Chris Paliare was on his feet today, arguing for Friends of the Earth in a Federal Court judicial review to to force the Canadian government to follow the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act [1], passed by Parliament a year ago. The case is a global first in seeking enforcement of the Kyoto Protocol [2], an international treaty ratified by 180 countries, including Canada [3].
The Notice of Application from September 2007 is here [4]. Press releases are here [5]and here [6].
Justice lawyers argued that the Kyoto act is one of a few “unusual” statutes that Parliament never intended the courts to enforce. “It is up for Parliament to decide … whether or not the government should be allowed to explain it is simply too late for Kyoto [7]to be complied with and would cause too much economic devastation,” counsel said but stated that Ottawa has determined the Act is simply impossible to meet.