Climate change ruling by the Supreme Court

We were an intervenor on the Supreme Court ruling on climate change. 3 thoughts:

1. CCRC welcomes the Court’s finding that climate change is a matter of national concern and that the federal government has a mandate to address it under its power to act to protect peace, order, and good government.  The CCRC argued that climate change was a matter of national concern because all children in Canada have a right to a healthy environment and the impacts of climate change will have a greater negative impact for children.  The CCRC argued that the federal government’s duty to pay particular attention to the rights of minority and most vulnerable groups required that it act to reduce the emissions that threaten the rights of all children in Canada to grow up in a healthy environment.   

2. CCRC welcomes the Court’s finding that the federal government can establish national standards to regulate emissions that threaten the rights of children now and for the future.  As the decision makes clear, national standards are required to prevent the failure of any province to act from violating the rights of children in other provinces because the impact of emissions crosses provincial boundaries.  

3.  The CCRC will continue to encourage both federal and provincial governments to give serious consideration to the right of children to grow up in a healthy environment, under Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in all areas of decision-making that impact the environment for children now and into the future.

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