From Climbing Trees to Suing the Government: Meet the Youth Activist Holding Canada Accountable

By Ashley Anthony, Education and Community Project Manager, The Climate Reality Project Canada.

Photo credit: Justin Tang

For many young people, a hobby might be soccer, gaming, or learning an instrument. For Shirley Barnea, an economics and political science student at the Université de Montréal and trained Climate Reality Leader, her hobby of climate activism has become something more unusual: helping take the federal government to court.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg and the global youth climate movement Fridays For Future, and motivated by frustration with government inaction, Barnea has grown to be one of the most familiar youth faces in the Montreal climate movement. She ran for local office, and she often organises rallies, events, and demonstrations in her city.

“I’ve organised all these protests, and more coming from that, and tried to take action any way I can think of. And now ... we’ve come to this [case],” said Barnea. “With Carney, everything we do is falling on deaf ears, and he is undoing all the progress, albeit not sufficient, but meaningful progress that had been gained in the past.”

Barnea is one of three youth applicants in a new Federal Court case, alongside Marie Maltais of Quebec City and Sophia Mathur of Sudbury. These three youth have support from Ecojustice, which launched the case on their behalf, and two ENGOs, Environmental Defence Canada and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). The group argues that Canada is failing to comply with its climate law because, after recent policy rollbacks, it no longer has a credible plan to meet its 2030 emissions target.

What the lawsuit says

The applicants are not asking the court to write climate policy for Ottawa. Instead, they want the court to order the government to bring its plan into compliance with the already existing law through a proper public process. Ecojustice says this is the first time the federal climate accountability law will be interpreted by the Federal Court.

The government’s latest official progress report, released at the end of 2025, said Canada was on track to reduce emissions by 21% to 28% by 2030, well short of the legal target. In response to the lawsuit, federal officials said Canada remains committed to fighting climate change and net-zero emissions by 2050, but declined further comment because the matter is before the courts and they have yet to rule on the claim.

A climate law with teeth 

Photo Credit: Justin Tang

The case centres around the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (CNZEAA), which came into law in 2021 and requires Canada to set legally binding emissions-reduction targets, publish plans, and report on progress toward net zero by 2050. Under that law, Canada’s 2030 target is to cut emissions by 40% to 45% below 2005 levels.

Barnea points to the 2022 Emissions Reduction Plan as evidence that Canada once had a clearer path toward its 2030 target. “The target [under Guilbeault] would have been in reach with all the measures in place and announced,” she said. “So, we’re on track for 40% reduction — the target is 40% to 45%. And then Carney comes into power and takes a wrecking ball to the whole thing without officially amending it.”

According to the applicants, the federal government’s 2022 emissions-reduction plan has not been updated to reflect a series of recent policy reversals (such as eliminating the Carbon Tax, weakening the Oil and Gas Emission Cap, and scrapping the Clean Fuels Regulations). Those changes have weakened the country’s climate strategy and left Canada off track to meet the legally mandated target.

“In practice, most of the key measures in there have been cancelled or weakened. And so, under the mandatory reporting that happened with CNZEAA, now they show that we're on track for 20% reductions.”

Barnea adds that this reporting was issued in December and doesn’t take into account the period since the start of this year. Since the government has not formally amended the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the applicants argue it has avoided the public process required under CNZEAA, including consultation with Indigenous peoples, provinces, the Net-Zero Advisory Body, and interested members of the public. According to them, weakening or repealing key measures in the roadmap for those reductions constitutes a failure by the government to meet the expectations set out in that legally binding act. “Right now, we don't have a plan that allows us to meet the target because the government's own reporting has shown we're way off track,” said Barnea.

How Barnea got here 

Photo Credit: Justin Tang

Barnea says her path began with a childhood love of nature. She later joined a school Green Team, organised climate strikes, and helped mobilise local action during the global Fridays for Future movement. She says that experience showed her the power of collective action, but also the limits of protest alone when governments do not follow through on their promises. 

That frustration is part of what pushed the applicants toward litigation. As Barnea put it, the point is not to demand one specific policy, but to force the government to adopt measures that actually add up to meeting the 2030 target. 

“It feels different from everything I've done so far because in all my past

actions, I've been yelling at the government in the hope that they will listen,” she said. “So, it's an admission of their failure to us and their abdication of responsibility towards us. And in this moment, it feels right.”

This lawsuit is part of a broader wave of climate accountability cases in Canada, but it is distinct from earlier Charter-based youth cases such as La Rose v. His Majesty the King. Because this case is built around the federal climate accountability law itself, it could become an important test of how strongly Canadian courts will enforce climate obligations already written into law.

For Barnea and the other applicants, the case is about more than legal procedure. It is about whether Canada will treat its climate promises as binding commitments or as political talking points.

Specifically for Barnea, Stephen Guilbeault’s departure from government has become symbolic of a broader political shift. “That makes it clear to me that this administration is very closed off.”

Barnea does not see litigation as a replacement for protest; rather, public mobilisation and protest still remain essential forces for political change, and not just as symbols of resistance. It was broad public pressure that helped push Parliament to pass the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in the first place, creating the legal framework now being used to challenge the government in court.

For her, even when leaders seem unwilling to listen,demonstrations keep the climate crisis in the public eye, hold media attention on broken promises, and make clear when governments are failing the people they are supposed to serve. In the end, social movements shape public opinion, influence the balance of power in elections, and can help determine what future governments are willing to do.

When Barnea talks about the lawsuit, she sounds slightly surprised by the scale of it. “It’s surreal,” the young activist said. “I still haven’t completely wrapped my head around the fact that I am suing my own government. It feels very extreme, but very cool. I’ve seen previous lawsuits go ahead and really admire the youth there. So, I feel honoured to be one of them now.” 

How to Support the Case 

Barnea hopes her story reminds everyday citizens of the power of civic duty, whether that means launching a legal challenge or simply questioning local city councillors.

If you want to support this legal battle and the fight for climate accountability, you can take action today:

• Stay Informed: Follow Ecojustice on social media or subscribe to their newsletter for live updates on the case dossier and the upcoming 2027 hearing.

• Fund the Fight: Public interest litigants do not pay legal fees out of pocket. You can directly support the legal machinery behind this case by donating to Ecojustice (and help make other cases like this possible!).

• Make Your Voice Heard: Contact your local MP to demand that the federal government honour the original mandates of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.