France
Fifteen young people against Canada
Before the Federal Court in Vancouver, fifteen young people aged 17 to 24 have been asking since Monday that Ottawa answer for its climate inaction. A first in Canada.
· N° 9
Vancouver, Monday morning. Fifteen young people, 17 to 24, walk into the Federal Court for a trial awaited since 2019. The case bears the name of one of them, La Rose. Ottawa had asked for it to be thrown out.
A section of the Charter against a plan
Their argument rests on section 7 of the Canadian Charter, the right to life, liberty and security. The federal plan promises 40 to 45% fewer emissions in 2030 than in 2005. Climate Action Tracker projects 14%, and Mark Carney has admitted the targets will not be met. “The question is not whether the climate is changing, but whether the government is bound to stop making things worse”, argues their lawyer Catherine Boies Parker.
After the street, the courtroom
For the Justice Department, the Charter “was never meant to solve existential crises”. Closing arguments in February. After Serbia and France, it is in court that youth takes the floor. Can a judge force a state to keep its promise?
Based on Radio-Canada, The Pointer and AFP