Queen’s wins Canada’s 1st environmental law moot

Photo courtesy of Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP

SCC Justice Thomas Cromwell (second from right), Law '76, Chief Moot Judge, poses with Queen's Law team members Patrick Stratton, Law ’11, Sean Miller, Law ’11, and Steve Ronan, Law ’12, as they accept the first-place trophy for the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot on February 19.

On February 19, the Queen’s Law team returned to Kingston from the inaugural Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot hoisting the first-place trophy. They defeated a total of eight teams from law schools across the country, competing in Canada’s first national environmental moot held at Osgoode Hall in Toronto.

Sean Miller, Law ’11, Steve Ronan, Law ’12, and Patrick Stratton, Law ’11, successfully argued their case in front of a packed courthouse and a five-member bench, including Justice Thomas Cromwell, Law ’76 (Mus ’73), LLD ’10, of the Supreme Court of Canada as Chief Moot Judge. The moot, founded by Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP in partnership with Osgoode Hall Law School, was judged by leading environmental law practitioners and judges. In addition to Justice Cromwell, the team made presentations to Justices Michael Moldaver and Robert Armstrong of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Justice Katherine van Rensburg of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the former Chair of the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal, Toby Vigod.

Sean won as Best Oralist for his persuasive advocacy skills during the finals against a team from the University of Toronto. Sean and Patrick each won Distinguished Oralist awards, based on their high scores in the preliminary rounds.

“They deserved their victory,” says Professor Bruce Pardy, the team’s faculty coach. “Sean, Steve and Patrick were successful not just because they had talent, but because they were genuinely committed to the project. It was a result of their own initiative, interest and determination. They did it all themselves."

The moot problem was based on an appeal written by the New Brunswick Queen’s Bench and affirmed by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal on the Cousins v. McColl-Frontenac Inc decision, where a property owner sought damages against a major oil company for the reparation and restoration of his land. The teams directly addressed a live issue in environmental law on the quantum of damages to be awarded for environmentally contaminated land.

During a long day of arguments, the Queen’s team acted as counsel for both the appellant and respondent sides during the preliminary rounds. During the semi-finals, Sean and Steve successfully represented the appellants against the University of Victoria. Sean was teamed with Patrick as they went on to present an equally strong argument for the respondents, securing first place during the finals.

 “This moot gave us an opportunity to make submissions before a bench of well-respected environmental lawyers and judges and to get direct feedback from them,” says Steve. “It was awesome to gain the experience of going up in front of judges; it’s a realistic experience that you don’t get from anything else in law school.”

The victory for Queen’s Law was a reflection of the hard-working ethic of the intelligent and cohesive team. Unsure of what to expect from a moot in its first year, they researched extensively, argued, and had well-thought-out answers to every question they could imagine.

Environmental law being such an emergent area, a competition with this focus offers students a unique mooting experience. In the absence of decided case law, team members found themselves adeptly utilizing the strength of persuasive policy arguments before the judges when presenting a just, yet realistic, remedy for resolving disputes about environmentally contaminated land.

“It’s definitely an open area of law,” Sean observes. “This moot gives you an opportunity to be in front of some great jurists. Secondly, it’s an area of law that will be important in the future and so it’s nice to gain some background knowledge in it, even if you don’t think you’ll be an environmental lawyer.”

The team's participation in the competition was funded by the moot organizers, Queen’s Law and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Members benefited from the valuable factum-writing advice provided by Justice David Stratas, Law ’84, of the Federal Court of Appeal. They are also grateful for the continual support offered by Queen’s Moot Court Program and the assistance of volunteer student judges, including Martha Monterrosa, Law ’13, Robert Mysicka, Law’11, Gareth Stackhouse, Law’11, Noemi Paquette, Law ’11, and Amelia Miao, Law ’11.