15 young Canadians take federal government to trial over climate policies

A trial began Monday in Vancouver in a lawsuit brought by 15 young Canadians who accuse the federal government of violating their constitutional rights through its climate policies and actions. The case, La Rose v. His Majesty the King, was filed in 2019 and marks Canada's first federal youth-led climate trial. The plaintiffs argue that Ottawa's conduct, including subsidies for fossil fuel industries, approval of major extraction projects and failure to meet emissions-reduction commitments, violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects the rights to life, liberty and security of the person.

They are asking the Federal Court to declare that their rights have been violated and order the government to develop a science-based Climate Recovery Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize Canada's energy system. "I was 13 when I joined this case. I have grown up in it, and for seven years it has been part of my life, through all the ups and downs," Sadie Vipond, a plaintiff from Calgary, Alberta, said in a statement released by Our Children's Trust.

"The climate crisis is harming us now. We deserve protection. We deserve a future we can believe in. And our rights are worth standing up for," she added. Catherine Boies Parker, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs at Arvay Finlay LLP, said the case centers on the constitutional rights of children and young people. "The question for the Court is not what Canada's climate policy should look like, but whether the government's conduct is consistent with the Constitution," she said.

The evidentiary phase of the trial is scheduled to run through Nov. 20, with testimony from the plaintiffs and experts in climate science, children's health, renewable energy, public policy and economics. The proceedings follow a unanimous 2023 Federal Court of Appeal decision allowing the case to move forward.