A unanimous decision by three justices on the Federal Court of Appeal has reopened the door to 15 youth suing the Canadian government for its actions that cause climate change.
Article continues below
The justices ruled the youth represented in La Rose v. His Majesty the King deserve a trial to determine if Canada is fulfilling its constitutional obligations to protect children’s rights to life, liberty and security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This ruling reverses a lower court decision, which saw the Government of Canada argue that the case should be tossed.
The justices noted in their decision, “Climate change is having a dramatic, rapidly unfolding effect on all Canadians and on northern and Indigenous communities in particular.â€
The justices quoted the Supreme Court of Canada, which recognized that climate change has had a “particularly serious effect†on Indigenous peoples and Indigenous territories, “threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.â€
The justices also noted that global change is not a distant problem, but current and consequential, and that “it is also beyond doubt that the burden of addressing the consequences will disproportionately affect Canadian youth.â€
The justices acknowledged that the devastating climate change impacts the plaintiffs are experiencing could qualify as “special circumstances†that impose a positive duty on the government to affirmatively protect the youth plaintiffs, but that a trial is needed to make that final determination.
“Where novel Charter claims test the boundaries of a right, such claims may require a trial in order to understand the nature of the legislation, executive action or regulation and the harm experienced by claimants. This is one of those cases,†wrote the justices.
The court of appeals considered whether plaintiffs’ claims fit under sections 7 or 15 of the Charter, or pursuant to the public trust doctrine, and ultimately directed the lower court to move the case forward to trial under section 7 of the Canadian Charter, which protects against government harms to life, liberty, and personal security.
“Today’s decision plants a seed of hope for these young plaintiffs who are seeking climate justice,†said Andrea Rodgers, Senior Litigation Attorney for Our Children’s Trust.
“Now these young plaintiffs will finally have their day in court to tell their stories and hold their government accountable for violating their Charter rights.
This ruling clears the path for young people to protect their lives, liberties and security.†“This decision contains very clear language that a trial is needed to hold Canada to account for its failure to limit GHG emissions.
While the Court found that the claim must be amended to more specifically identify the provisions that lead to excess GHG emissions, the Court confirmed the right of these children to challenge Canada’s actions and inactions as causing significant harm to their security of the person,†said Catherine Boies Parker, a lawyer for the youth plaintiffs.
The La Rose case was filed by 15 young people from seven provinces and one territory on October 25, 2019.
The youth claim Canada’s federal government is contributing to dangerous climate change.
The case argues that the youth are already being harmed by climate change and the federal government is violating their rights to life, liberty and security of the person under section 7 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for failing to protect essential public trust resources.
The youth plaintiffs also allege that Canada’s conduct violates their Charter rights, since youth are disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change. ■