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Vancouver Registry

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Between:

SIERRA CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FOUNDATION

Petitioner

And:

MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY

Respondent

PETITION TO THE COURT

ON NOTICE TO:

Attorney General of British Columbia, and

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Ministry of Attorney General
Legal Services Branch
3rd Floor - 1001 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC V8W 2C5

This proceeding is brought for the relief set out in Part 1 below, by

tX] the person named as petitioner in the style of proceedings above

If you intend to respond to this petition, you or your lawyer must

(a) file a response to petition in Form 67 inthe above-named registry of this court within the time for
response to petition described below, and

(b) serve on the petitioner

(i) 2 copies of the filed response to petition, and

(ii) 2 copies of each filed affidavit on which you intend to rely at the hearing

tll
Orders, including orders granting the relief claimed, may be made against you, without any
further notice to you, if you fail to file the response to petition within the time for response.

Time for response to the petition

A response to petition must be filed and served on the petitioner,

(a) if you were served with the petition anywhere in Canada, within 21 days after that service,

(b) if you were served with the petition anywhere in the United States of America, within 35 days
after that service,

(c) if you were served with the petition anywhere else, within 49 days after that service, or

(d) if the time for response has been set by order of the court, within that time.

The address of the registry is:

Law Courts
(1)
800 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E1
(2) The ADDRESS FOR SERVICE of the petitioner is:

390-425 Carrall Street

Vancouver, BC V6B 6E3
Tel. 604-685-5618
Fax 604-685-7813
Email address for service of the petitioners:
hwruck@ecojustice.ca;
mhulse@ecojustice.ca; and
aazevedo@ecojustice.ca
The name and office address of the petitioner's lawyers are:

Harry Wruck, Q.C.

Matt Hulse
(3) Andhra Azevedo
390-425 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 6E3
Tel. 604-685-5618 ext 256
Fax 604-685-7813

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 CLAIM OF THE PETITIONER

Part 1: ORDERS SOUGHT

1. Orders pursuant to subsection 2(2) of the Judicial Review Procedures Act, RSBC 1996, c 241
(“JRPA”), declaring that:
a. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (the “Minister”) acted unlawfully
in preparing the 2021 Climate Change Accountability Report (the “2021 Report”) under
section 4.3 of the Climate Change Accountability Act, SBC 2007, c 42 (the “Act” or
“CCAA”) because the 2021 Report did not include a plan to continue progress toward
achieving the 2025 greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reduction target established by
Ministerial order under s. 2(2.1) and as required by s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;
b. the Minister acted unlawfully in preparing the 2021 Report under section 4.3 of the CCAA
because the 2021 Report did not include a plan to continue progress toward achieving the
2040 GHG emissions reduction target referred to in s. 2(1)(a.2) and as required by s.
4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;
c. the Minister acted unlawfully in preparing the 2021 Report under section 4.3 of the CCAA
because the 2021 Report did not include a plan to continue progress toward the 2050 GHG
emissions reduction target referred to in s. 2(1)(b) and as required by s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the
CCAA;
d. the Minister acted unlawfully in preparing the 2021 Report under section 4.3 of the CCAA
because the 2021 Report did not include a plan to continue progress toward the Oil and Gas
sector GHG emissions reduction target established by Ministerial order under s. 2(4)(a) and
as required by s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;
2. An order in the nature of certiorari pursuant to sections 2, 3, 5 and 7 of the JRPA quashing and
setting aside the 2021 Report because of an error of law and remitting the report to the Minister for
reconsideration in light of the reasons of this Honourable Court;
3. An order that both parties shall bear their own costs in this proceeding, regardless of the outcome
of the proceeding; and
4. Such further and other relief as this Honourable Court deems just.

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Part 2: FACTUAL BASIS

A. The Parties

1. The Petitioner, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation (“Sierra Club BC”), is a federal charity
and public interest non-profit environmental organization registered as a British Columbia society.
Its mission is to support people stewarding abundant ecosystems and a stable climate, while
building resilient, equitable communities.

2. Sierra Club BC has been working on issues related to climate change since the 1990s and has been
closely involved in the development and critique of British Columbia’s climate accountability
legislation including the CCAA, emission targets, and climate plans and policies since 2007.

3. The Respondent Minister prepared the 2021 Report, which is at issue in this Petition.

B. The 2021 Climate Change Accountability Report

4. On October 25, 2021, the 2021 Report was laid before the Legislative Assembly on behalf of the
Minister. The 2021 Report was also published online on the same day.

5. The 2021 Report references a number of supporting documents. These supporting documents
include:

a. The two climate plans referred to in the 2021 Report:

i Clean BC, British Columbia’s climate plan, which was published in 2018 and described
actions that British Columbia would be taking to continue progress towards achieving its
emission reductions target for 2030; and
ii The CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 (the “Roadmap”), which was published on October 25,
2021 and describes additional actions regarding how British Columbia plans to work
towards its 2030 emissions target.
b. The 2021 Supporting Material, which was published on October 25, 2021 and provides
additional detail regarding British Columbia’s climate actions taken in 2020/21 and proposed
for 2021/22;
c. The Provincial GHG Inventory, 1990-2019, which was published in October 2021 and
reports British Columbia’s GHG emissions between 1990-2019;
d. The 2021 Methodology Report, which was published on March 30, 2022 and documents the
methods, assumptions, and results regarding the impacts of BC’s climate policies; and
e. The advice to the Minister from December 2020 to October 2021 from the Climate Solution
Council, which is the advisory committee appointed pursuant to section 4.2 of the CCAA.

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6. Together the 2021 Report and the supporting documents listed in paragraph 5 were intended to
fulfill the Minister’s obligation under section 4.3 of the CCAA to prepare an annual climate change
accountability report with prescribed content. For the purpose of this Petition, any reference to the
“2021 Report” refers to the climate change accountability report released on October 25, 2021 and
the listed supporting documents, unless otherwise stated.

7. Under clause 4.3(1)(h), the Minister’s annual report must include “plans to continue progress
toward . . . achieving the targets referred to in section 2 [of the CCAA]”. The targets referred to in
section 2 of the CCAA are:

a. The 2030 target: a target for province-wide GHG emissions to be at least 40% less than 2007
levels by 2030 (s. 2(1)(a.1));
b. The 2040 target: a target for province-wide GHG emissions to be at least 60% less than 2007
levels by 2040 (s. 2(1)(a.2));
c. The 2050 target: a target for province-wide GHG emissions to be at least 80% less than 2007
levels by 2050 (s. 2(1)(b));
d. The 2025 target: a GHG emissions target for a year prior to 2030 that according to the Act
must be set by Ministerial order by December 31, 2020 (s. 2(2.1)). The Minister set this
target for province-wide GHG emissions to be at least 16% less than 2007 levels by 2025 on
December 9, 2020; and
e. Sectoral targets: targets for individual economic sectors that according to the Act must be set
by Ministerial order by March 31, 2021 (s. 2(4)). The Minister established GHG emission
reduction targets for 2030 for four sectors, Transportation, Buildings, Industry, and Oil and
Gas sectors on March 26, 2021. The target for the Oil and Gas sector is for GHG emissions
from the sector to be at least 33-38% less than 2007 levels by 2030 (the “Oil and Gas sector
target”).
8. The 2021 Report was the first climate change accountability report published following the
establishment of the sectoral targets and the 2025 target.

9. The 2021 Report describes a suite of policies that are expected to reduce emissions to meet British
Columbia’s legislated 2030 target and estimates how these policies will continue British
Columbia’s progress towards the 2030 target.

10. However, as described further in paragraph 11 of Part 3: Legal Basis, the 2021 Report does not
include British Columbia’s plans to continuing progress towards achieving the 2025, 2040, 2050
and Oil and Gas sector targets.

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11. British Columbia has approved the construction and operation of two liquefied natural gas (“LNG”)
projects through the environmental assessment process. Another three LNG projects are in the
environmental assessment process and are being considered for development in British Columbia.
All of these projects plan to start operations prior to 2030, if approved. These LNG projects and
related growth in oil and gas production will impact British Columbia’s ability to meet the Oil and
Gas sector target, as well as its 2040 and 2050 targets.

C. The role of the 2021 Report in British Columbia climate policy

i Climate change and climate policy in British Columbia
12. Climate change is primarily caused by humans producing and burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil,
and gas that create GHG emissions.

13. The Minister noted in the 2021 Report that climate change poses a real risk to British Columbians.
The Minister acknowledged that the effects of climate change in British Columbia are already
being felt and include increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events (including heat
waves and storms) and increasingly severe wildfire seasons.

14. In order to limit the impacts of climate change, all jurisdictions must lower their GHG emissions
along a consistent downwards trajectory from now until 2050.

15. In 2015, Canada became a signatory to the Paris Agreement, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1,
December 12, 2015 (the “Paris Agreement”), an international climate treaty. Signatories
committed to holding the global temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to
limit the temperature increase to no more than 1.5°C in order to significantly reduce the risks and
impacts of climate change.

16. British Columbia has committed to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. On March 3, 2016,
the Premier of British Columbia along with the other First Ministers of Canada signed the
Vancouver Declaration on Clean Growth and Climate Change. In this Declaration, the First
Ministers recognized the goals of the Paris Agreement, committed to increase their level of
ambition to drive greater GHG emission reductions, and accurately and transparently assess the
progress and impact of their climate actions towards their respective and collective targets.

ii Climate accountability legislation in British Columbia

17. British Columbia has legislated GHG emission targets since 2008, when the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Targets Act, SBC 2007, c 42 came into force. This legislation set targets for reducing
GHG emissions at least 33% by 2020 (the “2020 target”) and at least 80% by 2050 (the “2050
target”), both below 2007 levels. The legislation also required the Minister to publish public reports

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 every two years that described British Columbia’s GHG emissions, its progress towards the targets,
the actions taken towards the targets, and the plans to continue that progress.

18. On May 31, 2018, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act was amended to repeal the 2020
target and introduce two new targets: reducing GHG emissions by at least 40% by 2030 (the “2030
target”) and by at least 60% by 2040 (the “2040 target”).

19. On November 9, 2018, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act was renamed the Climate
Change Accountability Act (“CCAA”).

20. On September 28, 2019, the CCAA was amended to require that the Minister establish a target for a
year earlier than 2030 under s. 2(2.1) and targets for individual sectors of the economy under s.
2(4)(a). This was done by Ministerial orders in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

21. The amendments to the CCAA in 2019 also required the Minister to prepare an annual climate
change accountability report, meet specific content requirements for the report, and lay the report
before the Legislative Assembly along a specified timeline.

22. The 2019 amendments to the CCAA further required the Minister to appoint a representative
advisory committee under s. 4.2 to provide climate-related advice to the Minister, including about
plans and actions to achieve the legislated targets. This committee is known as the Climate
Solutions Council. The terms of reference for the Climate Solutions Council from 2020 to 2021
required that the Climate Solutions Council keep all discussions confidential and speak with only
one voice in public.

23. The Climate Solutions Council provided letters and reports to the Minister between December 2020
and October 2021 stating that he should consider all legislated targets particularly the 2040 and
2050 targets, not just the 2030 target, when designing climate policies.

24. The Climate Solutions Council reported in their 2021 annual report to the Minister that the
Roadmap, one of the plans included in the 2021 Report, failed to describe how British Columbia
would meets its 2025 target and did not specify what policies British Columbia would use to meet
its Oil and Gas sector target.

iii Use of the Climate Change Accountability Report

25. In order to hold the government accountable, the public and the Legislature rely on the Minister’s
annual climate change accountability report to understand what actions British Columbia is taking
and will take to reduce emissions and their effectiveness of these actions in making progress
towards achieving all of the targets referred to in the Act.

[7]
26. Sierra Club BC, as a member of the public and an organization that played an important role in the
establishment of legislated targets and the amended Act, cannot fulfill its intended role of holding
the government to account to meet the targets because the 2021 Report does not describe if British
Columbia is on track to meet its 2025, 2040, 2050 and Oil and Gas sector targets.

Part 3: LEGAL BASIS

1. The 2021 Report fails to meet the statutory requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA and is therefore an
unreasonable exercise of the Minister’s statutory reporting obligation under the CCAA.

2. The 2021 Report is a reviewable exercise of statutory power within the meaning of the JRPA, under
s. 2(2)(b).

3. In particular, the Minister’s reporting obligation under s. 4.3 of the CCAA is a “statutory power of
decision” under s. 1 of the JRPA as it is a power conferred by an enactment to determine what
information on emissions and climate plans will be provided to the Legislature and the public—as
long as the requirements of the statute are met.

4. In the alternative, the 2021 Report is an exercise of statutory power under s. 1 of the JRPA as it was
prepared pursuant to the Minister’s reporting obligation under s. 4.3 of the CCAA, without which
the Minister would not be required to prepare a climate change accountability report.

5. In the further alternative, the 2021 Report is reviewable as an act of a sufficiently public nature
under s. 2(2)(a) of the JRPA: see Strauss v North Fraser Pretrial Centre (Deputy Warden of
Operations), 2019 BCCA 207, at para 24. It is a report required by statute with specific and non-
discretionary informational requirements to be prepared by the Minister for the Legislative
Assembly and the public.

A. Grounds for judicial review

6. The Minister made the following errors of law in the 2021 Report:

a. Failed to include a plan to continue progress toward achieving the 2025 target as required by
s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;
b. Failed to include a plan to continue progress toward achieving the 2040 target as required by
s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;
c. Failed to include a plan to continue progress toward achieving the 2050 target as required by
s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA; and
d. Failed to include a plan to continue progress toward achieving the Oil and Gas sector target
as required by s. 4.3(1)(h)(i) of the CCAA;

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 B. Standard of review
7. The standard of review to be applied to the issues raised by the Petitioner with the 2021 Report is
reasonableness, as these are errors in law relating to the Minister’s interpretation of a home statute,
the CCAA: Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 (“Vavilov”),
at para 25.

C. The Report fails to meet the statutory requirements of s. 4.3 of the Climate Change
Accountability Act
8. The 2021 Report is not reasonable because it does not meet the requirements of a reasonable
interpretation of s. 4.3 of the CCAA. By preparing a report that is missing plans to continue
progress toward achieving all of the multiple targets referred to in s. 2 of the Act, the Minister has
adopted an unreasonable interpretation of s. 4.3 of the Act. The gaps in the 2021 Report cannot be
supported in light of the relevant factual and legal constraints on the 2021 Report and the
Minister’s reporting obligations under s. 4.3: Vavilov, at paras 105-35.

9. Clauses (a) to (h) of subsection 4.3(1) of the CCAA require the Minister to include all of the
following information in his 2021 Report:

a. “a determination of the BC greenhouse gas emissions in the most recent calendar year for
which measurements of BC greenhouse gas emissions are available”. For the 2021 Report,
this means BC’s measured emissions in 2019.
b. “an estimate, based on the most recent budget and greenhouse gas emissions data in the
provincial inventory, of the BC greenhouse gas emissions in each of the following years: (i)
the calendar year in which the report is prepared; (ii) the subsequent 2 years”. For the 2021
Report, this means an estimate of BC’s emissions in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
c. “an estimate of the BC greenhouse gas emissions in each calendar year between the years
referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) (i)”. For the 2021 Report, this means an estimate of
BC’s emissions in 2020.
d. “a description of the actions taken, including expenditures, during the previous fiscal year to
(i) reduce BC greenhouse gas emissions, and (ii) manage climate change risks”. For the 2021
Report, this means a description of climate actions that BC has taken in fiscal year 2020/21,
and related expenditures.
e. “a description of the actions proposed, including planned expenditures, in the most recent
budget to (i) reduce BC greenhouse gas emissions, and (ii) manage climate change risks”.
For the 2021 Report, this means a description of climate actions that BC proposed for in
fiscal year 2021/22, and related expenditures.

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 f. “the outcomes that could reasonably be expected to result from the actions referred to in
paragraphs (d) and (e)”. For the 2021 Report, this means the outcomes expected for the
climate actions taken in 2020/21 and proposed for 2021/22.
g. “the advice received by the minister under section 4.2 (2)”. For the 2021 Report, this means
the advice the Minister has received from the Climate Solutions Council since the last report
in December 2020.
h. “plans to continue progress toward”
i. “achieving the targets referred to in section 2”. This means the plans to continue
progress toward achieving all of the targets referred to in section 2, namely the 2025,
2030, 2040, and 2050 targets and the 2030 targets for the Oil and Gas, Industry,
Transportation, and Buildings and Communities sectors, and
ii. “managing climate change risks”. This means the plans to manage climate change
risks.
10. The Minister’s 2021 Report did not include plans to continue progress toward achieving the 2025,
2040, 2050, and the Oil and Gas sector targets, as required by s. 4.3(1)(h)(i).

11. This failure of the 2021 Report to report on these plans is unreasonable in light of the following
factual and legal constraints:

a. The text and scheme of the Act refers to multiple targets and requires the report to include
plans to continue progress towards all of these targets (indicated by the use of the plural, i.e.
“targets”).
b. The text of s. 4.3(1)(h) requires the Minister to describe a program of specific actions (a
“plan”) that will be taken to lower emissions and describe how those actions will “continue
progress toward . . . achieving” each of the targets. At minimum, this requires that the
Minister describe the expected emission reductions from this program of actions compared
against each legislated target in order to show how far these actions “continue progress
toward . . . achieving” each target. In contrast to the reporting on the 2030 target, this was
not done in the 2021 Report for the 2025 target, the 2040 target, the 2050 target, or the Oil
and Gas sector target.
c. A primary purpose of the Act, and particularly the reporting requirement in s. 4.3, is to allow
for the Legislature and the public to hold the government accountable if British Columbia is
not on track to achieving its legislated emission targets. The 2021 Report undermines this
purpose because the Minister has not provided the minimum information needed to
determine whether British Columbia’s climate actions put British Columbia on track to meet

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 all of its legislated targets. At minimum, this requires the Minister to report on the emission
reductions expected from current and planned actions and how they are expected to
contribute to meeting each legislated target.
d. The purpose of legislating the province-wide targets for 2025, 2030, 2040, and 2050 was to
ensure that British Columbia was on a consistent trajectory of lowered emissions that would
allow it to meet the required emissions reductions by 2050. This purpose has been
undermined because the Minister has only reported on how British Columbia’s planned
actions will continue progress toward one of its province-wide legislated targets: the 2030
target.
e. The purpose of legislating sectoral targets was to ensure that each sector of the economy was
reducing emissions as required, to provide clarity for sectors and accountability to the public.
In particular, the Oil and Gas sector target was established to ensure that emissions from the
growing Oil and Gas sector do not increase from current levels and instead start to decrease.
This purpose has been undermined because the 2021 Report does not separately report how
British Columbia is planning to continue progress toward achieving the Oil and Gas sector
target. Further, the 2021 Report claims to achieve 100% of the 2030 province-wide target but
relies on emissions reductions from an as yet undeveloped “industrial climate program to
address oil and gas sector emissions”. This is nothing more than a “plan to make a plan” and
so cannot be reasonably included in the statutorily required “plan to continue progress
toward . . . achieving” the Oil and Gas sector target.
f. The Minister failed to consider the advice before him from the Climate Solutions Council,
which recommended that he consider all of the legislated targets, particularly the 2040 and
2050 targets, when developing key climate policies. The Climate Solutions Council has also
since noted that the 2021 Report did not contain a plan to continue progress towards the 2025
target or the Oil and Gas sector target.
g. The Minister had no evidence before him of the projected emissions reductions by 2040 and
2050 from climate policies in CleanBC or the Roadmap. Neither the 2021 Methodology
Report nor the methodology reports for previous climate change accountability reports
include projected emissions reductions from British Columbia’s climate policies past 2030.
The Minister could not have reasonably developed a plan to continue progress towards the
2040 and 2050 targets without the necessary analysis to understand how British Columbia’s
climate policies would continue progress toward achieving the 2040 and 2050 targets.
h. British Columbia is making decisions now that will impact British Columbia’s ability to
meet its 2040 and 2050 targets and the Oil and Gas sector target. British Columbia has

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 approved oil and gas projects that will lock-in emissions for several decades. This factual
context demonstrates why the Legislature required the Minister to annually report on plans to
continue progress toward all targets in order to ensure that the Minister was considering the
impact of current decisions on longer-term targets. By failing to include plans to continue
progress towards 2040 and 2050 targets and the Oil and Gas sector target in the 2021 Report,
the Legislature and the public is prevented from understanding the impact of these approvals
on British Columbia’s ability to meet its targets.
i. British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act, SBC 2018, c 51, s 25(2)(h) requires that
British Columbia and project proponents assess whether the GHG emissions from a project
will prevent British Columbia from meeting its legislated targets. The Minister’s failure to
report on his plans to continue progress toward meeting all of the legislated targets in the
2021 Report undermines the effectiveness of this important procedural safeguard.
j. The Paris Agreement and the Vancouver Declaration provide further interpretive constraints
on the interpretation of the CCAA. The Paris Agreement goals are to lower emissions along
a steady trajectory in order to limit warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit the
temperature increase to no more than 1.5°C in order to significantly reduce the risks and
impacts of climate change. Canada is a signatory to the Paris Agreement. In order to help
Canada contribute to the Paris Agreement goals, British Columbia agreed to enhance its
transparency and report its progress to respective and collective targets. A reasonable
interpretation of the reporting obligations under s. 4.3 of the CCAA must be based on the
presumption that British Columbia legislated GHG emission targets to ensure that it has a
steady reduction in emissions until 2050 and to contribute to meeting Canada’s international
obligations.
k. The increasing risks from and “existential challenge” of climate change make the
transparency of the 2021 Report a matter of high public importance: References re
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2021 SCC 11, at paras 10, 167. The public
importance of these issues should inform the Court’s scrutiny of the Minister’s reporting
requirements in the same way that issues of great importance to an affected individual
elevate the Court’s scrutiny of a decision: Vavilov, at paras 133-35. Due to the limits of
justiciability, members of the public cannot judicially review the contents of climate plans
and policies, except where they can establish that their constitutional rights are being
infringed by particular government action or legislation. This means that the public is relying
on the Minister’s annual climate reports to provide statutorily required details about its
climate policies and emissions reductions in order to determine whether their government is

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 doing enough to address climate change. Without this transparency, British Columbians will
be unable to exercise their democratic means of holding their governments accountable for
addressing the existential threat that is climate change.
12. The failure of the 2021 Report to include plans to continue progress towards the 2025, 2040, 2050
and the Oil and Gas sector targets is not justified in light of these legal and factual constraints, in
particular the statutory requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA. The 2021 Report therefore does not
reasonably meet the requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA.

D. The issues raised are justiciable

13. The issues raised in this Petition regarding whether the 2021 Report met the Minister’s statutory
obligations under s. 4.3 of the CCAA are justiciable. The Petitioner is challenging the legality of the
2021 Report based on the absence of mandatory information required by s. 4.3. The Petitioner is
not asking the Court to second-guess whether provincial climate policies will effectively reduce
emissions to achieve targets, or assess the wisdom of the Minister’s climate plans. The grounds of
review ask the Court to examine whether a public official is complying with their legislative
obligations. The Petitioner is asking this Court to assess whether the Minister has met a statutory
obligation to publish a report that includes plans to make progress towards achieving all of the
legislated targets as required by s. 4.3. This is the “normal stuff of judicial determination”: Schmidt
v Canada (Attorney General), 2018 FCA 55, at para 12. Only in “highly exceptional” cases should
a court allow itself to be ousted from its ordinary role in providing a remedy for a breach of a
public official’s statutory duties: Representative for Children and Youth v. British Columbia
(Children and Family Development), 2010 BCSC 697, at para 74.

14. The issues raised in this Petition can be assessed by an objective legal standard based on whether
the Minister met the specific, mandatory reporting requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA.

15. The Legislative Assembly intended that the Minister’s reporting obligation under s. 4.3 of the
CCAA would be justiciable to fulfill the accountability purpose of the legislation. Without the
required information in the climate change accountability report, the public and the Legislature
cannot assess whether British Columbia is or is not on track to meet its legislated targets.

16. The intention behind legislating the Minister’s reporting obligation was to guarantee that the public
would have transparency and accountability regarding British Columbia’s actions to address
climate change and meet its legislated targets. This is shown through the scheme of the Act, the
conduct of the Minister, and the Legislative debates.

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17. The Act does not provide for an adequate or exclusive alternative remedy for enforcing the
reporting requirement either through the Legislature or the Climate Solutions Council. A political
remedy in this case is not appropriate when members of the public are also relying on a statutorily-
compliant report in order to be able to hold government accountable: Canada (Auditor General) v
Canada (Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources), [1989] 2 SCR 49, at 97. The advisory role of
the Climate Solutions Council does not give it the power to enforce statutory reporting
requirements.

E. Sierra Club BC has public interest standing

18. Sierra Club BC should be granted public interest standing in this case as this judicial review raises
serious justiciable issues, Sierra Club BC has a genuine interest in these issues, and this judicial
review is a reasonable and effective way to bring this issue before the courts: Canada (Attorney
General) v Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society, 2012 SCC 45, at
para 37.

19. As described at paragraphs 13-17 above, the issues raised in this judicial review are justiciable.

20. The issues raised in this judicial review are serious. Climate change poses a serious risk to all
British Columbians, both current and future. The CCAA is the primary piece of legislation that
establishes British Columbia’s emission targets and sets out how the Minister will transparently
report to British Columbians and the Legislature on progress towards achieving those targets and
managing climate risks. Without a statutorily compliant climate change accountability report that
describes whether and how British Columbia is on track to meet its legislated targets, the public
will be left in the dark about how British Columbia is addressing climate change.

21. This case has a reasonable prospect of success as it challenges the failure of the 2021 Report to
meet statutory obligations to report on plans to continue progress towards achieving the 2025,
2040, 2050, and Oil and Gas sector targets. The Petitioner is not challenging a purely discretionary
decision, but instead is alleging that a decision of the Minister does not meet prescribed
requirements of the CCAA. This is a matter of statutory interpretation. Under the Vavilov
framework, the Court will assess whether the 2021 Report is reasonable based on factual and legal
constraints, with the key legal constraint being the statutory scheme. The statute states that the
Minister must report on “plans to continue progress toward . . . achieving the targets referred to in
s. 2.” (emphasis added). However, the 2021 Report does not describe plans to continue progress
toward achieving several of the targets referred to in s. 2.

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22. The remedies sought in this Petition will serve a meaningful and important purpose. The Minister is
obligated to produce an annual climate change accountability report that meets the statutory
requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA. These reports are intended to inform the public and the
Legislature each year of British Columbia’s exposure to the risks from climate change and whether
British Columbia is on track to meet its emission reduction targets. Findings and declarations by
this Court determining what the statute requires in order to ensure this transparency and
accountability will impact the information contained in future reports and ensure that British
Columbians understand whether the government’s climate plans and policies are effectively
reducing emissions. This Petition seeks declaratory relief from this Court to ensure that future
annual reports will transparently tell British Columbians whether British Columbia is on track to
meet its emission targets. Further, it seeks to quash and remit the current 2021 Report to ensure that
the Minister amends it to meet his statutory obligations and report on the plans to continue progress
toward achieving targets in 2021.

23. Sierra Club BC has a genuine interest in these issues, having been involved in climate change
issues in British Columbia since the 1990s, as well as being specifically involved in the
development and critique of the CCAA, the targets referred to in the CCAA, and the provincial
climate plans developed between 2018 and 2022. Sierra Club BC has communicated in the media
and with the provincial government directly about the organization’s concerns regarding British
Columbia’s climate plans. Sierra Club BC has the institutional knowledge to describe the purpose
of the different legislated targets and explain why transparent climate reporting on progress toward
achieving all of these targets is essential to uphold the Act’s climate change accountability purpose.

24. This Petition is a reasonable and effective means for raising the issue that the 2021 Report lacks
information required by the Act. The Minister’s statutory obligation to report on British
Columbia’s climate plans to meet legislated targets transcends the private interests of anyone in
particular. There is no danger that someone’s private interests will be in conflict with this case, as
the issues raised by the case go to whether the Minister has provided the required information to the
Legislature and the public under the Act.

25. If public interest standing is not granted to judicially review the Minister’s climate change
accountability report, the Minister’s reporting obligation will be effectively immune from review.
The reporting obligation is owed to the Legislature and the public at-large, not to any particular
private party. Litigants with public interest standing are therefore necessary to ensure that state
action conforms to statutory authority and that laws are given effect: Council of Canadians with
Disabilities v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2020 BCCA 241, at para 73. This is

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particularly important when the Minister's reporting obligation is the primary way the public can
access information integral to understanding whether British Columbia is on track to addressing the
existential crisis that is climate change. There are no realistic alternative means for the public to
challenge the 2021 Report for failing to meet the statutory requirements of s. 4.3 of the CCAA.

F. The remedies sought are available

26. Declaratory relief regarding whether the Minister failed to meet his statutory obligations under the
CCAA is available under s. 2(2)(b) of the JRPA because the Minister is exercising a statutory power
when preparing a climate change accountability report under s. 4.3 of the CCAA.

27 . In the alternative, declaratory relief is available under s. 2(2)(a) of the JRPAas part of the court's

inherent jurisdiction to declare that the Minister has failed to observe a statutory requirement: Taku
River Tlingit First Nation v Ringstad,2002BCCA 59, at paras 62-69, Southin JA in dissent (but
not on this point), citing Dyson v Attorney General, [ 191 I ] I KB 410 at 421-22.
28. Quashing and setting aside the 2021 Report is an available remedy under ss. 2(2),3,5, and 7 of the
JRPA.

Part{: MATERIAL TO BE RELIED ON

1. Affidavit #1 of Jens Wieting made29March,2022.

2. Affidavit #2 of Jens Wieting made 30 March,2022.
3. Such further materials as this Honourable Court may allow

The Petitioner estimates that the hearing of the Petition will take 2 days.

Date o
of Petitioner
Harry Wruck QC, Hulse, Andhra Azevedo

To be completed by the court only:

Order made
[ ] in the terms requested in paragraphs ...................... of Part I of this petition
[ ] with the following variations and additional terms:

Date:
Signature of [ ] Judge [ ] Master

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