Signal Ontario Court of Appeal Revives Youth Climate Charter Challenge, Orders New Hearing

Summary

Ontario's Court of Appeal issued a procedural ruling sending the landmark youth-led Charter climate case, Mathur et al. v. Ontario, back to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a new hearing, Canada's National Observer reported on August 6, 2026. The case began in 2019 when seven youth launched a Charter challenge against Ontario's weakened greenhouse gas emissions target, arguing the province's climate policies violate their constitutional rights to life, security, and equality under Sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In its 2025 Fall Economic Statement, the Doug Ford government announced it was repealing a law requiring Ontario to set emissions reduction targets, prepare a climate plan, and issue progress reports; Ontario enshrined those climate rollbacks into law just days before the case was set to be heard on appeal, prompting an adjournment so parties could assess the new legislation's impact on the case. The revival brings the case one step closer to a final judgment on the government's emissions target rollbacks since taking office in 2018.