John Ralston Saul to speak on roots of Canadian Law

Renowned public intellectual will deliver the McGill Law Journal 's Annual Lecture

On February 3 rd , the McGill Law Journal will welcome leading Canadian philosopher and award-winning author John Ralston Saul to the Faculty of Law, where he will deliver the McGill Law Journal Annual Lecture, titled The Roots of Canadian Law in Canada .

The lecture will ask the Canadian legal community to look beyond the standard historical viewpoint which roots Canadian law in the British common law and French civil law traditions. Beginning with the earliest interactions between First Nations and Europeans, Mr. Saul will discuss the historical foundations of Canadian law in a uniquely Canadian context. Drawing from the research outlined in his recent book, A Fair Country, Mr. Saul will challenge his audience to think of Canadian law as far more than the local implementation of foreign legal traditions. While Canada has freely borrowed from various legal traditions, the application of law in Canada has been a unique process intimately tied to Canadian history. Mr. Saul calls on us to recognize a distinctly Canadian legal tradition which has grown out of Aboriginal law and subsequent local experience while being influenced by, but by no means limited to, Common Law or Civil Law traditions.

WHO: John Ralston Saul

WHAT: The Roots of Canadian Law in Canada

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb.3, 2009, 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Moot Court, New Chancellor Day Hall, Faculty of Law, 3644 Peel St .

The lecture will be delivered in English and French, and the public is welcome to attend. A reception, generously provided by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, will follow in the Faculty of Law's Atrium.