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Bulletins

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The Court of Appeal for Ontario (ONCA) today released its unanimous decision (the Decision) on an appeal of the dismissal of a youth-led constitutional challenge of Ontario’s emissions target (see our earlier bulletin here). The ONCA allowed the appeal, determining that the Ontario Superior Court (ONSC) application judge erred in characterizing the case as a positive rights case and remitted it to the ONSC for reconsideration. The case is the first in Canada to consider whether a government’s approach to climate change can violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). This bulletin briefly provides key background details of the case and the main findings of the Decision.   Background. The appellants, seven Ontario youths, some of whom are Indigenous, brought an application for (i) a declaration that Ontario’s 30% reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target (the Target) under section 3(1) of the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018 (the CTCA) – implemented through Ontario’s “A Made-in-Ontario Environmental Plan” (the Plan) – and section 16 of the CTCA, repealing Ontario’s Cap-and-Trade system, were unconstitutional as they violated their rights under sections 7 and 15 of the Charter, and (ii) an order declaring their Charter rights have been violated and requiring Ontario to set a science-based emissions reduction target and to revise the Plan in accordance with international standards. The application judge dismissed the application. While the judge found the issue of the appellants’ sections 7 and 15 Charter rights justiciable, she characterized it as a positive rights claim and concluded that any deprivation of life or security of the person under section 7 was not contrary to fundamental justice, and that section 15 did not impose a positive duty on Ontario to act against climate change.   The Decision. The following is a brief overview of the ONCA’s main findings: The application judge erred in her analysis of the case as…