• Human Rights Research and Education Centre
• Pro Bono

• Date and Time :  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 from 11:30am to 1pm
• Place: Room 147, Fauteux Hall (FTX), followed by a lunch in Room 202 FTX – University of Ottawa  
• Authors: Professors Henri Dorion and Jean-Paul Lacasse
• Commentator: Professor Claude Boulanger
  
• Publisher : Collection territoires – Septentrion
• Year of Publication : 2011
• Description :

Henri Dorion and Jean-Paul Lacasse have produced a detailed study on the many uncertainties surrounding the delimitation of the Quebec territory on both formal and substantive levels.  Given the undetermined status of the Coast of Labrador, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the offshore islands of Nunavik, Quebec is the least precisely defined territory in America.  While these topics represent the horizontal dimension of the book, the vertical dimension of powers is also studied, as well as the actions of federal and provincial governments on the territory under their respective jurisdictions. 

At the crossborder of law, politics and geography, the authors similarly table important issues that involve Aboriginal communities, the general public as well as resource development companies.  They make reference to the Quebec authorities'  great responsibility to envision specific and stable solutions for the number of uncertainties that are the subject of this work as an alternative to the eternal status quo.

Biographies :

Henri Dorion

A legal expert, geographer and musician, Henri Dorion has been interested in the question of borders for over 50 years.  After publishing La Frontière Québec-Terre-Neuve, a contribution to the systematic study of the border, he chaired the Commission for the Study on the Territorial Integrity of Quebec from 1966 to 1972. He is also the author of Éloge de la frontière and a number of articles on territorial issues.  Henri Dorion has been working as a professor for over thirty years and as the Director of the Centre for Northern Studies of the Geography Department of Université Laval, the Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Planning and the Director of Research, Conservation and International Relations for the Museum of Civilization.  He presided the Study Commission on the Territorial Integrity of Quebec, the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names and was the Executive Director and Assistant Deputy Minister of Planning of the Ministère des relations internationales and the General Delegate of Quebec in Mexico. Among the many distinctions of this author, he received the medal of the Geographical Society of Paris and the Moscow Novosti Agency Award, the Vicent Massey Award (Geography) and a Honoris Causa Doctor from the University of Sherbrooke.   He is a member of the Academy of Political and Moral Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.

Jean-Paul Lacasse

Jean-Paul Lacasse, Master of Arts in Geography, Doctor of Laws and a Lawyer, is a Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.  He is the author of several books and articles, including a major study on the scope of territorial rights for the Innu in Quebec, entitled Les Innus et le territoire: Innu tipenitamun.  Professor Lacasse worked in various capacities with government, businesses, university administration and communities.  Among others, he was the Legal Advisor at the Ministry for Natural Resources and Wildlife of Quebec and the Secretary of the Study Commission on the Territorial Integrity of Quebec.  He also acted as a legal counsel for the Mamu Pakatatau Mamit Assembly, which includes three Innu communities of the Lower North Shore of Quebec, and as a guest speaker at seminars of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement seminars. During his academic career of more than 31 years at the Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa, Professor Lacasse has taught public and administrative law, natural resources, aboriginal, corporate and tax law. He also served as the Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Dean and Acting Dean.  He established the pre-law program in French for aboriginal people who wish to pursue their studies in the law faculties of the universities of Ottawa, McGill and Laval, as well as the Summer School on Innu Law, where students are provided with an enriching experience which allows them to deepen their knowledge on daily Aboriginal traditions.