On February 7 and 8, the Faculty hosted a special symposium in honour of Professor Roderick A. Macdonald, OC. The bilingual event, entitled “The Unbounded Level of the Mind: Rod Macdonald’s Legal Imagination,” became an opportunity for participants—professors, students, lawyers, judges, members of government and the general public—to delve enthusiastically into Macdonald’s rich scholarship and discuss its implications for future research.
« Ce furent deux journées extraordinaires pour exprimer toute notre affection et notre gratitude à l’endroit de Roderick Macdonald, » said Dean Daniel Jutras.
As a professor at the Faculty since 1979, including four years as Dean, Rod Macdonald is well known to generations of students, colleagues and friends throughout Quebec, across Canada and around the world. Small wonder, then, that registrations for the event poured in quickly, and the Moot Court was packed to capacity with many more participants following the proceedings by direct webcast.
Organized by Professor Richard Janda and a dedicated team of volunteers, the Symposium consisted of a series of seven panel discussions spread over two days—on such themes of ‘Producing Fairness,’ ‘Pluralizing the Subject’ and ‘Kaleidoscopic Federalism’—punctuated by a book launch (Andrée Lajoie’s La vie intellectuelle de Rod Macdonald : un engagement) and a number of collegial meals, evening receptions and even a few musical interludes.
Many of Macdonald’s colleagues at the Faculty of Law participated in the conference; several shared their observations afterwards. As Professor Margaret Somerville aptly put it, “Rod has been a catalyst for so many of us, but I don’t think we had ever realized the depth, breadth and cumulative effect of his impact before the last two days.”
For Professor Marie Manikis, who joined the Faculty last fall, it was the chance “to experience McGill’s distinct ethos, and its evolution, through incredible academic analyses, songs, narratives and first-hand experiences. As a new member of Faculty, this wonderful event was the best integration session I could have wished for.”
The Symposium also inspired reflection on the future of the Faculty. Professor Mark Antaki, for instance, was left pondering “how to turn and keep turning the charisma of people like Rod into the grace that infuses, or ought to infuse, communities and institutions such as ours.”
In the end, as Professor Vincent Forray articulated it, the event was “moving, heart-quaking, overwhelming, mind-shaking and incredibly stimulating. We heard a lot about justice, but it was also, maybe more than anything else, about love.”
-Bridget Wayland
The entire proceedings were filmed and can be viewed, split into panels and events, on McGill University’s media server: bcooltv.mcgill.ca/ListRecordings.aspx?CourseID=9695
Album souvenir
Here is a sample of the photos taken over the course of the two day symposium, showing some of the panelists and participants at the event. Our thanks to photographers Lysanne Larose, Steven Weise and Owen Egan. Click on each pictures to view them in full.
- The Dean of Law breaks boundaries of his own by opening the Symposium with a song.
- Harry Arthurs, who gave the opening speech.
- Roderick Macdonald intently listening to Harry Arthurs’ speech
- Panel 1: Nathalie Des Rosiers
- Panel 1: Shauna Van Praagh
- Panel 1: Robert Leckey
- Panel 1: Suzanne Bouclin
- Panel 1: Kristen Rundle
- Annalise Acorn
- Adelle Blackett
- Edmund Coates
- Panel 2: view of the audience in the Moot Court
- Panel 2: Pierre Noreau
- Panel 2: Sally Engle Merry
- Panel 2: Jean-Guy Belley
- Panel 2: Guy Rocher
- Panel 2: Patrick Glenn
- Lesley Green
- David Howes
- Mark Antaki
- Violaine Lemay and Jean Leclair
- Víctor Muñiz-Fraticelli
- Ronald Niezen
- Nathalie Vézina
- René Provost and Fabien Gélinas
- Panel 3: Hoi Kong
- Panel 3: Jean-François Gaudreau-Desbiens
- Panel 3: Bob Wolfe
- Evan Fox-Decent
- Denise Rhéaume
- Jacques Frémont
- Some of the wonderful volunteers who made this event such a success
- Evening reception: Justice Nicolas Kasirer
- Evening reception: Kim Brooks on Rod’s enormous influence
- Evening reception: Principal Suzanne Fortier
- Evening reception: Rosalie Jukier
- Evening reception
- Evening reception: a surprise concert for Rod, with Daniel Jutras, Martin Boodman and Law student Olivier Jarda
- Evening reception: Rod listens to the concert in the Atrium
- Evening reception: a Democracy Wall was set up, in honour of Rod’s many democracy wall projects.
- Evening reception: Launch of Andrée Lavoie’s book, “La vie intellectuelle de Roderick Macdonald: Un engagement”
- Panel 4: Catherine Walsh
- Panel 4: David Lametti
- Panel 4: Angela Swan
- Panel 4: some of our panelists participated by video link!
- Panel 4: John McCamus
- Panel 5: Eric Reiter and Thomas McMorrow
- Panel 5: Nicholas Lambert
- Panel 5: Kirsten Anker
- Panel 6: Justice Rosalie Abella
- Panel 6 featured Jeremy Webber, David Sandomierski, Stephen Toope, Alison Harvison Young, and Blaine Baker
- Panel 6: Blaine Baker
- Margaret Somerville
- Dennis Klinck and Nicole O’Byrne
- Kate Glover
- Michel Morin
- Cross-cutting themes panel: Alana Klein
- Cross-cutting themes panel: Martha-Marie Kleinhans
- Cross-cutting themes panel: Wade MacLauchlan
- Conclusion of the two-day symposium to loud applause.
- Thank you, Rod!
Symposium participant Steven O. Weise has shared his full collection of symposium photos online.
Those interested in finding out more about the André Lajoie’s book, see La vie intellectuelle de Roderick Macdonald : un engagement (Éditions Thémis)