Will the third time be the right one? This is the wish of the Environnement Jeunesse group, which is asking the Supreme Court to authorize collective action against the Canadian government in order to force the authorities to take more forceful action in the face of the climate emergency.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The “application for leave to appeal” to the Supreme Court of Canada, which will be filed this Friday, aims to quash a decision of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, rendered on December 13 last. The court then refused to authorize a request made by Environnement Jeunesse to bring a class action against the Government of Canada.
According to the organization, “the class action aims to obtain a declaration to the effect that the behavior of the Government of Canada in the fight against climate change infringes the rights of young people as well as an order for punitive damages “.
Around the world, these “climate actions” are gaining popularity, and some initiatives have even forced nations to reconsider their ambitions.
More and more young people are criticizing the various governments for postponing difficult decisions on climate change until 2030, which will have the effect of penalizing their generation and those that follow even more.
In Germany, for example, nine young people won their case before the German Constitutional Court, which last spring ordered the government to specify its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets beyond 2030.
In Ontario, a trial will be held next September before the Superior Court after seven young people brought an action against the government of Doug Ford, which notably revised downwards its target for reducing GHG emissions.
“We want the Supreme Court to answer the question: do the actions of the government [canadien] meet the rights of young people? says Catherine Gauthier, Executive Director of Environnement Jeunesse. Specifically, the organization argues that government actions in the face of the climate emergency are insufficient, which undermines “their rights to life, security, equality and to live in a healthy environment, human rights fundamental rights protected by the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms”.
Request rejected twice
Environnement Jeunesse had filed a first request before the Superior Court, in November 2018, which was rejected. The Quebec Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the decision rendered at trial.
Catherine Gauthier nevertheless believes that the Supreme Court could agree with them and that their case involves several legal issues that have not been decided by a court.
The organization is represented by the law firm Trudel Johnston & Lespérance. According to Mand Bruce Johnston, “The application filed today argues that Canadian courts have a crucial role to play in solving the climate crisis. They cannot abdicate it on the pretext that it also raises complex political, economic and social issues”.
“We need a short, medium and long-term action plan, pleads Catherine Gauthier. What we have right now are decisions inconsistent with climate science and youth rights. »
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- In December 2019, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands rejected an appeal by the Dutch government, confirming at the same time that the GHG reduction targets were insufficient.
Youth environment