OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE– Five environmental organizations – Climate Action Network Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Équiterre, Ecojustice and West Coast Environmental Law – are calling on federal parliamentarians to urgently prioritize the Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (Bill C-12) when they return to the House on April 12.
“The bill has been stuck in limbo for over four months and with the federal budget on the horizon, we are seriously concerned that it will not make it through the legislative process before the next election. Canadians expect and demand that parliamentarians work together to fulfil the mandate given to them by their constituents,” declare the environmental groups.
They are calling on House Leaders to use cross-partisan negotiation and all parliamentary tools at their disposal to ensure that Bill C-12 is sent to the environment committee – the next step in the legislative process – by next week, the week of April 12, before the budget is tabled on April 19.
Read the letter sent to House Leaders
In a recent ruling on the constitutionality of the federal carbon pricing system, the Supreme Court of Canada stated that “it is well established that climate change is causing significant environmental, economic and human harm nationally and internationally, with especially high impacts in the Canadian Arctic, coastal regions and on Indigenous peoples.’’
The groups hope that parliamentarians will take the Supreme Court’s ruling to heart and do everything in their power in the coming week to move Bill C-12 to committee where it can be scrutinized and improved. Robust climate accountability legislation is key to ending Canada’s disastrous track record of missed climate targets and limiting the escalating damages of the climate crisis.
About
Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions and law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax.