What was it like to be a law student of Pierre Elliott Trudeau?

One of the most rewarding experiences I have encountered is to have had the opportunity to be taught by Pierre Elliott Trudeau during my law school years at the Université de Montréal.

This great French Canadian was born in Montreal on the 18th of October 1919 of a Québécois father and a Scottish mother and died on the 28th of September, 2000. The middle name of Elliott originated from his mother's side of the family. This sometimes led to a ridiculous debate which called into question if in fact Pierre was a true French Canadian or as some branded him a "vendu" or a "sell out" to the English! This contention was and still is quite prevalent among some French Canadian Nationalists.

As a student of Trudeau I was always in awe of the profound knowledge he had displayed in the classroom. This extended not only to his vast appreciation of Canadian Constitutional Law but also in his ability to quote the great philosophers and thinkers without the assistance of any notes. He would probably be correctly described as a "Renaissance" man.

His memory of facts and events was amazing and he was always approachable in the sense that if you had a question to ask he would try and give you a reply in a concise and logical manner. The thorough training he had received as a student at the Jesuit college of Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montréal definitely resurfaced when he taught me Canadian Constitutional Law.

I can remember one experience when a group of us had been trying to figure out a problem of the laws of inheritance under the Quebec Civil Code. Trudeau had overheard us trying to resolve the problem and he intervened to explain to us without the aid of the Civil Code the solution to our problem. It was unbelievable as to how he approached the problem and with his brilliant mind showed us in a very clear and logical manner how to go about analyzing and eventually solving the problem.

The first lecture I experienced with Trudeau was in the Fall of 1965 when he entered the classroom wearing a pair of sandals and jeans. I don't think anyone of us would have imagined this gentleman would one day become the Prime Minister of Canada.

The next lecture he wore a beautiful tailored suit with a rose in his lapel, which later became his trademark. On both occasions he seemed to enjoy conversing with many of my pretty female class mates and as some of us know he had a reputation as a "lady's man".

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