CALGARY, November 14, 2022 – The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has been granted intervenor status in the Supreme Court of Canada case focused on the constitutionality of the federal Impact Assessment Act. CAPE will be represented by the University of Calgary’s Public Interest Law Clinic, which engages in legislative reform and strategic litigation on behalf of public interest clients.

Among other things, the Impact Assessment Act requires consideration of a major project’s impact on Canada’s ability to meet climate change commitments during the assessment process and when making a public interest determination. Federal jurisdiction over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change was central to the Alberta Court of Appeal’s finding that the Impact Assessment Act is unconstitutional.

CAPE’s submissions before the Supreme Court of Canada will argue that inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in the federal impact assessment process and public interest decision-making is clearly within federal jurisdiction and that the Act is constitutional.

“Fundamentally, affirmation that the federal government has jurisdiction to consider climate-polluting greenhouse gas emissions and Canada’s climate commitments when assessing major projects is essential to securing human and planetary health,” says Dr. Joe Vipond, emergency physician and CAPE President.  “This view aligns with CAPE’s physician-led approach to mitigate climate change in order to protect human health.”

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is a non-profit organization working to secure human health by protecting the planet. Since its founding in 1994, CAPE’s work has achieved substantial policy victories in collaboration with many partners in the environmental and health movements. From coast to coast to coast, the organization operates throughout the country with regional committees active in most provinces and all territories.

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Media contact:

Pamela Daoust
National Communications Director
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
647-930-0236 | pamela@cape.ca