SASKATOON — A legal challenge by two environmental groups and three individuals against the provincial government will resume with a preliminary hearing this fall, following the government's filing of an application to strike their case.
Lawyer and climate activist Glenn Wright, who is representing all three parties, told SaskToday that he received a notice of the preliminary hearing on the application to strike their case against the government’s use of coal-fired power plants on Monday, Nov. 10.
The case involves Citizens for Public Justice, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, and minor Kiké Dueck, Sherry Olson, and Manitoban Matthew Wiens, who are challenging the provincial government’s decision to extend the use of coal beyond 2030.
Federal law requires coal-fired power plants to cease operations by 2030 or meet strict emission standards of 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt-hour, as part of the country’s effort to transition to cleaner sources of energy.
CPJ, SES, and the three individuals are seeking judicial review at the Court of King’s Bench of the government’s alleged decision to refurbish and extend coal-fired electricity generation to 2050, which would violate federal law.
The government, represented by Senior Crown Counsel C. Elaine Thompson from the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, argues that no formal decision exists, only a policy reflected in a letter, and questions whether the matter is suitable for judicial review (justiciability).
Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown, at this stage, declined to hear the application on its merits or grant an interim stay, citing insufficient information and the need to address the threshold issue of justiciability first.
She directed the local registrar to schedule the hearing on the question of whether the judicial review application on the justiciability issue, with filing deadlines set for both parties. Further scheduling and case management will follow as the matter progresses.
Justice MacMillan-Brown has also set the following deadlines: for the government’s application and supporting materials, they shall be filed 30 days in advance of the hearing date, the applicant’s response materials shall be filed 14 days in advance of the hearing date, and the government’s reply materials shall be filed seven days in advance of the hearing date.
