Courts around the world seen a wave of litigation aimed at holding states accountable for their role in exacerbating the climate crisis – including here in Canada. Mathur et al v Ontario is the first case alleging violations of constitutional Charter rights to get a full hearing on its merits in Canada. While the young applicants had their case dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court, the Court of Appeal for Ontario reversed that ruling. Ontario has sought an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, and so the case might be decided by Canada’s top court in the near future. Reid, part of the legal team from Ecojustice representing the young applicants, will explain the facts of climate science underpinning the case and highlight legal precedents the case has already set, and those it may achieve down the line.
Reid Gomme has been a lawyer with Ecojustice Canada since 2022. Beyond Mathur, he has also represented an Indigenous community defending their right to consultation and accommodation in the face of an archaic mining regime in Quebec, and various communities and organizations seeking to defend ecosystems from harmful development. He grew up on unceded Secwépemc territory in BC, and now resides on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory and traditional and treaty lands of the Haudenosaunee east of Ottawa.
Actions
- Support the case by spreading the word about it and/or donating to Ecojustice
- Fundraise for EcoJustice
- Sign Up for EcoJustice’s Newsletter
- Be aware of current laws that are enabling climate change
- Attend protests
- EcoJustice has a list of Actions you can take (petitions, emails, letters, etc) : https://ecojustice.ca/take-action/
Resource List
Climate-Based Cases:
- ENVironnement JEUnesse v. Procureur General du Canada
- Juliana v. United States
- La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen
- Lho’imggin et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen
- Dykstra v. Saskatchewan
Websites:
- https://ecojustice.ca/
- GenClimateAction: Mathur et. al. v. His Majesty in Right of Ontario
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report
Other: