News

When: January 9-10, 2025
Where: Online, hosted virtually
Team Members: Hannah Arsenault-Gallant, Ann Nightingale, and Emma Peckham
Coach: Professor Sara Seck

Congratulations to the Schulich School of Law team on a strong showing at the North American Regional Rounds of the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition, hosted virtually from January 9-10, 2025.

The Stetson International Environmental Law Moot is the foremost international moot which focuses exclusively on global environmental challenges such as conservation, sustainability, and climate change. The students are tasked with mooting before a simulated panel of the International Court of Justice which is made up of a combination of members, esteemed judges, and practitioners.

The problem for this year鈥檚 moot concerned questions relating to subsistence use and trophy hunting and raised questions under the Convention on Migratory Species, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, WTO appellate body jurisprudence, and Indigenous rights under UNDRIP, ILO 169 and the CESCR.    

Unlike most moots, students were required to argue both sides of the fact scenario. Schulich Law students Hannah Arsenault-Gallant, Ann Nightingale, and Emma Peckham enthusiastically took on this challenge and performed commendably.  

The University of Chicago was ultimately named the winning team and will compete in the international rounds at Florida's Stetson University Faculty of Law in April.

When: January 29-February 1, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Nicole Basran, Joshua Langston, and Chantal Peng
Coaches: Professor Maria Dugas, Brandon Rolle, and Lee Seshagiri

Congratulations to the Schulich School of Law team on their showing at the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot in Toronto on January 29-February 1, 2025.

The Isaac Moot is named after Julius Alexander Isaac, the first Black judge to sit on the Federal Court of Canada. It was established by the Black Law Students鈥� Association of Canada and focuses on areas of law in which equity, diversity, and racism issues arise, often incorporating elements of critical race theory (CRT) into the problem.  

This year's problem addressed the legal test for racial profiling from a critical race perspective. The Schulich Law team of Nicole Basran, Joshua Langston, and Chantal Peng submitted a thoughtful and compelling factum, proposing a novel test for racial profiling aimed at addressing systemic racism and the mass incarceration of racialized groups. They represented the law school with integrity and professionalism, earning high praise from the judges and opposing counsel throughout the competition.  

Despite impressive performances in the preliminary rounds, including navigating a very 鈥榟ot bench鈥�, they did not advance to the final. Basran was presented with the Spirit of the Moot Award for her exceptional advocacy and commitment to CRT.

鈥淚 am proud of this team 鈥� as a CRT scholar, their coach, and an African Nova Scotian,鈥� says coach Maria Dugas. 鈥淚 am particularly impressed by the collegiality and support they showed each other throughout the entire moot process. They encouraged each other, lifted each other up, and were committed to understanding and raising compelling arguments rooted in CRT.鈥�

A special thanks to Professors Steve Coughlan and Melisa Marsman who served as guest judges, and to coaches Brandon Rolle and Lee Seshagiri for the support and guidance they showed the students.

When: January 31-February 2, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Mina Ali, Isabella Harris, and Kaley Kennedy
Coaches: Professor Liam McHugh-Russell and Gus Richardson

The 27th National Labour Arbitration Competition, hosted by Mathews Dinsdale and Clarke LLP, took place from January 31-February 2 at the offices of the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Toronto.

The moot requires teams to participate in two rounds of mock arbitration, arguing once for both the union and the employer sides.

The scenario grounding this year鈥檚 moot concerned the dismissal of a teacher with strong religious views and touched on a variety of issues, including the regulation of speech by employers, the protection of equality in the workplace, and the relevance of procedural standards in collective agreements to the adjudication of substantive worker rights. It also required engagement with the Supreme Court鈥檚 recent guidance in York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers鈥� Federation of Ontario about how the Charter should be applied to the interpretation of collective agreements in public workplaces such as schools.

Schulich Law students Mina Ali and Isabella Harris put in a superlative performance. Their presentations made a significant impression on both the judges drawn from the union- and employer-side labour bar and practicing arbitrators, as well as members of the audience. Although it was close, they were not chosen to participate in the final round, and the competition victory went to the University of Alberta鈥檚 team.

A special thanks to student Kaley Kennedy, who put significant work into helping the team prepare but was unable to participate in the moot, and for the continuing support of labour and employment lawyers from Pink Larkin, who watched a run through of the union-side argument and provided invaluable feedback.