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www.canadianlawyermag.com 13 Hershey factory in Smiths Falls, Ont., and they're making chocolate, they're planning to roll it out and package it in a way not attractive to children, but it's still chocolate. Is it fair to say that Quebec has been more stringent in its regulations prohibiting cultivation or use of cannabis than have other jurisdictions? Yes. The [Coalition Avenir Québec, the province's ruling party] has leaned in a more restrictive fashion regarding cannabis, possibly to appeal to a more conservative base. Do you expect this legislation to pass? Yes. It's political in my view. It's not the first time, in the rollout of legal cannabis, that Quebec has put out a regime more restrictive than the federal legislation. The first time was in banning home growth. For the time being, a recent Quebec Superior Court decision has struck down this law, but it could be subject to appeal. The issue is a constitutional one as to how far the province's powers to prohibit otherwise legal substances may extend. For cannabis edibles, the argument could go that if the stated goals of the federal legislation are to ensure public health and safety . . . and to try to eliminate a black market . . . by making it impossible for consumers to buy edible products in Quebec that are available elsewhere, the black market may actually be stimulated. People will be buying the products anyway, but they won't be regulated and packaged properly, thereby putting minors at more risk. So, could the Quebec government be seen as thwarting the policy drivers of the federal legislation? Possibly. Years in practice: 15 Career highlight: It happened gradually, but one day it hit me that some of my biggest clients were also some of my closest friends and I was in [a] position where I was helping them buy and sell companies and had become a trusted business advisor. Some of them had started businesses from their couches or their garages, and now here we were, they had built real enterprises and I got to take part in driving their success. That's when I really knew that I had chosen the right career for me. Career lowlight: Watching the big banks like Lehman brother melt down over night in 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were on a firm retreat, and I remember thinking, whoa, this is not going to be good for M&A lawyers. And for a good few months after that, you could hear the crickets in the hallways. That changed the business of big law, but we have come back stronger than ever, and learned a lot about ourselves and our business in the process. Brian Kujavsky Partner DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS & VINEBERG LLP (MONTREAL) Thank you to all our builders, distinguished jurists and remarkable visionaries. Thank you to all the members of our talented team. You are the architects of our success. Thank you to all our clients. You remain at the heart of everything we do. We are determined to continue our expansion and maintain our unwavering commitment to you. duntonrainville.com