Dear Editor:
Across Canada, governments are abandoning policies meant to protect people from escalating climate harms.
In Ontario, Premier Ford’s Bill 68 guts some of the last remaining climate policy we have, scrapping Ontario’s climate target, timeline and its obligation to report back on its progress to the public.
Federally, the new Carney-Alberta agreement delays a net-zero grid from 2035 to 2050, weakens methane rules, shelves the oil and gas emissions cap, and promises taxpayer money to an industry that’s already been making record profits.
These rollbacks don’t just harm climate progress – they threaten public trust. With every retreat, governments make it harder for Canadians to believe their leaders will protect them. It’s no wonder more and more young people – who stand to bear the brunt of an ever-worsening climate crisis – are turning to the courts as a last resort.
Last year, Ontario’s highest court ruled that government climate targets must comply with the Charter. The science was, in the words of the Court, “indisputable.” So is the need for action.
As grief hangs in the air of every home of a climate-concerned Canadian, I’m choosing to celebrate the bravery of the seven young Ontarians in the Mathur v. Ontario case, who are not letting up. Theirs are the new faces of climate hope in Canada.
Jessica Murray,
Guelph