{"id":2028,"date":"2026-10-17T17:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2026-10-17T17:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:13:15","slug":"statement-la-rose-v-his-majesty-the-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/?p=2028","title":{"rendered":"Statement – La Rose v His Majesty the King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children in Canada Like Everyone Have the Right to Security of the Person Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: La Rose vs His Majesty the King (Trial Commencement: October 26th<\/sup>, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Release Date:  October, 2026
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Defence for Children International \u2013 Canada echoes and amplifies the La Rose Educator Discussion Guide (here<\/a>), which clearly explains the lawsuit that 15 young people have brought against the Government of Canada.<\/p>\n

The climate emergency is here. Credible climate science confirms that Canada is warming at roughly twice the global average. In September 2026, the United Nations Environment Program reported that the world will likely pass the 1.5\u00b0C limit within the next few years \u2013 and that overshooting it risks irreversible harm, including sea-level rise and biodiversity loss that cannot be undone.<\/p>\n

As the young people in La Rose tell us, it is children and youth who are \u2013 and who will be \u2013 harmed most by Canada’s failure to act swiftly in the face of the climate emergency. Their claim is that this failure threatens the constitutionally guaranteed rights to life, liberty and security of the person under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter).<\/p>\n

We have reviewed this case. We have read about the lives of the young people who brought it forward. And we know what the law requires. Under section 7, a restriction of security of the person must have a “serious and profound effect” on psychological integrity, assessed “with a view to [its] impact on the psychological integrity of a person of reasonable sensibility” (New Brunswick (Minister of Health and Community Services) v. G. (J.), [1999] 3 S.C.R. 46, at para. 60). For DCI-Canada, the answer to the question whether these young people are possessed of “reasonable sensibility” in relation to the dangers and impacts of climate change is a resounding “Yes.” What the young people have to say is reasonable. It is important. It informs us. And those with the power to give effect and meaning to their constitutionally guaranteed rights must listen to them carefully.<\/p>\n

The reasonable sensibility of youth \u2013 and the requirement that we listen to what young people have to say \u2013 does not begin and end with climate change. Young people should, and can, inform decision-makers in every arena where state action affects their lives: child protection, youth criminal justice, mental health law, immigration law, the list is long.<\/p>\n

What we want the youth in La Rose to know is this: DCI-Canada is listening. We are watching. And we are learning. Thank you for leading, and for demanding crucial, tangible, and immediate respect for life, liberty and security of the person under the Charter. These are not just words spoken to judges in a courtroom. For us at DCI-Canada, life, liberty and security of the person are entrenched constitutional commitments that help our democracy honour respect in three ways: for each other, for our young people, and for the foundations of life on our beautiful planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children in Canada Like Everyone Have the Right to Security of the Person Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms Re: La Rose vs His Majesty the King (Trial Commencement: October 26th, 2026) Release Date:  October, 2026 Defence for Children International \u2013 Canada echoes and amplifies the La Rose Educator Discussion Guide (here), which clearly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dci-canada.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}