Friends of the Earth v. The Governor in Council and Others

A Canadian federal court dismissed an action by a not-for-profit organization alleging that the Canadian government had breached its duties under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, 2007 (KPIA). Friends of the Earth Canada sought a declaration from the court that the government had failed to meet the legal requirements of the KPIA by missing deadlines and failing to publish regulations. The court ruled that the legislation is not justiciable. The court concluded that it had no role to play reviewing the reasonableness of the government’s response to Canada’s Kyoto commitments within the four corners of the KPIA. In 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s decision, finding that there was no justiciable issue for the court to consider. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to accept the case in 2010.