After competing in one of the country’s top Indigenous law events, longtime Rocky View County resident Henry Wearmouth concluded that reconciliation is not the end of natural resource development in Canada.
Negotiating against teams from across Canada, Wearmouth’s team successfully hashed out a governance agreement during the 2024 Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot on March 8 and 9 in Kamloops. A moot court competition simulates a court hearing where teams of students analyze a problem, research relevant law, prepare written submissions, and present oral arguments.
“I appreciated the opportunity to learn a lot about an area of law, Aboriginal law, that is going to be very consequential for resource development,” he said. “Resource development is very important pretty much everywhere in Western Canada, including Rocky View County.”
Growing up on a farm outside of Cochrane, Wearmouth said he was surrounded by natural resource development in agriculture and the oil and gas industry.
This year’s moot problem focused on the Trans Mountain Corporation’s planned pipeline deviation on the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation lands near Pípsell, a cultural heritage site south of Kamloops.
“We had to negotiate a governance framework for how projects like that would be co-managed between the province, the federal government, and the Kamloops Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Indian bands,” he explained.
As a result, Wearmouth and his team dove deep into Aboriginal and Indigenous Law.
What Wearmouth found apparent through the moot process was that some organizations feel Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and things like Aboriginal title and rights will mean an end to resource development. FPIC describes processes free from manipulation, informed by adequate and timely information, done prior to a decision.
“The way I see it, it [will] just provide more certainty the more the law develops,” he said. “I think that it's important to communicate to the public that things like Aboriginal title and FPIC don't mean the end of resource development in Canada.”
He hopes to practice in an area of law related to natural resource development or environmental law, which is closely connected to Aboriginal law.
Through his research, he found that relationships between industry and Indigenous groups are improving.
He referenced Alberta’s Project Reconciliation, which is meant to get affected Indigenous groups on board with things like pipeline developments by offering a share of ownership.
“As attitudes change, this is how natural resource development in Canada will have to be done going forward,” he said. “I think there's a lot of potential there to address some of the historical wrongs.”
He noted the federal government created historical injustices, and industry is actively working to address issues with Indigenous groups and play a key role in improving relations.
“I think it's important for industry and people who are dependent on natural resource development in places like Alberta and British Columbia to watch these developments closely and to do their best to stay informed on them,” Wearmouth said.
He said the law is complex and changing rapidly, which even affected his team’s strategy in the weeks leading up to the moot.
Wearmouth’s team consisted of two coaches, Murray Sholty and Chrystie Stewart and three students, Eric Rogers, Shannon Tan, and Wearmouth. The moot took place at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops where Wearmouth studies law, and included no competitive awards.
To learn more about the moot, go to tru.ca/law/students/national-aboriginal-moot.html
