John Ralston Saul - The Roots of Canadian Law in Canada

The McGill Law Journal is pleased to welcome leading Canadian philosopher John Ralston Saul to the Faculty of Law, where he will deliver the McGill Law Journal Lecture.

This 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.

The lecture will be delivered in English and French. We welcome students, alumni, faculty from all disciplines and the public to attend. A reception, generously provided by Osler, will follow in the Atrium.