Judicial Watch
The courts have become a beacon of hope in the fight for substantial climate action in Ontario. As governments continue to drop the ball, activists are looking to judges to help make serious progress. This blog contains reporting on the complex, varied and significant cases under way both here and abroad.
“First Nations are Protecting Us All/A Summary of Significant Indigenous Court Cases in Ontario” by Joan Kuyek
Despite intensifying damage from climate change, our governments are implementing a corporate agenda reliant on fossil fuels and resource extraction, while drastically eroding the ability of the public to fight back. In Ontario, Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by...
“American Climate Litigation/An Update” by Alan D. Levy
It is as if an asteroid were barreling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defenses. Seeking to quash this suit, the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the Nation. The above statement was...
The Appellate Decision in Mathur et al. v. Ontario, Part 3/Nice Talk But No Action
The Charter of Rights case Mathur v. Ontario is about the very inadequate greenhouse gas reduction target adopted by the government in 2018. Part 3 focuses on the recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal to send the entire case back for a rehearing. In some...
Ontario Court of Appeal Sides with Youth Applicants
An article by ecojustice about the landmark decision on October 17, 2024, in Mathur et al. v. His Majesty in Right of Ontario makes the stakes very clear: "Young people are especially at risk when it comes to climate threats because these risks will increase in the...
“Swiss Seniors Take Their Government to Court–and Win!” by Priscilla Platt
On April 9, 2024, in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that Switzerland failed to adequately mitigate the effects of climate change on its senior citizens under the European Convention...
“Environmental Assessment Under Siege – Again!” by Alan Levy
*This situation is evolving. Stay tuned for updates. It has been more than six months since the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) rendered its opinion that significant parts of the federal Impact Assessment Act(IAA) are unconstitutional, and the reverberations are still...
“Harnessing Climate Litigation with the Legal Right to a Healthy Environment” by Alan Levy
Can the establishment of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in Canadian law improve the chance of success with climate action court claims?First, a very quick chronology. For more than a decade law professor David R. Boyd has advocated for...
“Juliana v. United States – a New Court Order in a War of Attrition” by Alan Levy
The high-profile, youth climate litigation titled Juliana v. United States has been referred to in the media as the “case of the century” and the “biggest case on the planet.” U.S. Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden tried hard for eight years to end it – perhaps one...
“Important Development in Two Federal Climate Cases: La Rose and Misdzi Yikh” by Alan D. Levy
This is a good and bad news story. In 2020 a group of 15 young people from seven provinces and one territory sued the Canadian government in the Federal Court, based on inadequate effort to deal with increasing climate breakdown (La Rose v. Canada). They maintain...
“A Landmark Case/Held v. Montana” by Alan Levy
There is much to celebrate about the exciting, landmark decision from the Montana District Court in the youth case of Held v. Montana. (To read the full text of the decision, issued on August 14, 2023, click HERE.) Shortly after the trial ended in June, a summary of...
Global Climate Litigation Report
A hefty new report (109 pages) has arrived from the United Nations Environment Program (July 27, 2023) in conjunction with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Climate School (Columbia Law School). It is entitled "Global Climate Litigation: 2023 Status...
Ontario Youth Take the Government to Task in Court/Part 2
Part 2 of this series, “The Story of Mathur v. Ontario,” focuses on the landmark court decision handed down in April 2023 dismissing all of the claims by the young applicants. “Climate litigation is complex, time-consuming, expensive, slow, frustrating and usually...
“Anatomy of a Climate Trial” by Alan Levy
"Held is the first youth-led climate case and first constitutional climate case to reach trial in the U.S." Alan Levy's detailed account of the 2023 case of Held v. Montana sets out clearly and succinctly the type of evidence courts might consider in climate cases...
Ontario Youth Take the Government to Task in Court/Part 1
SCAN! member Alan Levy has written a perceptive summary of the progress of the legal challenge initiated by a very impressive group of young people concerned about the impact of the climate crisis: "Mathur v. Ontario is a Charter case that was launched in 2019 by...
A Canadian First: Ontario Youth Take the Government to Court
Sophia, Zoe, Shaelyn, Shelby, Alex, Madison, and Beze — represented by Ecojustice lawyers — are going to the Ontario Superior Court on September 12–14. This case is a Canadian first, and we want them to head into proceedings with your support ringing in their ears....