Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act Lawsuit

The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act (KPIA) is a federal law that requires the Government of Canada to take serious action on climate change. This law set out a series of legal requirements and deadlines with which the government must comply, including the creation of a climate change plan and enactment of regulations that ensure that Canada meets its international obligations.

The federal government did not comply with these requirements or meet the deadlines set out in the Act.

On behalf of Friends of the Earth, Ecojustice and lawyer Chris Paliare launched legal proceedings in the September 2007 for a Judicial Review of the government's non-compliance with the Act. We are seeking a declaration from the Court that the government has not complied with the law and an order in the nature of mandamus requiring it to do so.

The application was heard in Federal Court in Toronto in June and a decision was released on October 20, 2008. The Court ruled that the legislation itself is not justiciable - meaning it is not an issue the courts can resolve. 

The same parties launched an appeal on November 25, 2008 seeking to have the Federal Court decision set aside and asking the Court of Appeal to declare that the Minister of the Environment and the Governor in Council are violating the KPIA. In October 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal heard FOE’s appeal and sided with the decision of the lower court.

On December 15th, 2009 the parties sought leave to appeal the case in the Supreme Court of Canada. FOE will ask the court to set aside this ruling and acknowledge that the federal government is obligated to enact legally binding regulations to combat climate change as specified in the KPIA.

Staff:
Hugh Wilkins
Albert Koehl

Clients:
Friends of the Earth Canada