Are Climate Change Claims Based On Charter Rights Justiciable? Canadian Courts Render Conflicting Decisions

U.S. courts have often relied on the political question doctrine to dismiss climate change actions. The Canadian equivalent of the political question doctrine, justiciability, has recently been considered by Canadian Court in cases involving Charter-based climate change claims. 

To be justiciable, claims must be within the authority and ability of the judiciary to decide, considering the Canadian constitutional system of government. It is generally recognized that it is not the function of the courts to establish what policy or law best advances the public interest and that courts may decline to decide such issues under the doctrine of justiciability. 

In three recent decisions, the Federal Court and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice adopted similar approaches to determining whether courts could properly decide Charter-based climate change claims, but with conflicting results. This is not the first time Canadian courts have considered justiciability with