L’impossible défi canadien : lutter efficacement contre les changements climatiques, exporter davantage de pétrole, respecter les compétences constitutionnelles des provinces

Abstract

At the COP 21 in Paris in December 2015, Canada announced its new colors : a 30% reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2030 compared to 2005. First, we need to look at the broad lines of the Canadian program that was designed to achieve that goal ; it is then necessary to establish a state of affairs in order to better assess the scale of the challenges that arise and the nature of the constitutional problems that are already on the horizon. While the federal government of Canada has the exclusive monopoly to enter into international treaties, this does not mean that the Parliament of Canada necessarily has all the powers required to implement Canada’s international commitments. Indeed, the implementation of the provisions of a treaty in domestic law must follow the rules of the division of legislative powers between the federal order and the provincial order. In the area of climate change and GHG emission control, it appears that the provinces have the essential legislative powers to implement commitments under the Paris Agreement and that their inaction or lack of conviction can seriously compromise the achievement of nationally agreed targets. Lawyers then seek the constitutional basis on which the central Parliament can sit to impose its GHG reduction policies nationwide. There is every reason to believe that it is through criminal regulation only that the central government can achieve its objectives.