André Joli-Coeur

With regard to constitutional law, he was called to appear before the Supreme Court of Canada as an amicus curiae in the federal government’s Reference Regarding Secession of Quebec in which the matter of Quebec’s accession to sovereignty was addressed by the Supreme Court. André made representations to the judges of the Supreme Court which were retained in the Court’s reasons. This decision was the first of its kind in that it recognized the legality of the secession of a part of a territory by democratic process, as well as recognizing that a nation state was indeed divisible.

In the area of labour law, he has acted for both employers and unions, as both counsel and strategist. In aboriginal law, he was the author of the first band code passed in Quebec, that of the Abenakis of Wolinak.