Every few decades, a court case comes along that captures a defining issue of its time. Mathur is one of those cases.
In 2019, seven youth in Ontario made Canadian legal history when they took their provincial government to court for slashing its climate targets. But to the youth behind the case — and to their many supporters — it represents something far greater than just Ontario’s climate targets.
After a landmark decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2024, the Mathur case is heading back to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where it could define whether governments have constitutional obligations to take on one of the most pressing human rights issues of the 21st century: the climate crisis.
What’s the problem?
Climate change threatens everything we care most about — our way of life and well-being, our health and security, our environment and biodiversity, our homes, our economy, and especially the next generation’s future.
Courts around the world have already found that the climate crisis is the greatest intergenerational injustice ever committed.
Yet in Canada, rather than addressing this existential threat, governments at all levels have failed to deliver on their climate commitments. There is no better example of this than the Ontario government’s rollback of its climate targets in 2018. Their actions have put our rights to life, security and equality at risk.
We cannot continue to sacrifice the future of younger generations for short-term profits.
Young people are leading the charge in the fight for climate justice — taking to the streets, the polls and, with the Mathur case challenging the Ontario government’s actions, to the courts.
Make no mistake, these seven young Ontarians are not alone. Courts around the world are increasingly siding with citizens and forcing governments to tackle the climate crisis. It’s only a matter of time before this happens in Canada, too.
What are we fighting for?
The youth at the forefront of this case are fighting for government accountability, intergenerational justice, and above all, their rights to a safe climate and a livable future.
When our governments (repeatedly) fail to protect us from the threats of climate change, it is not only the role of the courts to step in — it’s their duty.
This is a make-or-break moment for climate justice, and the Mathur case has the power to turn the tide in the fight against the climate crisis.