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The new sects are not religious groups in the traditional sense of the term. Their organization and operations, but also their doctrines, dogma and precepts constitute a specific body of thinking on the basis of which practices qualified as sectarian are founded and expounded. Such practices are a threat to the rights and liberties of persons — minors as well as those of full age — who adhere to these types of gatherings. The harm caused by new sects on their practitioners is also a direct attack at the notion of human dignity. This notion, however, has acquired under French law an eminent value both as a constitutional value and a component of public order. This very same notion lies at the basis of policy invoked by public authorities for combating sectarian splinter groups. Be that as it may, this does not guarantee that human beings are fully protected from themselves. Hence, the debate is one involving the extent of protection to be afforded to such persons.

The fledgling field of law governing international trade in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is breaking new ground. The Protocol of Biosafety now constitutes its main frame of reference. GMOs intended for dispersion into the environment are covered by the principle of caution and the procedure of prior agreement with knowledge of critical factors. As for GMOs intended for consumption and processing, they are only partially covered in the procedure ; moreover, their terms and conditions will only be determined in two years. Finally, products derived from GMOs are excluded from the Protocol. The limits in the scope of the Protocol are such that the World Trade Organization (WTO) will continue exclusively to oversee the international trade of GMO-basedproducts that are not protected. Furthermore, the Protocol and the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement) are not subordinated. Hence, the WTO may continue the marketing of GMOs protected under the Protocol according to the same conditions as ordinary agricultural produce. Nonetheless, the SPS Agreement emphasizes scientific evidence as the primary tool for harmonizing the standardization process, even though this concept remains somewhat imprecise. As such, the peculiar context of weak scientific knowledge in the use of GMOs in agriculture and food producing not only justifies the precautionary principle, but also the need for making the concept of scientific evidence more precise. This is just one of the very many critical factors in an area of the law that is making its début.

Women have always struggled to be politically enfranchised. From the French Revolution to modern times, many reasons have been concocted to deprive them of conquering this fundamental right. In addition to historic, religious and sociological reasons, there are also practical ones issuing from the vicissitudes of daily living .family life, professional commitments and political activities. Nonetheless, in recent years owing to pressure from feminist groups in England and France, political parties have to varying degrees adopted voluntary strategies for making more room for women candidates, female candidate quotas or parity list makeups. Despite all this, hard-figure statistical results show that these measures remain insufficient and women are still under-represented in assemblies and governments. It hence appears that a constitutional amendment alone would open the way to legislative provisions providing women with a specific place in public life.

André Laurendeau's trip in France (1935-1937) reveals to be a critical moment in both French Canada and traveller's intellectual and political journey. Laurendeau is in Paris when is published his tract, Notre nationalisme, vademecum of the « doctrine » of the Jeune-Canada (December 1932- ). These circumstances create a rather unusual mishap in history : a the very moment he discovers his way in a laurentian/independantist nationalism, Laurendeau begins to experiment doubts about nationalism. This intellectual gap brings some light on the 1930's : beyond the fact that Maurice Duplessis will recuperate, at his first election in 1936, the intempestive and independantist nationalism of La Nation and Jeunesses Patriotes, one wonders what this dawn of 1932 (the word is Groulx's) would have been if Laurendeau, the inspiration of the movement, would have persisted in his Jeune-Canada vision of a laurentian nationalism. His trip was a breakthrough in another manner : since that at the same time poet de Saint-Denys Garneau misses his own trip to France, intellectualy and emotionaly, Laurendeau's one was a kind of première in the new adjustement of French Canada to contemporary France.

The Quebec composer Rodolphe Mathieu (1890-1962) is but little known. A pioneer of musical modernity in Quebec, he joined the modern group in 1915 and composed most of his works before 1933. A member of Montreal's intellectual and artistic community, he wrote several texts in which appear some of the first reflections on the creative process. While a regionalist tendency advocated a return to folklore as a source of inspiration for typically Canadian music, he chose to promote a creative course which aimed at originality and individuality. Convinced that intellectual development necessarily came from discussion and the confrontation of ideas, between 1930 and 1935 he organised the "Soirées Mathieu", multidisciplinary moments that featured the composer's extended social network. Among the guests was André Laurendeau, one of his students. The study of the relationship between Laurendeau and music shows that he envisaged a musical career before he committed himself to political journalism.