In ''Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act'' 2021 SCC 11, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

ruled on 25 March 2021 that the federal carbon pricing law is constitutional.Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 SKCA 40 (CanLII) 38663-38781-39116

Background

In response to Canada's 2016 ratification of the Paris Agreement which set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, the Canadian federal government under Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

passed the

Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act The ''Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act'' (french: Loi sur la tarification de la pollution causée par les gaz à effet de serre) is a Canadian federal law establishing a set of minimum national standards for carbon pricing in Canada to meet ...

(GHGPPA), which came into effect on 21 June 2018, establishing national standards for a

carbon price Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the c ...

."An Act to mitigate climate change through the pan-Canadian application of pricing mechanisms to a broad set of greenhouse gas emission sources and to make consequential amendments to other Acts" The province of Saskatchewan under Premier Scott Moe filed an appeal, and on 3 May 2019 the

Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Canadian appellate court. Jurisdiction and structure The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. There are 8 official judicial positions, incl ...

ruled in favour of the federal government concluding that, GHGPPA is "not unconstitutional either in whole or in part." and was a legitimate exercise of federal power under

peace, order, and good government In many Commonwealth jurisdictions, the phrase "peace, order, and good government" (POGG) is an expression used in law to express the legitimate objects of legislative powers conferred by statute. The phrase appears in many Imperial Acts of Pa ...

" (POGG). Moe filed his appeal of the Saskatchewan decision to the

on 31 May 2019.

Breakdown of the decision

The majority found the Act to be constitutional including Chief Justice

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

and Justices

Rosalie Silberman Abella Rosalie Silberman Abella (born July 1, 1946) is a Canadian jurist. In 2004, Abella was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, becoming the first Jewish woman and refugee to sit on the Canadian Supreme Court bench. She retired from the federa ...

, Michael J. Moldaver,

Andromache Karakatsanis Andromache Karakatsanis (born October 3, 1955) is a Canadian jurist. She was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada by Stephen Harper in October 2011. She is the first Greek-Canadian judge on the Court. Early life Karakatsanis was born in To ...

, Sheilah L. Martin, and

Nicholas Kasirer Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019. Kasirer was previously a justice with the Quebec Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2019. He is a graduate of the McGill Universi ...

. Justices Russell Brown and

Malcolm Rowe Malcolm H. Rowe (born 1953) is a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Rowe is the first judge from Newfoundland and Labrador to sit on the Supreme Court. Early life and education Rowe was born in 1953 in St. John’s, Newfoundland an ...

dissented and Justice

Suzanne Côté Suzanne Côté (born September 21, 1958) is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was nominated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to replace retiring justice Louis LeBel. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, she was a partne ...

dissented in part.

Lower court rulings

The three lower court rulings include docket number 38663 heard in the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, docket number 38781 in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, docket number 39116 in the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The Ontario and Saskatchewan Courts upheld the legislation, while the Alberta Court found that it was unconstitutional.

Climate change is real

The Supreme Court said that "all of the parties agree that global climate change is real. It's caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities and it poses a grave threat to the future of humanity."

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act Reference Supreme Court of Canada cases Canadian federalism case law Supreme Court of Canada reference question cases 2021 in Canadian case law