Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 1, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A13 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A 13NEWS I CANADA • WORLD Special 2020 Two-night STARTING AT $1,750 per person PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES lazybearexpeditions.com info@lazybearexpeditions.com 1-866-OUR-BEAR VANCOUVER — The courts have a definite role in helping to determine if Canada has breached the constitutional rights of 15 youths who are suing the government for its alleged failures on climate change policies, a lawyer for the group says. Joseph Arvay disagreed Wednesday with a fed- eral government lawyer who argued for the case to be dismissed because a court should not step into the political arena when it comes to policy de- cisions related to greenhouse gas emissions that require international efforts to combat global cli- mate change. Arvay told a Federal Court hearing he wants the case to go to trial, where he will ask a judge to get a count of Canada’s emissions and how they contribute to the global carbon budget, which is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide that can be put into the atmosphere before temperatures rise worldwide. “When Canada’s emissions of GHG, which we’ve quantified, exceed Canada’s fair share of that global climate budget, it breached our clients’ rights,” he said, adding the country has not met it own targets on the reduction of emissions. “Scientists will tell us the global limit of GHG emissions that the Earth can tolerate if we are go- ing to return to and maintain a stable climate, “ Arvay said. “And the scientists will tell us what a stable climate system means.” He recounted the claims of the plaintiffs be- tween the ages of 11 and 20, some whom have been affected by wildfires, while floods, hurri- canes and loss of cultural ceremonies in Indigen- ous communities due to extreme temperatures have disrupted the lives of Aboriginal youth. Joseph Cheng, a lawyer representing the at- torney general of Canada, said a court should not wade into policy decisions, including how to struc- ture and quantify carbon pricing, whether and in what circumstances to permit oil and gas extrac- tion, and how to defray and mediate the economic impacts of GHG emissions in different regions of the country that may be affected. Those policies should be left to the government in order to meet the competing interests and obli- gations of ecological sustainability and job cre- ation, Cheng said. The plaintiffs claim the federal government is violating their rights to life, liberty and secur- ity of the person under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as their right to equality under Section 15 because they are dis- proportionately affected by climate change. However, Cheng said the claims about harms are too broad and constitutional claims cannot succeed because the plaintiffs don’t say any par- ticular government action applies to Section 7. And no benefits are being granted to others that in some way result in discrimination against them as part of a Section 15 argument, he added. Arvay disagreed. “Surely, our charter is not such an omnipotent document that it provides no remedy by our cit- izens against a government intent on destroying the planet. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but that’s the logic of Canada’s argument, that this is a matter for Parliament, purely for politicians. That can’t be right.” The lawsuit filed in October 2019 asks the court to compel Canada to develop a climate recovery plan based on the best available science. The plaintiffs claim Canada contributes to over- all greenhouse gas emissions by promoting fossil fuel transport, export and import through inter- provincial and international infrastructure, and by subsidizing industries for fossil fuel explora- tion, extraction and production. Youth are disproportionately affected by air pollution and other consequences of greenhouse gas emissions because their vital organs, includ- ing the lungs, are not fully developed, the lawsuit claims. Sierra Robinson, 18, is among the plaintiffs al- leging they suffered individual injuries as a result of the consequences of climate change. Robinson said in an interview that rising tem- peratures have increased the population and range of disease-carrying ticks on her family’s farm in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. She contracted Lyme disease around age 13 after being bit by a tick. She said she experiences chronic fatigue, se- vere headaches and muscle pain and spent much of the summer in a wheelchair three years ago be- cause she could not walk and would faint. “It should have been adults and the government taking responsibility for these issues because our government has known about climate change for so, so long,” said Robinson, who joined plaintiffs to announce the lawsuit almost a year ago at a Van- couver rally attended by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. She said low water pressure on her farm due to drought in 2016 meant the family had to give drinking water to their livestock over watering crops and increased wildfire smoke near her home two years ago worsened her symptoms. — The Canadian Press Lawyer says court has role in climate-change lawsuit CAMILLE BAINS Celebrating 30 years of inspiring families and communities to grow together through the joy of learning. S ANTA ROSA, Calif. — Nikki and Kevin Conant returned to their home in northern California wine country Wednesday to find only the charred remains of their home and burned pieces of the wine barrels they used to repurpose into custom-made art and furniture. “It was like a part of me is gone, burned up in the fire. Everything we built here, everything we made here is gone,” Nikki Conant said. The couple, both 52, were preparing to evacuate Sunday when they saw an orange glow in the hills near their Santa Rosa rental home. Within 45 minutes, they could hear the trees crackling and propane tanks exploding as the blaze reached their community. They jumped in their car, and for what seemed like an eternity they were stuck in bumper- to- bumper traffic. “I thought we were going to burn alive. I really did. It was horrible,” Nik- ki Conant said. Nikki sobbed Wednesday when she spotted her now-burned chicken coop. Her twelve beloved chickens all died in the fire. All the tools for their repurpos- ing business were gone, too. The Conants are among more than 70,000 people still under evacuation orders in the wine region north of San Francisco where the Glass Fire has in- cinerated at least 80 homes along with winery installations and other build- ings. Flames were continuing to tear through the region’s rolling pastures and tree-dotted hills, toppling re- nowned wineries and restaurants. “Every time we try to construct some control lines, the fire is outflanking us, so we have to pull back,” Cal Fire Chief Mark Brunton said. Firefighters were also warily watch- ing for “violent” winds expected to re- turn to the Napa-Sonoma area late Wed- nesday, with continuing extreme heat and low humidity. Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger were to continue into Friday evening. Officials said they were requesting more fire crews to join 2,000 firefight- ers battling the blaze that has charred 197 square kilometres with almost no containment. Pacific Gas & Electric also cut power to another 3,100 customers in Napa County at the request of firefighters, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat re- ported. Hot weather and the potential for fire damage could stress power supplies as people switch on their air condition- ers. To avoid shortages, the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s power grid, issued a statewide Flex Alert for 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. today. It urged customers to avoid using large appliances during that time and to keep the thermostat at 78 F (25 C) or above. A mid-August heat wave strained the grid to the point where Cal ISO ordered utilities to implement brief rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001. Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in Amer- ica to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas, especially because climate change has made California much drier. A drier California means plants are more flammable. Some northern Californians say they are getting fed up with the an- nual evacuations and fire fears and are thinking of leaving. Despite their latest harrowing experience, the Conants said they plan to stay. Their landlord already told them the home will be rebuilt and offered them a trailer to stay at on the land while the house is finished, Nikki Conant said. “This is home,” she said, referring to the Santa Rosa area. “I was born and raised here, my family is here. I don’t have the heart to just give up and leave the area.” The massive blazes are also becom- ing harder to fight. On Wednesday, offi- cials said wind-whipped flames led two firefighters to deploy the emergency fire shelters they carry in case of im- minent danger from flames. The firefighters were assigned to the Glass Fire in Napa County on Sunday when gusty off-shore winds fanned the fire, forcing them to deploy the shelters after flames overwhelmed them. The firefighters covered themselves on the ground with the space blanket-looking devices. They were not injured, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. It’s the third time fire crews have had to deploy their fire shelters this month — a last-resort effort to save their lives that was once uncommon. On Sept. 8, 14 firefighters deployed emergency shelters as flames overtook them and destroyed the fire station they were defending in the Los Padres National Forest. Three firefighters were hospit- alized and later released. A day later, a crew fighting a deadly blaze in Butte County was overrun by flames when winds shifted; its members escaped with only minor injuries after deploying emergency shelters. About 241 km to the north of wine country, the Zogg Fire, which also erupted during Sunday’s high winds and grew quickly, has killed four people, Shasta County Sheriff Eric Ma- grini said. A man evacuated with severe burns Sunday died at a hospital of his injur- ies Tuesday, Magrini said. Three others died Sunday. The deadly blaze that spread to neigh- bouring Tehama County has burned 210 square-km and destroyed 146 build- ings, about half of them homes. It was seven per cent contained. The Glass and Zogg fires are among nearly 30 wildfires burning in Califor- nia. Fire-related deaths in California this year total 30. — The Associated Press ‘I thought we were going to burn alive,’ says northern California resident Wildfire evacuees return to find devastation OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ AND HAVEN DALEY HAVEN DALEY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kevin Conant and his wife Nikki hug after looking at the debris of their burnt home and business Wednesday in Santa Rosa, Calif. A_17_Oct-01-20_FP_01.indd A13 2020-09-30 10:49 PM ;