The Runnymede Society is a membership-based organization that invites speakers from all across the ideological spectrum to debate legal ideas that engage the rule of law, constitutionalism, and individual liberty. The goal is to focus on these age-old principles in the context of real issues that are not often explored in the law school classrooms.
Did the Law Society of Ontario’s proposed Statement of Principles (SOP) present a threat to free speech? Today’s encore episode features Lisa Bildy, a Bencher and lawyer specializing in freedom of expression cases, who spoke with our UWO student chapter about her experience standing up to the Law Society.
Is the Alberta Sovereignty Act a mechanism to provide a “shadow court” that challenges federal laws? Martin Olszynski, Professor of law at the University of Calgary and member of the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s advisory council on impact assessment, discusses the constitutionality of the Alberta Sovereignty Act.
How did Carter v Canada change the Canadian legal landscape? Today’s encore episode of Runnymede Radio is from a discussion hosted by McGill’s Runnymede chapter with Professors Yuan Yi Zhu, of Leiden University, and Stéphane Sérafin, of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. This episode features Jacob McConville, president of the Runnymede Society’s chapter at McGill University, as guest host.
If law, including constitutional law, is downstream from politics, what are the implications for federalism in Canada? Barry Cooper, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, joins Runnymede Radio to discuss the Free Alberta Strategy and its cornerstone, the Alberta Sovereignty Act, including the notion that this Act was drawn up as “unconstitutional on purpose”. For further reading, take a look at “Geoffrey Sigalet and Jesse Hartery: The critics were wrong about Danielle Smith’s Alberta Sovereignty Act.”
Does the Notwithstanding clause turn off rights protected by the Charter? Does it preserve those rights by requiring courts to stay silent while legislatures alone interpret their bounds? Or are courts always available to provide a remedy? This episode features political science professor Geoffrey Sigalet and lawyer Eric Mendelsohn. For further reading, take a look at the following articles: Grégoire Webber, Eric Mendelsohn & Robert Leckey “The faulty received wisdom around the notwithstanding clause” (Policy Options, 2019) Maxime St-Hilaire and Xavier
We provide funding for debates, symposia, and panel discussions with external speakers and refreshments. We are able to assist with reaching out to speakers and fund out-of-town speaker travel expenses.
We host regular networking events with local members of the legal profession, academics, journalists, and other students.
We aim to connect first-year students with upper-years who can provide mentorship and academic guidance, as well as course summaries.
In 2016, we founded the Runnymede Society as a national student membership organization dedicated to exploring the ideas and ideals of constitutionalism, liberty and the rule of law. We provide outstanding support and opportunities for intellectual enrichment, networking, and professional development, including by providing members opportunities to meet and enrich their legal knowledge with professors, practitioners, and judges.
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