John Lemieux, a Concordia governor emeritus, promotes the advancement of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia.
“A convergence of factors has led me to donate specifically to MIGS,” says Lemieux, referring to Concordia’s Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.
As many as 800,000 people were killed over a 100-day period during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 — an atrocity that was largely ignored by world leaders as it unfolded. Preventing mass atrocities is at the heart of MIGS’s mission.
“I was appointed by the government of Rwanda to serve as honorary consul in Montreal in 2012 and I have since worked closely at MIGS with Roméo Dallaire, distinguished senior fellow at MIGS and retired Canadian lieutenant-general and senator,” says Lemieux.
Dallaire sounded an international alarm over the Rwandan genocide and condemned the inaction of developed countries.
Established in 2015, the John F. Lemieux Fellowship in Genocide Studies will enable emerging leaders to meet the goal of helping to prevent mass atrocities.
“I’m convinced that this form of giving back will have an immediate impact and a long-term multiplier effect,” Lemieux says.
Lemieux’s support of MIGS is the second major way he has given back to his alma mater. He was co-chair of the Loyola Refectory Restoration Campaign, which raised $4 million to revitalize a historic part of the university’s Loyola Campus.
The refurbished and repurposed refectory, now the Loyola Jesuit Hall and Conference Centre, is recognized as one of the jewels of the Loyola Campus.
“I’ve been practising law for 45 years,” says Lemieux, who is currently senior counsel at Dentons Canada LLP’s Montreal office. “I’ve always gravitated toward challenging projects.”
The refectory restoration project posed a particular challenge. “It was no small feat, but we had a dedicated team, which was relentless in pursuing what became the Loyola Alumni Association’s centennial project.”
The refurbished Loyola Jesuit Hall and Conference Centre opened on the refectory site in 2011. Loyola Campus’s central buildings celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2016.
“My goal is to leverage my commitment to MIGS by finding like-minded donors who will support this important cause at a time when, unfortunately, genocides are a recurrent global threat.”
