ENVironnement JEUnesse v. Canada

An environmental NGO applied to bring a class action suit on behalf of Quebec residents aged 35 and other, arguing that their human rights had been violated by the Canadian governments failure to act on climate change.

The case alleges violations of fundamental rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 7, the right to life, inviolability, and security) and the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 1, right to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved).

Background
ENVironnement JEUnesse is a non-profit environment operated out of Quebec which seeks to educate others and promote environmental awareness.

In 2016 Canada released its first-ever national climate plan. As part of this plan Canada put in place standards to limit the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One of the broader goals is a 30% decrease in national GHG emissions by 2030 when compared to pre-2005 levels.

ENVironnement Jeunesse (the plaintiff) brought a class action suit against the Government of Canada (the respondent) in a Quebec Tribunal in 2018. The plaintiff was seeking remedies on behalf of all Quebec residents under 35 years old for the respondent setting less-than-adequate GHG emission goals, and for their failure to meet these goals at the time of the suit. The plaintiff argued that this violated their rights under both the Canadian and Quebecois charter. As punitive damages, the plaintiff was seeking $100 on behalf of the 3 million people being represented in the class action lawsuit. The plaintiff recognized that $300 million would be too expensive for the respondent to pay out, so they instead asked the Tribunal to order restorative measures to curb global warming.

Relevant Laws and Principles

 * Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
 * Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms
 * Class Action Procedure

Ruling
The tribunal dismissed the application for a class action suit without ruling on whether the emissions targets constituted a violation of guaranteed Charter rights. The tribunal explained that including only residents under the age of 35 in this class action was an arbitrary measure, thereby not satisfying the requirements for a class action process. The tribunal noted that the detrimental effects of the facts argued would be evenly distributed amongst all members of Quebec, if not Canada. Including every single Canadian in a class action lawsuit would render the entire class action procedure useless, thus a class action cannot simply include every individual.

Takeaways
In its ruling, the tribunal noted that further claims may be brought forward of a similar argument. Because this case is dismissed for reasons unassociated with the connection between the claim and the remedy, following a common principle of only ruling on questions that would effect the decision rendered, the tribunal left the question of justiciability open for future cases to decide.

The plaintiff brought an appeal in 2019 which was subsequently dismissed. The decisions for dismissal have only been released in French.

Links
Climate Case Chart Summary