Youth and experts from across Canada are testifying this week as a historic youth-led climate trial gets underway in Vancouver.
Fifteen young Canadians filed the lawsuit in 2019, arguing that federal laws and policies contributing to greenhouse gas emissions violate their rights to life, liberty and security of the person under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The case, La Rose v. His Majesty the King, is the first youth-led federal climate case in Canada to reach a full trial.
The plaintiffs are asking the Federal Court to declare that the government has violated their Charter rights and order it to develop and implement a Climate Recovery Plan.
The trial began Monday.
“The government has known about climate change for decades, and has repeatedly made and broken promises about reducing emissions. In doing so, the Defendants have contributed and continue to contribute to a collective failure that increasingly harms Canada,” said Catherine Boies Parker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in her opening statement.
Plaintiff Kira Young testified about her family’s evacuation from their Yellowknife home during the 2023 wildfires. Young was 17 at the time and said the experience caused lasting trauma.
On Tuesday, plaintiff Sophia Sidarous, a member of Metepenagiag First Nation in New Brunswick, testified about the effects of climate change on her community’s access to salmon, traditional medicines and cultural practices.
The trial follows years of legal challenges.
A Federal Court judge dismissed the original lawsuit in 2020. In December 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed the plaintiffs to amend their claim and proceed with part of the case.
The plaintiffs are supported by Our Children’s Trust and West Coast Environmental Law. The groups argue that federal support for fossil fuel projects and the government’s failure to meet its own emissions targets contribute to climate change and harm young people.
“What is being decided is whether the government is constitutionally required to stop making climate change worse,” the groups said in a release.
The trial is scheduled to run for eight weeks.
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