Hon. Renée Dupuis: Honourable senators, a legal giant passed away on June 8, 2023, in Quebec City. Louis LeBel was a lawyer, a jurist, an author, a teacher, and a judge who served on the Quebec Court of Appeal from 1984 to 2000 and on the Supreme Court of Canada from January 7, 2000, to November 30, 2014. He participated in deliberations on social issues that marked Quebec, Canada and the world from the second half of the 20th century until well into the 21st.

Louis LeBel was a humanitarian and a sophisticated intellectual. He was a reserved, curious and independent-minded man. His commitment to the legal community took many forms. His writings are a clear indication of his keen analytical skills, his careful use of precise terms, not just broad legal concepts, and his desire to differentiate himself though his elegant, characteristic style.

Thanks to his in-depth knowledge of Quebec civil law and common law, Justice LeBel made a unique contribution to strengthening the bijuralism that characterizes Canada’s legal regime.

In an interview that he gave shortly after he retired from the Supreme Court, Louis LeBel summarized what he was taking away from his 14 years at the Supreme Court: first, the diversity of issues; second, a considerable sense of responsibility for the future of law; and third, the seriousness of the social issues raised by some cases.

As he reaffirmed during that interview, Louis LeBel felt that the work judges do for the future of our country is serious enough that it imposes on them a cultural duty, that is, a duty to continue to learn, to avoid becoming wrapped up in the law and to understand what is happening around them.

Louis LeBel’s work made an impression on generations of law students and lawyers and will continue to influence Canadian jurisprudence.

I offer my condolences to his wife, the lawyer Louise Poudrier-LeBel, his children Paul, Catherine and François, as well as his grandchildren.

[English]