NEWS RELEASE
ECOJUSTICE
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Seven youth at the helm of a landmark climate lawsuit are cross-appealing the Ontario government’s application for leave to appeal their case to the Supreme Court. The youth, backed by lawyers from Ecojustice and Stockwoods LLP, are calling for their case to be heard in the Supreme Court in its entirety, and decided with urgency.
In the cross-appeal submitted yesterday, the applicants of the Mathur et. al case asked Canada’s top court to take swift and decisive action by either sending the case to an immediate hearing at the Lower Court or, if leave is granted, that the Supreme Court hear all aspects of this case and come to a final, fulsome resolution.
Following a landmark victory handed down by Ontario’s top court in October, the Ontario government filed an application for leave to appeal the Mathur et. al case to the Supreme Court of Canada, setting the stage for a potentially monumental hearing at Canada’s highest court. If granted leave, this would mark the first time a climate case based on Charter rights is being decided at the Supreme Court of Canada, which could have far-reaching implications for how governments respond to climate change.
“I was 12 years old when we took the Ontario government to court for the first time. Now, I’m in my first year of university,” said youth applicant Zoe Keary-Matzner. “We are counting on a sense of urgency from the courts that meets the urgency of the climate emergency we’re in.”
Ecojustice Climate Director and lawyer Fraser Thomson shared: “This case has spanned several years, and multiple levels of court. What matters most to our clients is that their case is heard with urgency and receives a fulsome resolution. With our environment, our health, our wallets, and our futures at stake, nothing needs our attention — and the urgency of the courts — more than climate change.
“The most effective way to combat the climate crisis is for governments to set, and meet, science-based climate targets. With the impacts of the climate crisis getting worse, holding governments accountable here in Canada is more important than ever. Whether at the Lower Court or the Supreme Court, the decision would be precedent-setting for our legal system and groundbreaking for this generation, and those to come.”
Alex, Beze, Madi, Shaelyn, Shelby, Sophia, and Zoe say this is a crucial moment in the fight against the climate emergency, and they are prepared to take this case as far as necessary to protect current and future generations from government-caused climate harms.
“Across the country, young people are doing their part to protect our planet, our futures, and each other — now we need our governments to do theirs,” shared youth applicant Shaelyn Wabegijig of Rama First Nation.
“We are calling on our governments to listen to the land, Indigenous knowledge, climate science, and the lived realities of young people who have the most at stake in the fight for a safe, livable Earth."
The case began as a legal challenge to the Ontario government’s decision to significantly weaken the province’s 2030 climate target. It has since made history in Canada, setting legal precedents along the way — including becoming the first climate Charter case to ever be heard and ruled on its merits.
Background
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Mathur et al. is a case brought on the basis of rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These young people went to court to argue that when the government repealed relatively strong carbon pollution reduction targets and replaced them with one inadequate target for 2030, it violated Ontario youth and future generations’ constitutional rights to life, security of the person, and equality.
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In 2018, the provincial government set an extremely weak 2030 target: to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels. The scientific consensus states that emissions reductions needed to avoid climate disaster is at least 45 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030, which equates to at least a 52 per cent reduction of Ontario’s 2005 emission levels.
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The seven young applicants launched the case in 2019. Following attempts by the Ontario government to have it thrown out, they made history by being the first climate lawsuit based on Charter-protected rights to be heard on its merits in a Canadian court in September 2022.
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In April 2023, the Ontario Superior Court dismissed the application but made several positive findings.
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The Ontario Court of Appeal heard the youths’ appeal of this lower court decision in January 2024. On October 17, 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled in favour of the youth Applicants and ordered the lower court to re-assess the case.
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A copy of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision is available here. A summary of the youth’s appeal factum is available here.
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On December 16, 2024, the Ontario government filed an application for leave to appeal the Mathur et. al case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
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A backgrounder on the case is available here.
About
Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
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