration in Florida. Jan 10, 2013, available at, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~herron/FloridaVoterRegistrationsHB1355.pdf. 18. Linda Greenhouse, Supra note 2. 19. H.R.3899 – “Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014.” 113th Congress, Introduced: Jan 16, 2014. Available at, https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3899. 20. Bill Mears and Greg Botelho, Supra note 5.

18 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Source: Flickr Qatar

Qatar’s Sponsorship System: The Legal Framework That Perpetuates Modern Day Slavery

By Sarah Khan

n 2010 Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, an unprecedented opportunity for an Arab nation. The nation has begun to construct various stadiums, Ian impressive airport and metro, and some of the largest gas plants in the world.1 The individuals tasked with constructing these facilities are “non-Qatari” migrant workers, primarily from India, Pakistan, and Nepal. They make up 94 percent of the entire labour force and 70 percent of the country’s population.2 The millions of workers are crucial for Qatar’s economy and have played a vital role in the transformation the nation has witnessed.3 However, in many facets of their lives, migrant workers are not protected by the law. The exploitative legal system oppresses migrant workers, violating various international human rights and labour laws. The workers face low wages, unjust working hours, and squalid living conditions. This is as a result of the unfair sponsorship system that ties workers to their employers, placing restrictions on their freedom of movement, and their ability to report workplace misconduct. The workers are unable to access legal resources, and by extension, justice. This further imprisons them within an exploitative system. The International Trade Union Confederation has warned that, by 2022, the death toll of migrant workers could reach 4,000.4 The Qatari government is facing global

2014 Edition 19 condemnation over their consignment of Qatar, a migrant worker is placed under migrant workers to the periphery of the the authority of a Qatari citizen, known nation’s legal framework. This immense as a sponsor, or kafeel in Arabic. At this pressure has led Qatar’s organizing point, the migrant works for one sponsor committee for the World Cup – called or, depending on the will of the employer, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and possibly for others as well. An employer Legacy – to release a fifty-page document controls not only where the employee works, called the Workers’ Welfare Standards, outlining but also if sponsorship can be transferred, regulations on the treatment of workers and whether the worker can leave the involved in construction for the games.5 Yet, country.7 Qatar has an exit permit system this Charter does not fully address the issue. that requires workers to obtain exit visas This article will assess the current legal from their sponsors, who are capable of framework, the lack of access to aid and forcing workers to stay.8 If a worker wishes justice, and possible resolutions to the to return to Qatar, their sponsor must problem. submit a “non-objection certificate,” and if this is not submitted, the worker is barred from re-entering the country for two years.9 Although labour laws in Qatar prohibit the withholding of workers’ passports, employers regularly engage in this practice.10 Withholding passports further restricts the movement of workers – a clear violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates: “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country.”11 This excessive control over workers’ mobility rights is a form of forced labour, as defined by the International Labour Organization in their core standards of labour.12 The apparent disconnect between the laws and their application results in a system that excludes individuals from the legal system. Indeed, Article 34 of the Labour Law mandates that recruitment of workers from abroad must follow “a written contract between the licensed person and the employer.”13 However, in reality, Source: Wikimedia Commons the majority of workers find jobs through personal connections, and, as a consequence, The Legal Framework no written contract exists.14 Therefore The sponsorship system, known in the migrant workers are effectively provided Arab world as kafala, exists in most Gulf no protection under existing labour laws countries, but the most restrictive form because they are not explicitly recognized exists in Qatar.6 Under this system, there is as being part of the nation’s migrant worker an astonishing power imbalance between population. employer and employee. Upon arrival in Additionally, Qatari Labour Law does

20 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review not apply to “persons employed in domestic In a nation where migrant workers are generally employment such as drivers, nurses, cooks, fearful of doing anything against their sponsor, gardeners, and similar workers.”15 The rationale the prospect of reaching the Ministry for for this exclusion is that house workers are approval to strike is highly improbable. considered and treated as part of the family, As discussed earlier, although and disputes should be settled internally rather comprehensive labour laws mandate proper than in the public sphere.16 Therefore, in conduct, there are grave problems with instances where an employer fails to pay wages, enforcement. There is no regulatory framework or is accused of physical or sexual abuse, to keep the employer in check, and the lack of domestic workers have little recourse through access to aid and justice for workers makes it the justice system.17 Consequently, one of the difficult to bring violations to light. This results most common routes of escape for migrant in employers withholding salary, and workers workers is fleeing their employer’s home and toiling long hours and living in exceptionally seeking refuge in their national embassy. unhygienic conditions. Qatar has specific housing standards, as is Treatment of Migrant Workers & Access to outlined in articles 2 and 3 of the Decree of Aid and Justice the Ministry of Civil Service and Residential In Qatar, workers protected by the Labour Affairs No. 1822.20 This stipulates that a Law are entitled to have their rights safeguarded minimum of four square metres be given to through unions, strikes, and complaints against each worker, and prohibits the use of bunk their sponsors. However, the law is constructed beds. However, most migrant workers live in such a way that it makes accessing these in housing camps that violate these labour mechanisms virtually impossible. Article 120 standards. Rooms generally house between of the Qatar Labor Law stipulates that unions eight to eighteen individuals, which is far from may be formed only if 100 Qatari workers the mandated limit of four occupants, and are employed in the company.18 This is a rare bunk beds are often used.21 occurrence. The problem of enforcing labour laws is Even to be able to strike, the employer one the Qatari government must address. Until must be given a period of two weeks notice, recently, the Labour Department’s inspection and approval of the Ministry must be granted.19 system was understaffed and unable to monitor

Source: Wikimedia Commons Qatar’s Khalifa International Stadium

2014 Edition 21 the thousands of companies in Qatar. Indeed, in World Cup construction. As Amnesty there were only 150 labour inspectors to International researcher James Lynch states, monitor 1.2 million workers.22 This significantly “The charter will only address the concerns of restricted their ability to thoroughly investigate those involved in the construction of stadiums labour violations. However, pressure from and training grounds.”27 The standards the international community has catalyzed the elaborated in the charter do not extend to the process of bringing in more staff to increase migrant workers involved in construction of regulation.23 the additional infrastructure for the World Additionally, the judicial system does not Cup, including roads, hotels, and railways. The provide easy access to aid. Most migrants charter also excludes domestic workers from arrive from South Asia, and speak Bengali the legal framework.28 and Hindi as opposed to Arabic. The system Most importantly, the sponsorship does not include any avenue for the workers system, the main flaw in the legal system that to communicate with authorities in their own affects migrant workers in Qatar, is wholly language, which leaves them unable to express unaddressed by the charter. Nor have workers their concerns.. Although a hotline exists, it is been given an avenue to voice their grievances. not offered in the appropriate languages, and While the charter provides some theoretical hence is of little use to the workers.24 protection for workers, there exists a significant Even if the workers were able to find an gap between the rules for migrant workers outlet to voice their concerns, the possibility of and the enforcement of them. Until the law resolving a dispute in their favour is unlikely. is enforced, the charter will simply add to the For example, Qatari labour laws include an pages of dictates that claim to protect the article on the treatment of workers who suffer rights of migrant workers without fostering injury. Although Article 109 outlines that the meaningful change. employer must cover medical treatment costs for the worker, this often does not occur.25 Qatar must address its unjust and unlawful There have been several cases reported, but system of migrant labour. Several organizations there are very few instances of employers have provided recommendations to Qatar in facing any legal action. Thus, Qatari labour order to improve the legal system. First, Qatar law rarely, if ever, assists migrant workers in must improve its limited data on the situation complaints against their employers. of migrant workers. The country does not even publish or even collect statistics relating The New Charter – Hope for Migrant to the death and injuries of migrant workers.29 Workers? When a comprehensive and reliable inquiry is Under fierce international pressure from conducted, it will enter the national dialogue, FIFA; human rights groups such as Amnesty and resources will be devoted to correcting International and Human Rights Watch; and the flaws of the system. The second and most global organizations like the International important step is to abolish the sponsorship Labour Organization and the International system, as has been done in Bahrain. Third, Trade Union Confederation, Qatar’s Supreme Qatar must introduce a legitimate legal contract Committee produced a fifty-page document between the employer and the employee. called the Workers’ Welfare Standards, outlining Additionally, the government needs to relax labour standards for workers involved in its laws on the creation of trade unions, and construction for the World Cup. However, create more avenues for workers to express compliance with the charter is not law, but their grievances. International pressure must be merely “a pre-requisite to the selection and sustained, and Qatar must correct its labour law retention by [the Supreme Committee] of its system before the ball is kicked off in 2022. contractors and sub-contractors”.26 Furthermore, the charter’s regulations do not extend to many migrant workers involved

22 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Endnotes

1. John Vidal, Qatar’s Migrant Workers Losing Out in $100bn World Cup Preparations. The Guardian, Dec 4, 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/dec/04/qatar-migrant- workers-world-cup-preparations. 2. Mona Chalabi, Qatar’s Migrants: How Have They Changed the Country? The Guardian, Sep 26, 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/sep/26/qatar-migrants-how-changed-the-country. 3. Vidal, Supra note 1. 4. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Qatar 2022 World Cup risks 4000 lives, warns International Trade Union Confederation. Sep 27, 2013, http://www.ituc-csi.org/qatar-2022-world-cup-risks-4000?lang=en. 5. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Workers’ Welfare Standards Edition 1. Adopted March 2013, available at http://www.sportingintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SC-WORKERS- WELFARE-STANDARDS-EDITION-1-2.pdf. 6. Human Rights Watch, Building a Better World Cup: Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of FIFA 2022. 2012. Available at http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/qatar0612webwcover_0.pdf. 7. Al-Shirrawi, Maha. Rooda Al-Neama, and Silvia Pessoa, Migrant Workers in Qatar: Documenting their Current Situation. Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar. Jan 2009, available at http://www.academia.edu/2411481/ Migrant_Workers_in_Qatar_Documenting_their_Current_Situation. 8. Human Rights Watch. Qatar: Abolish Exit Visas for Migrant Workers. May 30, 2013, http://www.hrw.org/ news/2013/05/30/qatar-abolish-exit-visas-migrant-workers. 9. Doha News Team, Qatar’s NOC: Why it doesn’t work. Doha News, Jul 27, 2011, http://dohanews.co/qatars- noc-why-it-doesnt-work/. 10. Human Rights Watch, Supra note 6. 11. Human Rights Education Associates, Learning Centre - Study Guides: Freedom of movement. 2003, available at http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=148. 12. International Labour organization (ILO), C029— Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29.). Adoption: Geneva, 14th ILC session (Jun 28, 1930), available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12 100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C029. 13. Government of Qatar, Law No (14) of the Year 2004 – Qatar Labor Law. 2004, available at http:// qatarlaborlaw.com/qatar-labor-law/. 14. Human Rights Watch, Supra note 6. 15. Government of Qatar, Supra note 13. 16. Al-Shirrawi et al., supra note 7. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid. 19. Government of Qatar, Supra note 13. 20. Human Rights Watch, Supra note 6. 21. International Labour organization (ILO), R115 - Workers’ Housing Recommendation, 1961 (No. 115 Adoption: Geneva, 45th ILC session (Jun 28, 1961), available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p =NORMLEXPUB:1200:0::NO:12100:P12100_ILO_CODE:R115. 22. Nadim Houry, Migrant Workers Rights Ahead of the 2022 World Cup – Conflict & Intl. Politics. Heinrich Böll Stiftung. Mar 03, 2014, http://www.lb.boell.org/web/113-1157.html. 23. Ibid. 24. Andy Sambidge, Qatar Sets Up Complaints Hotline for Workers. Arabian Business, Dec 29, 2008, http://www. arabianbusiness.com/qatar-sets-up-complaints-hotline-for-workers-41451.html. 25. Government of Qatar, Supra note 13. 26. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, supra note 5. Page. 2. 27. Arab News Staff, Qatar Issues Expat Worker Welfare Charter. Arab News, Feb 11, 2014, http://www. arabnews.com/news/524361. 28. Ibid. 29. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), supra note 4.

2014 Edition 23 Source: Wikimedia Commons Quebeckers protest the proposed Charter of Values

The Tensions Between the CCRF and the Parti Quebecois’ Charter of Values By Richad Hirani

n 1982, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau enshrined certain values in the Constitution through the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Among these values were equality Iand religious tolerance, enumerated under Sections 15 and 27 respectively. In 2013, the Parti Québécois minority government introduced Bill 60 in the Quebec National Assembly. Also referred to as the Quebec Charter of Values, the bill would have prohibited civil servants from wearing ostentatious religious symbols in the workplace. The Parti Québécois government called an election for April 2014; Bill 60 was a major point of contention in the campaign. The defeat of the Parti Québécois in the election meant the end of Bill 60. This essay, written prior to the election, seeks to prove that the proposed Quebec Charter of Values was overtly discriminatory, and thus was a blatant violation of Quebeckers’ fundamental equality rights protected under s.15(1) of the Canadian Charter. Although the Quebec Charter of Values is off the table, this essay is still relevant as the themes of the Bill 60 debate persist in Quebec and, to a large extent, in the rest of Canada.

24 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review A two-fold interpretation of Bill 60 will Criterion (a) is surely fulfilled, as would be provided in this essay. First, it will be be acknowledged even by the Quebec shown how the proposed Quebec Charter of government. To satisfy criterion (a) a claimant Values is a violation of the Canadian Charter must simply demonstrate that there is a of Rights and Freedoms (CCRF), and further, distinction drawn between themselves and that this interpretation is consistent with the others through the fact that the law applies constitutional statutes and legal precedents of only to certain individuals. With regard to Canadian jurisprudence (Egan, Law, Halpern).1 Bill 60, a distinction clearly arises between Second, the Quebec government’s objection to those obligated to wear ostentatious religious claims that their bill violates the CCRF – that symbols (to whom the law applies) and those the Charter of Values is saved under s.1 of the not obligated to wear ostentatious religious Canadian Charter, the reasonable limit clause – symbols (to whom the law does not apply). will be offered and then refuted. Thus, (a) is satisfied. Criterion (b) is fulfilled as well. This Bill 60 and Equality Rights criterion requires that the aforementioned To determine whether the Quebec Charter distinction be made on an enumerated of Values violates s.15(1) of the Charter, it is or analogous ground listed in Section requisite to understand the purpose of s.15(1). 15. Regardless of whether it is a form of In Law v. Canada, Justice Iacobucci, writing for discrimination, the distinction made by a unanimous Court, stated that “the purpose of the proposed Charter of Values is based s.15(1) is to prevent the violation of essential on religion – an enumerated ground in the human dignity.”2 This was reinforced a year Charter.6 This distinction is not hard to see, later in Halpern v. Canada, when the Ontario since it is made explicit in the text of Bill Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Halpern, 60. Indeed, the Quebec Charter of Values proclaiming the “recognition and protection bans all “conspicuous religious symbols,”7 of human dignity and equality.”3 Therefore, explicitly drawing a distinction between s.15(1) is violated if there exists a violation of “essential human dignity.” This raises two questions: First, how are we to define human dignity? Second, when is human dignity violated? With regard to the former question, in Law v. Canada, human dignity was defined as when “an individual or group feels self-respect and self-worth.”4 The answer to the latter question is not as straightforward. If we look to Egan v. Canada, we find three criteria, which, if fulfilled, constitute a violation of s.15(1):5

(a) a formal distinction is drawn between Source: Wikimedia Commons The Kippah: Traditional Jewish male head covering the claimant and others; (b) the distinction from (a) is made on religious symbols and unreligious symbols, enumerated or analogous grounds and thereby between religious people and listed in s.15; unreligious people. In most circumstances, an (c) the treatment imposes a burden or unreligious individual does not have to worry withholds a benefit from the individual. about a law concerning religious symbols. A further distinction is created between people of different religions: between those that are If all three criteria are met, then the Quebec required to wear ostentatious religious symbols, Charter of Values violates s.15 of the CCRF. such as Sikhs, and those that are not, such as

2014 Edition 25 Catholics. Even within a religion itself, Bill 60 enumerated distinction a form of discrimination, draws distinctions. For example, an Orthodox and thereby a violation of s.15(1). In the case Jewish man must wear a kippah, but there is no of Quebec, if the distinction created by Bill corresponding ostentatious symbol required 60 “imposes a burden or withholds a benefit” from certain individuals, then the Quebec Charter of Values is discriminatory, and it violates s.15(1) of the CCRF. The government of Quebec would not The government perceive Bill 60 to be discriminatory, because they claim that they are emphasizing the equal dignity of all citizens through the equalization seems to believe of rights and entitlements.9 In fact, “state secularism” and “religious neutrality” are the explicit goals stated in the preamble of the that requiring Charter of Values.10 The government seems to believe that requiring individuals to remove conspicuous symbols in the workplace is a step individuals towards greater equality.11 But by attempting to establish equality through religious neutrality, the government to remove is suppressing identities, and is itself being highly discriminatory.12 In Law v. Canada, Justice Iacobucci wrote that human dignity conspicuous is “enhanced by laws which are sensitive to the needs, capacities, and merits of different individuals, taking into account the context symbols in the 13 underlying their differences.” This form of legal equality indicates that everyone should be workplace is a recognized, not simply as a citizen, but for his or her unique identity. Accordingly, we need to give due regard to what McGill philosopher step towards Charles Taylor claims to be “universally present” – that everyone has a unique identity – through recognizing what is peculiar to each greater equality. individual.14 Thus, equality does not require that we treat people in a difference-blind fashion; equality necessitates the recognition of to be worn by an Orthodox Jewish woman.8 particularity.15 So, if Bill 60 were enacted, the man could not The Quebec government might respond be hired by the government, but the woman that this is primarily what they seek to avoid: could. The inverse is true for certain forms of recognizing particularities would inherently Islamic practice as well. Women wearing the violate the principle of nondiscrimination that hijab could not be hired, but men, who have no the Charter of Values propagates.16 However, similar requirement, could. In the case of the the Quebec government is, as Taylor posits, Quebec Charter of Values, the distinction from “negating identity by forcing people into a criterion (a) is made on an enumerated ground homogenous mold that is untrue to them.”17 listed in s. 15 of the CCRF; thus, criterion (b) is Ultimately, recognizing equality is fundamental satisfied. to a religious individual’s essential human Criterion (c) is the principle which, if dignity. The legal form of equality ought to fulfilled in addition to(a) and (b), makes an consider the principles stated in the ruling

26 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review of Law v. Canada by “taking into account the of culture, self-worth, self-respect, and dignity context underlying differences.”18 The Charter are equally deserving of protection under the of Values fails to do so, and, therefore, imposes CCRF. a burden on an individual’s fundamental In R v. Malmo-Levin; R v. Caine [2003], equality rights – satisfying criteria (c). the concurring justices cited John Stuart Mill’s harm principle as a “description of an Liberty important state interest.”23 The harm principle The notions of equality and freedom are holds that human action should be limited interrelated. The Quebec government argues only when it poses harm to others.24 This that the Quebec Charter of Values does not principle draws the line between justifiable inhibit an individual’s freedom because religious and unjustifiable encroachment of the state citizens have the choice of whether to work in into the affairs of its citizens. Accordingly, the the public sector – without their conspicuous onus is on the state to demonstrate that a given religious symbol – or to work in the private action would pose harm to others; if it does, sector, with it. This is hardly a choice, however, the state is required to intervene. With regard considering that the individuals who hold to Bill 60, no individual is harmed by the mere religious convictions tend to be immigrants, presence of a conspicuous religious symbol. At who often have the hardest time obtaining worst, the conspicuous religious symbol may employment in the province of Quebec.19 In make another individual feel uncomfortable effect, the government is forcing civil servants or bothered, but this does not justify the to choose between their employment and their banning of the given religious symbol. For own sincere religious convictions.20 Essentially, example, wearing a Martin Luther King t-shirt the choice for the immigrant is reduced to their may bother a white supremacist, but this is livelihood or their identity. not reason to ban Martin Luther King t-shirts. Recall Law v. Canada, where it was stated Likewise, wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey that for an individual to be free, they must may incense a Montreal native, but this is not experience a sense of “self-respect” and “self- reason to ban Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys in worth.”21 For many individuals, this sense of Montreal. The roots of these grievances are self-worth is associated with their religious differences of opinion. But the Canadian Charter beliefs. To argue otherwise is to propagate of Rights and Freedoms protects the “freedom what Nita Iyer calls the “invisible background of thought, belief, opinion and expression.”25 norm” of society: the particular set of social Thus, the state cannot justifiably encroach on characteristics perpetuated by a dominant social one’s freedom if there is no harm posed to identity.22 In this case, the “dominant social society. Ultimately, the banning of conspicuous identity” is the pur laine Quebecois identity. religious symbols risks harming the essential But the proposed bill does not affect only human dignity of the individual without those individuals who have grown up and reasonable justification, and, therefore, Bill 60 been socialized in the province of Quebec; it violates Canadians’ s.15(1) rights. affects any and all individuals that seek public sector employment in the province. These The Oakes Test individuals are often immigrants who have An advocate for the Quebec Charter of emigrated from countries that are culturally Values could argue that the implementation of distinct from Quebec, and, consequently, have Bill 60 is “rationally connected”26 to the goals been socialized differently. For example, in Iran of religious neutrality and state secularism, – officially an Islamic state – religious devotion and therefore, the violation of s.15 is saved is a significant aspect of an individual’s identity. under s.1. Indeed, s.1 of the CCRF allows for To expect such cultural differences to assimilate the infringement of Charter rights provided or disappear in Quebec is ignorant of the the violation is under a “reasonable limit” as essential human dignity of these individuals. outlined in R v. Oakes;27 this is the argument Individuals who have different understandings put forward by many advocates of the Quebec

2014 Edition 27 Charter of Values.28 Since it is a democratic must preserve this recognized morality, and government’s job to represent its citizens, a that the implementation of Bill 60 is rationally government’s proposed legislation ought to connected to the goal of religious neutrality. If reflect the desires of society. For example, if this is the case, the violation of s.15 would be religious neutrality is the goal of the Quebec saved under s.1. Charter of Values, then this should be what I would respond to this in two ways. the Parti Québécois believes reflects the desires First, the argument that religious neutrality of Quebec society. If the government is is “rationally connected” to the goal of pursuing Bill 60 with the goal of a secular state, establishing a secular state is founded religious neutrality ought to be perceived by on unsound premises. Public morality is the government to be a moral imperative for illegitimate if the moral position is based Quebeckers. Lord Patrick Devlin, an influential on personal biases or prejudice.33 We must British jurist, held that a recognizable morality acknowledge that some moral positions are is necessary for a stable society.29 This is in illegitimate, and, therefore, should not influence virtue of the fact that society is composed government action. For example, the anti- of “a community of ideas…about the way Semitic moral consensus of Nazi Germany was its members should behave and govern their based on prejudice.34 During the 1930s, many lives.”30 In essence, society is held together by a Germans would have considered Nazi racial laws legitimate. Many of them were not blindly following orders, but willingly participated in German atrocities during the Second World War.35 Thus, it appears that in certain contexts, something inherently immoral can form part of the moral foundation of a society. Therefore, society can arrive at an illegitimate moral position.36 Since the banning of ostentatious religious symbols is also based on xenophobic prejudices, albeit not as extreme as the example above, Bill 60’s pursuit of religious neutrality is illegitimate. Secondly, I argue that the legislation is not “rationally connected” to the goal of religious neutrality because the Quebec government has chosen to leave Christian symbols intact in public places.37 The Charter of Values bans ostentatious religious symbols, but the government’s acceptance of the cross that sits on top of Mont-Royal, as well as the cross above the speaker’s chair in the National Source: Wikimedia Commons The cross above the Speaker’s Chair in the National Assembly of Quebec Assembly of Quebec, is hypocritical. The government is mandating that citizens adopt moral structure.31 Indeed, Devlin argues, religiously neutral profiles in public, but is “society may use the law to preserve morality failing to demonstrate this religious neutrality in the same way it uses it to safeguard anything itself. The Quebec Charter of Values is not else that is essential to its existence.”32 Thus, rationally connected to the goal of religious an advocate of the Quebec Charter of neutrality because it is discriminatory: It Values might say that it follows from these “privileges the artifacts of Quebec’s Christian premises that religious neutrality is a moral and Catholic heritage” at the expense of consensus of Quebec society, that the law the symbols of Quebec’s multicultural

28 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review demographic today.38 This confirms Bill 60’s forward by the Parti Québécois government in intolerance, not neutrality, and, therefore, the advocating for the Charter of Values – that the bill would not be saved under s.1 of the CCRF. violation is saved under s.1 since it is rationally In this paper, I have arrived at three connected to the goal of religious neutrality conclusions. First, I identified the purpose of – on the grounds that the law is based on s.15 of the CCRF to help determine instances prejudice and hypocrisy. The government of of its violation. Through an analysis of legal Quebec, therefore, is pursuing a law that has no precedents of Canadian jurisprudence (Egan, legal justification. Law, Halpern) it became evident that s.15 is violated in the instances when the essential human dignity of an individual is violated. Second, I showed how the Quebec Charter of Values violates an individual’s sense of self- respect and self-worth, and thereby infringes on essential human dignity and is thereby an infringement of Canadians’ s.15 Charter rights. Third, I refuted the argument put

Endnotes

1. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein “Law and Morality” (University of Toronto Press, 2008). 2. Law v. Canada, as cited in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 460. 3. Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General) [2003] OJ No.2268, as cited in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 454. 4. Ibid. 5. Egan v. Canada [1995] 2 SCR 513, as cited in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 503. 6. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 2, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. 7. “Bill 60: Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests, (Secrétariat aux institutions démocratiques et à la participation citoyenne). Available at, http://www.institutions-democratiques.gouv.qc.ca/laicite-identite/charte-valeurs-en. htm. Emphasis is the author’s. 8. Stephen J. Toope Is Quebec’s Secular Charter Constitutional? The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013 9. Charles Taylor, Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition, in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 447. 10. Bill 60, Supra note 7. 11. Ibid. 12. Taylor, supra note 9, at 451. 13. Law v. Canada, as cited in Dyzenhaus, Moreau, & Ripstein, supra note 2, at 454. 14. Taylor, supra note 9, at 448. 15. Taylor, supra note 9, at 451. 16. Taylor, supra note 9, at 451. 17. Taylor, supra note 9, at 451. 18. Law v. Canada, as cited in Dyzenhaus, Moreau, & Ripstein, supra note 2, at 454. 19. Julius Gray, as cited in Sean Fine, Is Quebec’s Secular Charter Constitutional? Nine Legal Experts Weigh In. The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/is-quebecs-secular-charter- constitutional-nine-legal-experts-weigh-in/article14324825/?page=all.

2014 Edition 29 20. Hugo Cyr, as cited in Sean Fine, Is Quebec’s Secular Charter Constitutional? Nine Legal Experts Weigh In. The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/is-quebecs-secular-charter- constitutional-nine-legal-experts-weigh-in/article14324825/?page=all. 21. Law v. Canada, as cited in Dyzenhaus, Moreau, & Ripstein, Supra note 2, at 454. 22. Nita Iyer, Categorical Denials: Equality Rights and the Shaping of Social Identity (1993-4) in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 483-4. 23. R v. Malmo-Levine; R v. Caine [2003] 3 SCR 571, as cited in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 332. 24. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859) in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). 25. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 2, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. 26. R v. Oakes [1986] 1 SCR 103, as cited in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). 27. Ibid. 28. Daniel Turp, It’s Constitutional, The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013. 29. Patrick Devlin, Morals and the Criminal Law (1965) in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 378 30. Ibid. Page 377. 31. Ibid. Page 378. 32. Ibid. 33. Ronald Dworkin, Liberty and Moralism (1977) in Law and Morality, Ed. David Dyzenhaus, Sophia Moreau, Arthur Ripstein (University of Toronto Press, 2008). Page 399-400 34. Ibid. Page 393. 35. Erin Solaro, Adolf Hitler (2002) in Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia ed Stanley Sandler. Page 374. 36. Natalie Stoljar, “Dworkin and Devlin” Lecture 18, November 4, 2013. 37. Tsvi Kahan, as cited in Sean Fine, Is Quebec’s Secular Charter Constitutional? Nine Legal Experts Weigh In. The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/is-quebecs-secular-charter- constitutional-nine-legal-experts-weigh-in/article14324825/?page=all. 38. Jamie Cameron, as cited in Sean Fine, Is Quebec’s Secular Charter Constitutional? Nine Legal Experts Weigh In. The Globe and Mail, Sep 14, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/is-quebecs-secular-charter- constitutional-nine-legal-experts-weigh-in/article14324825/?page=all.

30 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Legal Education

Law School Information Student Testimonials How to Apply McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society Information

31 McGill Faculty of Law

he McGill Faculty of Law’s unique B.C.L./ members. Our faculty is also active in legal reform LL.B. integrated program is premised on a and in legal institutions in Canada and elsewhere. Tcomparative, transsystemic, and bilingual learning approach. The curriculum fosters analyti- The Faculty of Law’s integrated program leads to cal ability, critical reflection and openness to diverse graduation with both civil law and common law approaches to legal problems. The program can be degrees, and qualifies students for the Bar Admis- enhanced by a minor, major, or honours program sion Programs in all Canadian provinces, as well as – or alternatively with a joint MBA or Master of So- cial Work program. Student can also receive course credit beyond the traditional classroom through exciting opportunities such as competitive mooting, student clerkships, exchange programs, the Legal Information Clinic at McGill, our three prestigious law journals, and the Human Rights Internship.

First-year classes are larger in size to allow students to network amongst themselves; including upper year courses, the average class size is 32 students. McGill law professors are experts in several legal traditions, chief among them the civil and common law with an integrated approach unique to McGill. This is most readily demonstrated by the number of international law specialists among our faculty

32 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review some U.S. Jurisdictions (e.g. New York and Massa- chusetts).

Our graduates find career opportunities across the world both in common law jurisdictions and in civil law ones, in legal practice and with government, in business and international tribunals, to name a few. Beyond the name of the degree is the strength of the program, the manpower of its alumni, and the respect and recognition earned nationally and internationally. Over the past 150 years, McGill’s Faculty of Law graduates have served on a number of courts, including eight at the Supreme Court of Canada level; held political office right up to Prime Minister; and assumed leading positions in academia **The Faculty of Law B.C.L./LL.B. Admissions and business. McGill Law alumni can be found in all Office invites you to view the webcast of our 13 Canadian provinces, 42 U.S. states, and 107 other Re-Applicant Workshop and General Information countries. They form an ever-growing network and Session online. Also note changes to our admission are an invaluable extension of the Faculty. process. For more information, please visit: http://

www.mcgill.ca/law-admissions/undergraduates/ Diversity and excellence are essential to our Faculty. admissions/ Admitted students demonstrate intellectual curios- ity, community engagement, insight (cultural, eco- **Le Service des admissions au B.C.L./LL.B. de la nomic, political, social and otherwise), leadership Faculté de droit vous invite à consulter les diffu- skills, ability to work with others, openness to diver- sions en ligne de nos séances d’information pour sity, maturity, ethical sense, judgment, and potential les candidats qui re-postulent et pour les nouveaux for development through opportunity or adversity, candidats. Des changements au processus d’admis- among other qualities. The student body forms a sion sont également à noter. Pour de plus amples pluralistic learning community drawn from across renseignements, veuillez consulter le http://www. Quebec, Canada and beyond (39 countries of birth mcgill.ca/law-admissions/fr/undergraduates/ad- represented), in which there is a wide range of ca- missions/ reer aspirations, backgrounds and life experiences.

Best regards,

Lindsay Flood Admissions Coordinator / Coordinatrice des admissions

Faculty of Law - Undergraduate Admissions / Fac- ulté de droit - Service d’admission au premier cycle McGill University / Université McGill Telephone / téléphone: (514) 398-6602 Fax / télécopieur: (514) 398-8453 Email / courriel: undergradadmissions.law@mcgill. ca

2014 Edition 33 Osgoode Hall Law School

nternationally renowned as one of Canada’s legal education. We are the first Canadian law school largest and most distinguished law schools, Os- to introduce a public interest requirement, and the Igoode Hall Law School offers an extraordinary first to establish an Office of Experiential Educa- legal education. With some of the world’s leading tion, which offers a multitude of hands-on learning scholars comprising our full-time and adjunct fac- opportunities. Students can choose from over 14 ulty, students have the unparalleled opportunity clinical and intensive programs spanning all areas to learn from, and work with, Canada’s top legal of law, develop their advocacy skills in mooting and minds. The Law School offers a rich, innovative and lawyering competitions, provide free legal services interdisciplinary curriculum that exposes students through Pro Bono Students Canada, and participate to a broad array of perspectives and experiences. in high school student outreach through the Law in Our tremendous array of upper year seminars, lec- Action Within Schools program. International ex- tures and special programs allow students to tailor change programs across five continents and unique their academic program to their specific interests summer internships enable students to visit and and career aspirations. In addition to our three-year study abroad. Juris Doctor program, Osgoode offers four joint degree programs: JD/MBA, JD/MES, JD/MA Our holistic admissions policy ensures excellence (philosophy) and JD/BCL (with the Université de and diversity among our students, who enrich the Montréal). Osgoode community with their varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Students may become Osgoode is renowned for leadership in innovative involved in the life of the law school by joining one

34 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review of more than 40 student clubs and organizations, volunteering at our onsite legal aid clinic, writing for the student newspaper, or appearing onstage in our annual revue, Mock Trial. Many students live steps away in the Law School’s dedicated residence apart- ments, Osgoode Chambers.

Osgoode is committed to the academic, professional and personal success of its students. We have the first Student Success and Wellness Counsellor at a Canadian law school – a professional lawyer and counsellor who supports the well-being of Os- goode students through individual counselling, re- ferrals and crisis intervention services, weekly yoga and mindfulness sessions. We offer a full range of Osgoode Hall Law School provides a multifaceted accommodations for students facing challenges be- educational environment in which students may de- cause of physical, medical, sensory, mental health velop their intellectual powers and skills to prepare or learning disabilities. Our Student Financial Ser- for a broad range of stimulating careers, in private vices Office awards more than $3.5 million in to- practice, policy development, business, govern- tal funding to students annually, through entrance ment, politics, social activism, the judiciary or ac- and upper-year scholarships and awards, bursaries, ademia. As an Osgoode graduate, you will join a course prizes and medals, internship funding and community of 15,000 Osgoode alumni shaping the post-graduation awards. The Career Development legal landscape in Canada and around the globe. Office works tirelessly to help students define and achieve their career goals, through career coaching, Website: www.osgoode.yorku.ca résumé review, mock interviews, job postings, pro- Email: [email protected] gramming and workshops, and networking events. Phone: (416) 736-5712

2014 Edition 35 Queen’s Law School

he Faculty of Law at Queen’s University is ray of international exchange opportunities. Up to housed in Macdonald Hall, at the hub of a 50 percent of our students have the opportunity to Tcompact campus. It is located within walk- study or work abroad during their law degree. ing distance of historic downtown Kingston and the shores of Lake Ontario. Kingston lies halfway We also offer a broad range of experiential learn- between Toronto and Montreal and is easily accessible by car, train, bus or by air. For more information, please see http://www.queensu.ca/discover/ visit.

Queen’s is one of Canada’s leading law schools, known for the academic excellence of its curriculum. We offer a rich array of international opportunities through the Global Law Progams in Inter- national Business Law and Public International Law at Herstmonceux Castle in England, international internships with funding support and a diverse ar-

36 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review ing opportunities through clinics in poverty law school learning environment. In fact, 96 percent of (Queen’s Legal Aid), prison law (Correctional Law our third-year students said that they would choose Project), business law, elder law and clinical family Queen’s Law all over again, if they had the chance. law. We offer a stellar competitive mooting program, Queen’s law students rated the quality of the ser- opportunities to intern with the legal services units vices provided for academic advising and planning, of the federal Department of Justice and to work personal counselling, career counselling, and job as editors for the Queen’s Law Journal or the Cana- search help substantially higher than rankings by law dian Journal of Labour and Employment Law. Each students at our comparator Canadian law schools. academic year, about 50 percent of our upper-year Due to the strength of the support for our students, students are either engaged in competitive mooting nearly 85 percent of our students have secured an or volunteering in clinics or editing our journals. articling position by the time they are entering third- year J.D. studies. Such a placement rate is the envy Applicants can consider applying to a full roster of other law schools of interdisciplinary combined degree programs: Master of Public Administration-J.D.; Master of Queen’s Law is the school of choice for law students Industrial Relations-J.D.; Master of Arts (Econom- seeking a first-class education, with an exceptional ics)-J.D. and Master of Business Administration-J.D. degree of student-faculty interaction, and with a Queen’s Law students can also study for a year after unique array of international, interdisciplinary and graduation at Université de Sherbrooke to earn a experiential learning opportunities. See http://law. civil law degree. queensu.ca/index.html.

Since our students do not have to spend time com- muting to a large urban law school, they are fully engaged in the vibrant intellectual life of the law school and have time to enjoy the rich array of extracurricular opportunities. The 2013 Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) compared Queen’s Law to nine other Canadian law schools and 86 American law schools. Queen’s Law excelled in its rankings of student engagement and law

2014 Edition 37 Western Law School

ounded in 1959 and situated in London, Western Law also offers students numerous oppor- Ontario, on one of Canada’s most beauti- tunities to develop practical experience through Fful campuses, Western Law has an academic clinical courses, advocacy training and competitions, community of more than 500 students and an alumni base of over 6,800. Several strengths make West- ern unique among law schools in Canada. Western Law enjoys one of the highest graduate placement rates, with 92 percent of our students, on average, securing articling positions and clerkships in a variety of sectors throughout Ontario and Canada, including in private practice, the public sector and public interest work. We also place more students on Bay Street than any other law school outside of Toronto. Western Law’s focus on business law in the global environment is unique. Our vision of business law is international, interdisciplinary and innovative in its approach, and encompasses a wide range of economic, critical, public law and social justice perspectives. Western Law has two joint programs (HBA/JD and JD/MBA) with the Ivey Business School, one of the top-ranked business schools in the world. We were the first school in Canada to offer a three-year JD/MBA program.

38 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Community Legal Services, the Western Business that last a lifetime. Beyond academics, students have Law Clinic, Sport Solution, the Dispute Resolution many opportunities to engage with other students Centre and Pro Bono Students Canada. Over 200 through clubs, committees and social events. In students work in our clinics during the academic year under the supervision of five experienced lawyers. In 2013, extensive renovations expanded the professional space for students in the clinics, enhanced the learning and working environment and provided greater accessibility to clients and visitors.

Western Law has one of the most active international exchange programs of any law school in Canada, with over 23 partnerships in 15 countries. Almost one in five of our students will complete a term in another country. Participation allows students to benefit from expanded curriculum options, study legal issues from a new perspective and create a network of international contacts. We also wel- come over 30 students annually from our exchange partner institutions, adding a unique perspective a recent third-year exit survey, students identified to the classroom. Through our thriving Inter- our reputation for collegiality as one of the top national Summer Law Internships, which are reasons they decided to attend Western Law. Other funded through the generosity of various donors, key reasons included our Small Group program, the students intern with government departments, in- overall strength of our curriculum, and Western’s ternational organizations, non-governmental orga- campus and facilities. Faculty and staff are commit- nizations, and private industries. Students who par- ted to student success. Indeed, of all the established ticipate in an international exchange or internship law schools in Ontario, Western’s class size remains also earn points towards Western’s new Global and the smallest, affording students more one-on-one Intercultural Engagement Certificate. time with professors, a more enriching classroom and co-curricular experience, and a strong sense Finally, at Western Law students develop friendships of community.

2014 Edition 39 Law Student Testimonials

Words of wisdom from law students across North America

Jade Chong-Smith McGill Arts Class of 2013 Yale Law School aged us to define success along other metrics, to provide a more holistic and meaningful definition of who we are and what we want from law school.

Another wonderful part of my Yale experience has been my “small group.” At YLS, your small group is the group of 15 other students who take all four of the same first semester courses you do. Three of the classes are with a couple other sections of small groups, but one of the classes is taught semi- nar-style and only includes your small group members. The small group dynamic allows students to form a very close relationship with one professor in their first semester as well as with one another. My small group professor got to know each of us individually, and personally graded and annotated each of our eight legal research and writing assign- My name is Jade Chong-Smith and I am a first year ments, providing us with important feedback in student at Yale Law School. Two unique features understanding how to approach legal research and of YLS have made my transition to law school a writing. Having a close group of students sharing smooth one: first, unlike other law schools, Yale in all of my academic experiences was incredibly offers a completely ungraded first semester. This supportive, and they became some of my closest ungraded semester is intended to provide us with a friends. We spent a great deal of time together both supportive atmosphere that allows us the intellectu- inside and outside the classroom, getting together al freedom to fully explore the fields we are most in- for potlucks and happy hours almost every week. terested in. Without the pressure of grades looming It was wonderful to immediately have a close-knit over us, we learn how to approach law school in co- group of incredibly diverse but similarly engaged operation, rather than competition, with our peers. and driven individuals to navigate the first semester For example, any student can upload their notes and of law school as a team. outlines to a central database that any YLS student can access, which works much better in an atmo- If you have any questions about being a Canadian sphere of absolute, rather than zero-sum, gains. As student studying law school in the United States, or a result, there is more emphasis on forming strong if you want to learn more about my program, feel bonds with both classmates and professors and free to reach out to me at jade.chong-smith@yale. spending more time participating in extracurricular edu. activities that are important to us. Yale has encour-

40 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review My name is Joe McGrade and I am a second year student in the Joe McGrade JD/MBA program at the University of Toronto. My experience at McGill Arts Class of 2012 U of T has been incredible, and here’s why. The social atmosphere Studying Law and Business at the at U of T is by far the best that I have ever been exposed to. I University of Toronto have made some of the best friends of my life, all of whom are brilliant, and all of whom were willing to help with anything, especially exams. Every week we all go to various pubs across Toronto to party; pub night is sacred at U of T. In terms of academics, the coursework has been very challenging, but the professors have led the most stimulating lectures (well, there were several) that I’ve ever seen. The program provides me with an academic challenge for which I am truly grateful. Finally, I had the opportunity to volunteer at downtown legal services (DLS), a clinic that provides free legal services to low income citizens of Toronto. Through DLS I had the opportunity to represent a client in court, and gain experience with the criminal law procedure. It felt like being a “real lawyer,” and was one of the coolest things I did in law school. I love my school, and my time here has been the best of my life.

Please feel free to contact me for any further details about the program at [email protected].

My name is Sean McGarry and I am a third year student at the Sean McGarry Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. The atmosphere Schulich School of Law and mentality at Dal is what makes it such a great school. I don’t Dalhousie University know if it’s the East coast air, or just the type of people it at- tracts, but Dal has the nicest law students in the country. Every law school has organised events to socialise in, but only one of them is in the Canadian city with the most pubs per capita, most of them filled with law students trying to avoid reading cases. It does have some fantastic organised opportunities as well. Last semester, for example, I was at the Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, a uniquely immersive clinic that treats its public interest work like a full time job and not just a volunteer experience. Most of all I like that Dal is a national law school, where no region of Canada represents the majority. Not only does this mean I have a place to stay all over the country, but it means when I go back to my home province there will always be a passionate group of alumni excited to reminisce about their time in Halifax.

Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions about the program at [email protected]

2014 Edition 41 Zach Ruby Hello, my name is Zach Ruby and I am now finishing my final Duke University School of Law year at Duke University School of Law. The faculty is incredible. I’ve taken courses from former Senators and sitting judges. It’s not uncommon to find my professors cited by the Supreme Court. But professors don’t let this success go to their heads. Their doors are always open, and they genuinely want to help you and know you. My peers are wonderful – I’ve made friends here who I will keep for the rest of my life. People here go out of their way to be helpful. One of the clearest examples of this is when I was deciding between law schools. A 1L, who I barely knew, put me up in his apartment and took time out of his busy finals schedule to show me around campus. His behavior is not unique at Duke. And, of course, there’s basketball. Going to Cameron to watch a Duke game is a once in a lifetime experience. It feels like you are close enough to the action, you are part of the game. Durham is a great town with a ton of delicious food, fun bars, and unique entertainment. I couldn’t imagine a better law school experience.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. [email protected]

Nicolas Hawkins Hi! My name is Nicolas Hawkins. I am a third year student in University of Ottawa the French Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and Past President of its Common Law Student Society. I am very pleased I chose to come to the University of Ottawa and am excited to tell you why! Our faculty is the country’s biggest and boasts an impressive variety of programs including French and English common law programs, a French civil law program and Programme de droit canadien (Mixed common law and civil law). A critical factor that sets our faculty apart from others is its home in the heart of Ottawa next door to the Supreme Court of Canada and Parliament Hill. This gives University of Otta- wa students unparalleled access to careers both within the legal profession and in other fields, whether it be for government, for NGOs or for an international organizations. Every year, over 300 students gain practical experience by doing internships at these various organizations that count as credits towards their degree! My three years have been filled with once-in-a-lifetime -expe riences. I have made incredible friends and had the pleasure of learning and interacting with tremendous professors. I have been lucky enough to meet with many Supreme Court Justices at law school events, won a coffee meeting with one of them and, over the past year, was able to work at the Court. Experiences like these set the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa apart and make me very proud and pleased to have chosen this faculty.

[email protected]

42 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review Hi, I’m Zizi Petkova, and I am a first year student at the Uni- Zizi Petkova versity of Pennsylvania Law School. Despite the horror stories University of Pennsylvania Law School and intimidating movies about life in law school, Penn Law has been an exciting experience. I have had the privilege of learning from brilliant professors, many of whom have changed the way I see the world in just a few months. Penn’s dozens of clubs and pro bono projects have allowed me to become more involved in legal fields that I am interested in pursuing, and have given me the opportunity to meet and work with leading practising attor- neys. The best thing about Penn, however, is its collegial culture. Law school can be a testing experience. Penn’s small class size and long tradition of support, friendship and collegiality have made it a place where I am happy to be and proud to represent. Collegiality is not empty work but a deep commitment at Penn, and has helped students meet the challenges of law school life for years. It is not merely the tradition of willingly sharing notes, outlines, and class and job experiences that make Penn unique. It is the comfort of knowing that there is always someone to talk to and rely on. That is what makes me love being a Penn Law student.

The Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary distinguishes Paul Reid itself through an ability to offer an education not only in the ac- University of Calgary ademic vein of law but also in terms of practical career develop- Faculty of Law ment. You’re encouraged to develop your professional and social skills in much the same fashion as your analytical legal skills, a policy the school helps foster through networking opportunities and coursework centered around actual skills of lawyering. Small class sizes allow you to develop a rapport with professors and students alike, which, as anybody in law school will tell you, is essential to surviving midterms and finals – and, to be honest, the entire experience of law school itself. The intimate and social learning environment at U of C allows you to get in touch with the personal side of professional school. New, lifelong friendships are forged in pre-exam commiseration and post-exam libations. It is this close proximity, social foundation, and relatively small student population that cultivates a shared sense of inclusion. Crucially, at the U of C, it becomes clear very early on that not only you deserve to be there, but more importantly, that you deserve to belong to something bigger than yourself.

If you have any questions about my experience at the University of Calgary Law School, please do not hesitate to reach me. [email protected]

2014 Edition 43 Abraham Chang University of Virginia School of Law

My name is Abraham Chang and I am a first year student at the University of Virginia Law School. Uni- versity of Virginia Law maintains a rigorous academic reputation, but its collegial and friendly atmosphere is what truly sets it apart from other law schools. Students here recognize that law school is competitive but still form great friendships through activities including bar review and softball. The school encour- ages maintaining a school-life balance, and students normally engage in multiple extracurricular activities outside of their studies. UVA Law also has a very strong career advising department that maintains connections with top firms and organizations around the country – the worry here is not unemployment after graduation, but rather that students will not get their preferred job. While law school occasionally proves to be stressful and uncertain no matter the school, I know of no other place where alumni so consistently maintain that they loved their time in law school. I encourage you to reach out to any UVA alumni that you know – they will be more than happy to share about the experience that is UVA Law.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Pierre Hawkins University of Saskatchewan College of Law

Hello, my name is Pierre Hawkins and I am the President of University of Saskatchewan Law Students’ Association. Let me start by saying that the Col- lege of Law at the U of S is not like other law schools. When I started, I heard stories from law student friends across the country describing a cutthroat atmosphere where people would not only do anything to get ahead, but also do anything to push others down. After all, when grades are curved, someone else’s raw score falling has the same effect as yours rising. I expected the worst. What I found when I got to Saskatoon was the most helpful, fun, and encour- aging group of people I had ever met. Sure, many had Bay Street or Downtown Calgary ambitions, but I have not met a single person here who would see my success as a detriment to theirs.

The student community at the College of Law is great. We have a very active Law Students’ Associa- tion, which puts on all sorts of events, tournaments, and parties. Since the College has only about 350 students, most know each other well, get along, and help each other do their best. Along with events and parties, we have a wide range of extracurricular groups for students of all interests. Whether you’re interested in social justice, corporate law, environmentalism, athletics, or just about anything else, the Col- lege of Law has a group for you. We have a number of successful moot court teams and a highly active chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada. There are also many opportunities for students to involve themselves at the CLASSIC, an inner-city legal assistance clinic where students can do real and valuable legal work, overseen by a team of volunteer and staff lawyers. With a small student population comes small classes, and professors who are accessible and helpful. In my time at the College, the professors, administrators, and staff members that I have dealt with have always been invested in the lives of the students they help. They have always treated my success as their own. The job market Hunger Games may be waiting when we finish law school, but you won’t find them here. I have built friendships that will last a lifetime, and I can say without reservation that there is no place in the world I would rather be.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

44 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review How to Apply to Law School

Guidelines on the Application Process for Canadian Students

By Harrison Freeman

The process of applying to law school takes a lot of time, effort and attention to detail. It is not something that should be left to the last minute. As a Canadian undergraduate student who just applied to both Canadian and American law schools, I can tell you with certainty that a great deal of editing and re-editing will be required.

Source: Flickr

2014 Edition 45 Law Schools in Canada

For Canadian law schools (particularly those in Ontario), you must write a personal statement for each law school you apply to, outlining the reasons why you want to go to law school and why the law school should accept you. You also need to list all of your work experience and extracurricular activities in a form that you can find on the application website and you must add a verifier for each activity. For Ontar- io schools, the website is olsas.com. Requests for references vary. Some schools ask for academic references, some ask for workplace references, and some do not ask for any references at all. You must send your university transcript to a law school in order to be processed by the school or you can send it to OLSAS (Ontario Law School Application Service) and they will distribute it to the law schools you apply to. LSAT scores must be reported in your application. All you have to do is input the score and the date that you took the test. The system will verify that you are telling the truth, so be honest or they will catch you! Aside from that, all you need to do is input your personal information (name, date of birth, email address), and pay the application fees. That is pretty much all there is to it! The personal statement will take you the longest to write, and the list of your jobs and extracurricular activities (called the biographical sketch on OLSAS) will also take time, but as long as you pay attention to detail and don’t forget to edit your work, you will not find writing these sections much harder than a normal 1000 word essay that you would write for a class.

Law Schools in the United States

American applications take a bit more time because there are many more things that you, as a Ca- nadian student, are required to do. Every American law school uses LSAC.org for their applications. You must submit your reference letters, send your transcript and upload your statement, all to LSAC. First, LSAC asks you to choose which schools you want to apply to. Then, it shows you each of your choice schools and lets you know what you are required to do to complete each application. Questions about family legacy, military service and public interest employment are typical in these applications. US schools, like the Canadian ones, also all require a personal statement, biographical information and your address, but expect to see many questions that are specific to the schools to which you choose to apply.

The process of applying to Canadian and American law schools is manageable but it takes time and attention to detail. You must take the applications seriously because they are all the law schools see when they make their decision of whether to admit you to their school. So take it seriously, don’t be afraid to brag about what makes you special, and tell the law schools why they should admit you!

46 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review About the McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society

Dear Readers,

All year long, the journal editorial team has been hard at work writing, editing, designing the layout, and fundraising for this year’s issue of Fiat Justitia. Their hard work is evident in the finished prod- uct of the journal and myself and the rest of the McGill Pre-Law Society executive board are very proud of the completed journal and their efforts to put it together!

Fiat Justitia is one of the many projects that the McGill Pre-Law Society undertakes and funds each year.

The McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society is a club that was founded in 2009 as a response to the growing interest of students to acquire important resources and information to aid in the law school application and preparation process. Our goal at the McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society is to provide invaluable opportunities and services to inform our members about the field of law and support students as they navigate their undergraduate degree and the law school application process. The society consists of a group of undergraduate students who offer resources including but not limited to workshops, seminars, online information, speakers, and opportunities to liaise with law students and professionals in the field.

All of the events that we host throughout the year are to help our members decide if law school is the right fit for them and if so, help them determine the kinds of law they may be interested in. We also offer workshops and advice to help our members along every step of the application process. In addition to seminars and workshops, we offer a mentorship program whereby we match each registered student with a lawyer or law student in the Montreal area. Mentorship activities can include shadowing the mentor through a work day, attending court hearings or attending law school classes.

We host a variety of social, academic and networking events throughout the year.

These include:

• Canadian Law Forum, featuring representatives from McGill Law, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Queen’s Law, Western Law, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, and Osgoode Hall law school. • American Law Forum, featuring representatives from the University of North Carolina-Chap- el Hill, Florida International University, and the University of Pennsylvania, among other schools. • UK Law Forum, featuring representatives from the University of Kent, Cite University Lon- don, University of Bristol, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Birming- ham, among other schools.

2014 Edition 47 McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society

• Wine and Cheese events where students can network with current law students and practic- ing lawyers, including McGill alumni. • LSAT Preview Class Workshop, covering the breakdown of the LSAT and strategies for solving LSAT questions. • “Do’s and Don’ts of Law School Admissions” Workshop, providing advice and strategies for students applying to law school. • Speaker events, hosting individual or panel speakers to provide members with insight into a variety of topics. In past years we have hosted an expert on American law school admissions procedures and also a Federal Court of Appeals justice to speak to students. • Student Networking Nights, providing members with an opportunity to meet each other and make contacts with other McGill students. • General meetings, where club members and interested students are provided with an over- view of the society, our events, and our sponsors.

In 2014-2015, we hope to build on the club’s strong foundation in order to host more events and create more programs that benefit our members. For example, we are currently in the midst of establishing McGill’s only undergraduate mooting team. We hope to create a strong team that can travel as a delegation and represent McGill and the MPLS at other universities in Canada and abroad.

We’re always seeking feedback from students and would love to hear from you! Feel free to contact us with any comments, concerns or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Kimber Bialik Co-President McGill Pre-Law Students’ Society [email protected]

The McGill Pre-Law Society Executive Committee (2013-2014). Top row from left to right: Harrison Freeman, Brett Hartley, Ari Zuckerbrot and Alex Cooper. Front row: Kimber Bialik, Sarah Firestone, Cat Guo, Fathima Mullick, Sarah Macdonald and Meaghan Janisse

48 Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review

Fiat Justititia: The Pre-Law Review McGill University 2014 Edition