Roderick Macdonald, legend of law, dies at 65

Roderick Macdonald, considered a pioneer on many legal fronts, died Friday in Montreal, McGill University has confirmed. (Image: McGill University)

Highly-esteemed longtime McGill Law Professor Roderick A. Macdonald has passed away.

McGill University confirmed Friday that Macdonald, who left teaching in 2012 due to his battle against throat cancer, died earlier in the day.

Macdonald served as the Dean of the Faculty of Law in the 1980s and more recently was nominated as Vice Commissioner at the Charbonneau Commission, a task he was unable to undertake fully due to illness.

Macdonald was the founding President of the Law Commission of Canada from 1997 to 2000 and earned international renown as a scholar on access to justice, legal pluralism, the philosophy of law as well as secured transactions and property law.

McGill held a symposium in his honour in February, an event attended by some of the top legal minds in the country.

He was well-loved by students for teaching them to challenge assumptions and stressing the importance of placing humanity above other concerns.

He was also known for his unorthodox approach to teaching which occasionally included lectures that saw him sing and play guitar.

Macdonald was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012.

The Quebec government released a statement Saturday, stating what a loss Macdonald's death was to Quebec's legal community.

"Professor Macdonald gave his experience and expertise to the public, not only in contributing to the work of the Charbonneau Commission, but actively participating in several important debates in Quebec society. In addition to his numerous publications and social commitments, Roderick A Macdonald leaves as a legacy of numerous works on access to justice, which will continue to guide our actions in the continuous improvement of our legal system. On behalf of the Government of Quebec, I extend my deepest condolences to his wife and his two children," said Premier Philippe Couillard in the statement.

Tributes flowed on Twitter following the news. “Farewell to a giant,” wrote Daniel Jutras, McGill's current Dean of Law.

"Rod Macdonald's passing is a tremendous loss, especially for those of us lucky enough to have learned from him,” wrote David Wright.

“I feel so privileged to have known Rod Macdonald, and devastated to be saying goodbye so soon. Tremendous intellect, tremendous spirit,” tweeted Jessica Duffin Wolfe.