On December 13, 2021 Corporate Knights published an opinion editorial co-authored by Erin Gray, an organizer with L4CJ. The op-ed discusses West Coast Environmental Law signing onto L4CJ’s open letter to the incoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Prime Minister, and describes the necessity for a climate justice lens applied to government decisions and legislation.
Click here to read the article.
On October 25, 2021 we received a response from the Executive Correspondence Officer of the Office of the Prime Minister, acknowledging receipt of L4CJ’s open letter (which was signed by over 100 individuals and several organizations), on behalf of the Prime Minister. The response stated that the comments “have been carefully reviewed.” It also said that the ECO forwarded the correspondence to the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change (as he then was), and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (as he then was), for their information and consideration.
On October 18, 2021 Canadian Lawyer published an article about L4CJ’s open letter to the incoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Prime Minister. The article quotes L4CJ’s Aladdin Diakun throughout, discussing human rights and lawyers’ duties in relation to climate change: “If we’re serious about tackling systemic racism in Canada and serious about tackling the barriers that Indigenous communities are already facing in Canada, we have to get proactive about climate change… Every lawyer should be asking themselves; how will the climate crisis increasingly affect my practice and my clients' interests and what can I do proactively to make sure that those interests are protected?”
Click here to read the article.
On October 15, 2021 the Global Legal Post published an article about L4CJ’s open letter to the incoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Prime Minister. The article quotes L4CJ’s Aladdin Diakun: “[lawyers and Canadian citizens] cannot afford to wait and see how quickly our rights are eroded, or how vulnerable our prisons are to power losses or flooding, or how much worse systemic racism gets in the face of climate disruption… Lawyers from every practice area share ethical obligations to improve the administration of justice, champion the rule of law and safeguard the rights and freedoms of all persons. In the face of accelerating climate threats, meeting our ethical obligations requires a highly proactive approach, including from the incoming attorney general.”
Click here to read the article.
On October 14, 2021 Pique News Magazine published an article about L4CJ’s open letter to the incoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Prime Minister, quoting L4CJ’s Aladdin Diakun throughout. The article states that a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said “it is aware of the letter and is currently reviewing its recommendations.” And a DOJ spokesperson said in an email that “It would be premature to comment further at this point, given the scope of the calls for action.”
Click here to read the article.
LAWYERS FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
October 14, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Climate Change Threatens Justice in Canada”:
Lawyers for Climate Justice Publish Open Letter to Prime Minister and Attorney General
A group of lawyers from across Canada is warning that an increasingly destabilized climate threatens Canadians’ fundamental rights, leaves prison infrastructure vulnerable, and exacerbates systemic injustices.
The group, Lawyers for Climate Justice (L4CJ), has published an open letter urging the Prime Minister and incoming Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to protect Canadians from these threats by taking four specific steps.
The letter is co-signed by six well-respected legal organizations including the Canadian Environmental Law Association, West Coast Environmental Law, and East Coast Environmental Law.
It has also already attracted signatures from over 100 prominent lawyers and legal practitioners representing many areas of law, including Andrew Petter, former Attorney General of British Columbia and a Member of the Order of Canada, and legal specialists like David Estrin and Deborah Curran.
“Climate change threatens justice in Canada. Period. We cannot afford to wait and see how quickly our rights are eroded, or how vulnerable our prisons are to power losses or flooding, or how much worse systemic racism gets in the face of climate disruption,” says Aladdin Tingling Diakun, co-chair of L4CJ’s Climate Competence working group.
“We need real leadership from the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to get ahead of these climate threats, now.”
The open letter points to the Heat Dome that killed 570 British Columbians earlier this year as an alarming example of how climate change increasingly threatens Canadians’ rights – including the right to life, liberty, and security of the person enshrined in Section 7 of the Canadian Charter – and asks the recipients to “proactively assess, monitor, and mitigate” these threats to prevent Canadians’ rights from being eroded.
The letter cautions that Canadian prison infrastructure is vulnerable to rising temperatures and dangerous weather extremes and implores the recipients to assess, monitor, and mitigate such vulnerabilities to protect justice workers and prisoners alike.
It also warns that climate change is “exacerbating inequality, racism, and other systemic injustices”, including by threatening the rights of Indigenous Peoples under Section 35 of Canada’s Constitution.
Lastly, the letter calls on the recipients to “review all federal statutes and forthcoming Bills through a climate justice lens and… ensure that vulnerable populations are meaningfully protected.”
Mr. Diakun adds that “Lawyers from every practice area share ethical obligations to improve the administration of justice, champion the rule of law, and safeguard the rights and freedoms of all persons. In the face of accelerating climate threats, meeting our ethical obligations requires a highly proactive approach, including from the incoming Attorney General.”
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Contact: Aladdin Diakun
Email: aladdin@atdlegal.ca
Website: www.lawyersforclimatejustice.ca/open-letter