Wet’suwet’en Chiefs Sue Ottawa Over Climate Change

Two chiefs of tribes located in central British Columbia have filed a lawsuit against Ottawa alleging that its failure to address climate change threatens their rights.

According to the climate change lawsuit, the Wet’suwet’en nation, which consists of a total of five tribes, faces an “existential threat” from climate change and the government of Canada’s failure to take promised actions on climate change violates their rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically, their rights to life, liberty and security. The chiefs point out in their lawsuit that the government has committed to take action on climate change as early as 1988, when it said that it would “establish laws and policies to meet its international climate change commitments.”

“It is a threat to their identity, to their culture, to their relationship with the land and the life on it, and to their food security,” says the climate change lawsuit. The Wet’suwet’en nation is embroiled in a separate battle over a proposed liquified natural gas pipeline that would cross their land, according to CBC News.

Although the Wet’suwet’en climate change lawsuit is separate, the chiefs point out that “It is a responsibility because large fossil-fuel infrastructure projects are proposed to cross their territories.”

The climate change lawsuit alleges that the federal government of Canada has violated the constitution by its failure to take action on its promises, including the 2015 Paris climate agreement in which nations agreed to keep global warming well below 2 C.

However, Canada’s government has failed to meet those obligations, subjecting the Wet’suwet’en nation to the effects of climate change. The chiefs allege that their nation has already experienced fall out from climate change, including pine bark beetle infestations, forest fires, and salmon population declines.

The Wet’suwet’en climate change lawsuit is seeking a declaration from the government of Canada stating that it has a duty, based in the constitution, to meet climate change goals, specifically, to keep global warming between 1.5 C and 2 C above pre-industrial levels.

To do so, the lawsuit says that the government needs an independent report, conducted annually, to account for Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. The chiefs say that, based on this report, the government should also have the ability to stop projects that would threaten meeting climate goals.

“What the [plaintiffs] are saying to the federal government is that you’ve talked the talk, now it’s time to walk the walk,” Richard Overstall, the lawyer for the chiefs, told CBC News. “And allowing these high greenhouse gas emitting projects to continue for 40 years isn’t walking the walk.”

Though the plaintiffs’ lawyer says that the timing between protests that have erupted over the proposed pipeline through the Wet’suwet’en nation and the climate change lawsuit is a coincidence, a favorable ruling would allow the Canadian government to review and potentially cancel the pipeline project, according to CBC News.

What do you think of the Wet’suwet’en climate change lawsuit? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Richard Overstall.

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