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Humanists, atheists, lawyers, Evangelicals, Sikhs, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholic bishops, secularists, teachers, charities …

The unprecedented list of interveners at the landmark Supreme Court of Canada hearing on freedom of religion went on and on.

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“Time for lunch,” quipped Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, after reading the lengthy docket of lawyers appearing before the nation’s highest court Friday. “We await your words of wisdom at five minutes each.”

The sea of black-robed lawyers roared.

It wasn’t the only moment the august room erupted in laughter as the judges and lawyers hypothesized about a basement law school run by a retired chief judge, a Jesuit law school, and one devoted only to First Nations.

“Would it matter if we were talking about educating actuaries?” Justice Malcolm Rowe wondered.

The answer appeared to be, yes, given the central role lawyer’s play in civil society.