"Young activists behind a legal challenge of Ontario's climate plan are set to ask the province's highest court to revive their case. Premier Doug Ford's government put the case in limbo late last year when it gutted its own climate legislation days before it was to answer for its weakened 2018 emissions target in court. Courts had previously found the gap between that target and what's required to help avoid severe climate impacts was large and without any apparent scientific basis."
"Now, a lawyer for the climate activists says the Appeal Court should revisit the case and ensure a final decision is made on whether Ontario's climate plan violates the Charter. "We're in a climate emergency and it's in the interest of justice not to turn away when the government takes these kind of cynical last-minute steps to avoid accountability," said lawyer Fraser Thomson with the environmental law charity Ecojustice."
Young activists ask Ontario's Court of Appeal to revive their case after the provincial government repealed the climate law underpinning the suit. The government gutted climate legislation late last year, days before it was to answer for a weakened 2018 emissions target in court. Courts found the gap between that target and required reductions to avoid severe climate impacts was large and lacked scientific basis. The premier's office cited U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty when it removed the legal duty to set targets and routinely update the climate plan. Lawyers for the activists want a final decision on whether the plan violates the Charter.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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