By Professor Maureen Duffy 

In November 2024, on a sunny Sunday, my world became darker with the news that my dear friend and colleague, Linda McKay-Panos, had died suddenly. I remain devastated. 

It is now March 2025, and beautiful tributes have been posted to Linda, which show what a powerhouse she was in the area of human rights, how she loved her family, and what a kind, generous friend she was to anyone who sought her help. Some tributes can be seen here, here, here, and here. 

I don’t think that I can actually add to those beautiful tributes. 

It has occurred to me, though, as Law Crossing Borders begins as a new law blog, that I would have had many conversations by now with Linda, about this blog, and about what she thought. So much of the work I have done has involved many conversations with Linda, as she always took the time to talk things through.

It also occurs to me, as I think about Law Crossing Borders, that law does not just mean formal instruments. If law is not made accessible, or if foundational norms are not advanced by those who value their protections, then formal instruments have diminished meaning. Linda, in so many ways, represented law in its most important form. As others have said, she was a champion of human rights and civil liberties. She was also, though, a champion of legal education, within the community and in a more academic setting. And she was a generous mentor to countless people working in different areas of law. The people in law are very much a part of law’s protection and evolution, and Linda personified the best of what is in law. 

Linda made the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre what it is through her incredible work as its Executive Director for more than 30 years. The debt owed to her by all involved is immeasurable. Through her brilliant mind, hard work, and friendly, accessible demeanour, Linda oversaw extensive education programs, formal and informal, to help people to understand their rights. 

Linda faced discrimination relating to disability. She proved that her commitment to justice was not limited to work hours, as she defended herself against this discrimination by successfully pursuing her own human-rights action against Air Canada. In addition to providing an important legal precedent, Linda’s action showed a rare personal courage. Linda wrote about her case on ABlawg, the law blog of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, which can be found here. She wrote “I am looking forward to the day ... policies are implemented and people with disabilities can then fly with dignity.” I don’t need to add that there is a long way to go to fight discrimination, and I am saddened by the thought of what Linda would still have done on this front had things been different. 

Linda was also a teacher at heart. She had a background as a teacher before she became an attorney, and it showed in all she did. So many people have identified Linda as a friend and mentor in their careers. She was a defining contributor to my career. 

I first met Linda as a new professor, when we taught sections of Constitutional Law at the same time. We worked closely together on this course over many years, on formal things like syllabi and exams, and on informal things like “how did your coverage of that case go in class today?” Linda cared deeply about her students and about finding the best way to help them understand this complex area of the law. She wanted them to succeed. 

I’m so grateful to her, and I don’t know that I can ever adequately thank her for how much she helped me, first as a new professor and later throughout my career. When I took up an appointment as a Visiting Professor of Law in the U.S., I even consulted with Linda about my courses there, running exam ideas past her as one example. Although the focus of my teaching there was U.S. law, Linda had a nimble mind that could quickly grasp the issues and give valuable advice. A running joke between us was that Linda’s always calm personality was also a good balance to my own personality, which is far from calm. 

Human rights are at peril, really always, but in particular ways now around the world. It is critical that people with expertise in the area show courage and resolve in fighting to protect human rights. Linda did. I hope that her example will live on in the way she influenced so many people and in the way she put herself on the line to provide protections for people facing discrimination. 

It is also important for those navigating competitive professional environments to have people they trust as mentors and friends. Linda was both for me and for so many others in the legal profession. Through that generosity, she has an enduring influence on the law, particularly in regard to human rights. Her influence serves as a reminder for all of us that law is advanced through building others in this field up, not through tearing them down. My own journey through my work on human rights and through this profession will always reflect Linda’s positive influence. 

This new blog, Law Crossing Borders, is therefore dedicated to Linda, with my gratitude and enduring admiration. As I turn, in the next post, to more formal legal issues, I hope to proceed in a way of which she would have approved. 

Rest in peace my friend. You are missed.