On September 15, CPJ and our co-applicants went before the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in Saskatoon as part of our No More Coal in Canada! legal challenge. We were there to ask that a judge be allowed to review the province’s decision to keep burning coal until 2050.
“Both courtrooms were full, with coal workers and climate advocates eyeing each other across the room. It’s sad that the lack of real support for a just transition has put honest workers and sincere, hard-working climate advocates on opposite sides: livelihood against survival. Protecting a government decision should never outweigh the rights of its citizens, or the rights of creation.”
Willard Metzger, Executive Director, who was in the courtroom
What happened in court
Our lawyer, Glenn Wright, told the court that Saskatchewan’s coal decision “puts us on a path that defies federal law and will breach our own provincial law.” The three judges reserved their decision, so we won’t know the outcome for at least a few months.
The hearing lasted for more than five hours as the bench scrutinized our arguments, many of which were not easy to make. But CPJ has been taking on hard things for a long time: in the 1970s, when we were still called the Committee for Justice and Liberty, we pushed for a moratorium on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, and Ottawa eventually put one in place; in the 1980s, we stood with Grassy Narrows First Nation after Canada allowed mercury to be dumped into their territorial river. We’ve only ever been able to take on fights like these because of your support.
Why “not broken yet” doesn’t hold up
Lawyers for the Government of Saskatchewan claim that no federal law has been broken yet—but that’s just a delay tactic. The province’s exemption from the federal coal regulations, the Canada-Saskatchewan equivalency agreement, runs out on December 31. If no new one is signed, the law could be broken as early as January 1, 2027. With refurbishment already underway, the province is virtually certain to break federal coal and clean electricity rules. If it doesn’t, the $26 billion to $46 billion this plan could cost (per SaskPower’s own leaked memo and the C.D. Howe Institute) becomes stranded assets.
We’re confident we made the right legal, moral, and ethical argument. This case comes out of our faithful commitment to protecting creation and pursuing justice for all living beings, and we’re staying with it. If you’re able to, a gift to the No More Coal in Canada Legal Fund helps keep the challenge going while we wait.
Watch your inbox this fall
Before Ottawa can renew Saskatchewan’s coal exemption, it has to publish the draft agreement for public comment. We expect that soon, and when it lands, we’ll tell you how to weigh in. To get notified, subscribe to our JusticE-News.
In the news
CTV Saskatoon: Sask. Court of Appeal hears arguments to review the decision on the future of the coal industry
Global News: Environmental advocates ask Sask. Court of Appeal to review coal decision
620 CKRM: Coal extension challenge awaits Court of Appeal decision
CJWW: SES back in court over coal decision
Want to take part?
Want to take part in CPJ’s efforts to stop the fatal decision to extend coal in Saskatchewan? Join our campaign, Stop Coal! Call Your MP. You’ll find all the resources you need there to have an informed conversation with your MP about the federal government’s role in enabling coal in Canada. We’re asking MPs for two things: don’t renew the Canada-Saskatchewan coal equivalency agreement, and fund a real just transition for coal workers.
As always, we’re here to help if you need anything. And if you’ve already met with your MP, please let us know how it went. We rely on you to do this work just as much as you rely on us.
Justice & peace for all,
Maryo
