xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories / VANCOUVER
Climate Competitiveness Strategy offers handouts to polluting industry, walks back climate action
In a world in which Canadian and international courts have found that climate change is violating human rights, lawyers at West Coast Environmental Law warn that Budget 2025 is so weak on climate it could expose the federal government to further legal risk.
The new Climate Competitiveness Strategy released in the Budget suggests the government may scrap its planned cap on oil and gas emissions and will instead double down on unproven and harmful subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The strategy also fails to reinstate the zero-emission vehicle mandate or consumer carbon price. While it mentions improving important measures like the industrial carbon levy, these commitments are overshadowed by Budget 2025’s emphasis on subsidizing fossil fuel projects like liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“The federal government appears to be walking back on climate action at a time when we need to be doubling down, and barely mentions nature at all,” said Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. “An area larger than New Brunswick burned in wildfires this summer. Climate change is taking a significant toll on communities and the economy. We need to be leaping forward, not stepping back.”
The federal government committed to cap oil and gas climate pollution in 2021 and published draft regulations in 2024 but has yet to finalize them. Recent analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute shows that we are not going to meet our 2030 target of 40-45% emissions reductions below 2005 levels. Failing to implement the oil and gas emissions cap – particularly without introducing replacement measures – would put Canada even further off track.
In addition to backtracking on key climate policies, Budget 2025 also proposes changes that would likely weaken key environmental laws such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Competition Act’s ban on greenwashing. It makes no mention of nature protection, and offers little in terms of support for emergency preparedness and recovery for those suffering from climate disasters.
“The federal government is exposing itself to legal risk by not taking stronger climate action,” said Staff Lawyer Andrew Gage. “The International Court of Justice has confirmed that states like Canada are legally obliged to reduce their emissions consistent with a climate-stable world, and Canadian courts have recognized the existential threat the climate crisis poses. Youth in Canada are already challenging the federal government in court over inadequate climate action that they argue violates their Charter rights. The federal government could spare itself costly litigation by upholding its climate obligations.”
The Green Budget Coalition, a coalition of Canadian environmental organizations including West Coast, has recommended a range of investments for Budget 2025. While there is progress on a few of these recommendations – such as $40 million over two years for the Youth Climate Corps – there are many important recommendations that go unaddressed.
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For more information, please contact:
Anna Johnston | Staff Lawyer
604-340-2304, ajohnston@wcel.org
Andrew Gage | Staff Lawyer
604-601-2506, agage@wcel.org