Hugo Lafrenière acted as a rapporteur at the je vois mtl symposium.
1. How long have you lived in Montreal?
Four years for my studies at McGill. Before, I lived in Saint-Augustin near Quebec City.
2. Name your favourite and least favourite thing about living in this city.
Montreal cultural life is amazing, every night there is a concert, a play, a improve game, an exposition or a party. You can feel it just by walking in the streets; you will hear street musician and see a lot of street art, it is like an open air exposition. The bad side is that we cannot see the river, I need my Saint-Laurent!
3. For which organizations did you act as a rapporteur?
“Le Collégial en Affaire” : The idea was to create a contest for young entrepreneurs from cégeps.
4. What was the most exciting/fun aspect of the experience?
To see the insides of Montreal’s entrepreneurship. I am not used to this kind of event so it was fun to see that side of the city.
5. What was the most challenging aspect?
The people at your workshop are all experts in their domains. It was hard to keep up with them and stimulate the discussion at the same time.
6. What did you learn?
The cégep directors are like a big family. It’s amazing; everybody knows everybody and they all seem to be dedicated enthusiastic people. It gave me hope about college education in Montréal.
7. How did the experience contribute to your legal education?
It was a good example of how non-state mobilization can succeed in creating large scale coordination and normativity. Legal pluralism? Yep!
8. What are your thoughts on the relationship between McGill and Montreal?
I see it mostly from a cultural point of view. McGill is often described as an English speaking institution that threatens Montreal’s French speaking community. However, this might not be perfectly true; from my personal experience, McGill could become an interesting form of cohabitation that would beneficiate to both communities. Therefore, I would say that McGill is what Montreal will or can be in the future.
[ JUMP TO THE CURRENT EDITION OF FOCUS ONLINE ]