CCLA has been granted leave to intervene in the Mathur v His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario before the Ontario Court of Appeal. Mathur is a Charter challenge to the Ontario government’s primary legislative response to climate change, which was brought in under the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 13. The case is the first in Ontario to receive a full hearing on the merits of the government’s responsibilities to address the threat of climate change.
The Appellants, a group of young persons (and their guardians), argued that climate change poses “dangerous and existential risks to the life and well-being of Ontarians and the world” and that the government’s revised emissions target “effectively authorizes an overall amount of [Greenhouse Gas Emissions] that, in turn, will lead to section 7 deprivations.” The judge at first instance found that although the issues in the application were justiciable, the appellants had not established any violation of Charter sections 7 or 15.
CCLA’s intervention will focus on the rights of individuals under section 7 of the Charter.
You can read our factum here.
CCLA is generously represented in the case by counsels Andrew Lokan and Danielle Glatt of Paliare Roland.
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
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