(Montreal) Young Quebecers intend to go to the Supreme Court of Canada so that they can bring the federal government to justice for its insufficient efforts in the fight against climate change.
The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of ENvironnement JEUnesse on Monday. The organization, represented by Trudel Johnston & Lespérance (TJL), filed a request in November 2018 to represent all people in Quebec aged 35 and under.
ENvironnement JEUnesse pleads that the government has failed in its obligation towards the younger generations, who are particularly threatened by the climate crisis, and insists on the urgency to act before crossing a point of no return.
Catherine Gauthier, Executive Director of ENvironnement JEUnesse, said she was disappointed with the court’s decision. “Climate change threatens our lives and our security, and experiencing their increasingly tangible and threatening impacts worries me,” she reacts in a press release. I know that I can count on the young people we represent to continue fighting and asserting our rights. ”
The three judges of the Court of Appeal of Quebec believe, for their part, that the request of ENvironnement JEUnesse falls rather to the legislative and executive bodies and any order of a court of justice in this regard would encroach on the powers devolved to the authorities. policies. “The declaratory conclusions sought clearly demonstrate that we wish to invite the court into the sphere of legislative power and of complex choices in matters of social and economic policies”, one can read in the court ruling.
The judges also believe that the “generality” of the conclusions sought is “so imprecise” that it would prevent the courts from issuing a binding order to force the federal government to take a specific action.
The lawyer representing ENvironnement JEUnesse, Bruce Johnston, believes that the appeal has a chance of success in the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court recognized in a recent decision that climate change will have particularly serious and devastating effects in Canada,” he said in a statement. With the application for leave to appeal from ENvironnement JEUnesse, it will now be called upon to decide what role the Canadian courts should play in the face of this unprecedented crisis. ”