The battle for Ontario's eco-rights

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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The looming battle to stop the Ford government from trampling on the historical rights of the Ontario environmental legal protection system began today.

The court case has drawn National attention in this morning’s article in the National Observer. According to the article:

“A  court case was filed by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), which is representing the conservation group Earthroots, non-profit Ontario Nature, a 16-year-old climate activist named Cooper Price, and Michel Koostachin, who was born and raised in Attawapiskat, a First Nations community in northern Ontario. Earthroots is led by Gord Miller, who was Ontario's environmental commissioner from 2000 to 2015."

The hearings began this morning at 10:00am and will continue throughout the course of the week. Priyanka Vittal, legal counsel for Greenpeace Canada, stated that:

“Whether Doug Ford likes it or not, the laws of this province require his government to consult Ontarians before making changes that impact our environment,”

Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights plus the government's abuse of minister’s zoning orders (MZOs) will have their day in court.  The agenda exhibited by the Ford government to, in effect, erase many if not all environmental protections will be highlighted in this precedent setting court case.  Earthroots and its coalition of eco-warriors will present legal arguments over the next three days. 

You can livestream the remainder of the hearings at:

May 18th: https://youtu.be/yDicJzMkL74

May 19th: https://youtu.be/FCoC_-0MBpE

May 20th: https://youtu.be/wMEi8ejlRHs