A climate lawsuit filed against the federal government by 15 Canadian youths has gone to a trial hearing after about seven years. The hearing began on October 26 in Vancouver. The case is before the Federal Court, and its name begins with 'La Rose v.'
The plaintiffs rely on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). They claim the government violated their rights under the Charter. According to the plaintiffs' side, their demand is clear. They want protection from government conduct that worsens the climate crisis.
The seven years it took to reach trial were not short.
The Federal Court of Appeal allowed the lawsuit to proceed in a unanimous decision in 2023. In June this year, Justice Fothergill of the Federal Court issued a decision related to the case. Having passed through the two courts, the case moved to the Vancouver hearing in October.
What was allowed in 2023 was for the lawsuit to proceed. Reading it as a decision that recognized the government's responsibility would be an exaggeration. The rights violation, too, is a claim the plaintiffs must prove in court. What arguments the federal government will use in response also remains to be seen at the Vancouver hearing.
In Canada, climate action has gone beyond parliamentary debate and election pledges to become an issue in a trial argued over the Charter. The court, going beyond arguments for and against policy, is now set to examine whether citizens' rights have been violated.
In South Korea, too, young people have filed a climate lawsuit. The legal systems of the two countries differ. They are alike in raising the climate crisis as a question of rights.
News of the trial can be followed by searching 'La Rose' and 'Vancouver' together. Records of the South Korean youth climate lawsuit can also be looked up at the same time.
