Other Types of Claims

•Now that you have firmly grounded your claim in the charter you can begin to look at other possible legal grounding for you claim

•Can you think of any other laws or legal principals in which you might want to ground your claim? Please discuss before turning to the next slide

•S.91 or 92 of The Constitution Act of 1967

•Section 91 outlines Parliament’s jurisdiction while section 92 outlines the Jurisdiction of Provincial governments. 

•Section 91 was used by the plaintiffs in Lho’imggin v. Canada:

•“The cumulative effect of GHG emissions is a matter of national concern under s. 91 because, regardless of their origin, GHG emissions have Canada-wide and global impacts.” – SOC para 38

•POGG (Federal government only)

•Under section 91 the federal government is obliged to “make laws for the Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada”

•One can argue that failure to properly address climate change constitutes an abdication of this responsibility

•Section 35 Rights

•Both the Federal and Provincial governments have a responsibility to uphold section 35 rights. This includes ensuring that their actions do not interfere with Aboriginal Treaty and Title rights. Climate change has the potential to adversely effect the ability of Indigenous people to utilize their section 35 rights.