“It’s an absolute failure of responsibility”: Meet one of the teens suing the Ford government over its climate policy

Earlier this month, 16-year-old Zoe Keary-Matzner was one of seven young activists leading a landmark lawsuit against Doug Ford’s government over its climate policy. Represented by environmental law organization Ecojustice, they argued that the government’s emission targets, notably less ambitious than the previous government’s goals, violated their Charter rights. Justice Marie-Andrée Vermette agreed that the policies would cause “irreversible harm” but ultimately dismissed their case—a decision the group will challenge at Ontario’s Court of Appeal. Keary-Matzner, a Grade 11 student at Bloor Collegiate Institute, spoke with us about the ongoing legal battle, what teen climate activists do for fun, and her hopes and fears for the future of our planet. 

How did you first get involved in the lawsuit?
I was 12 when the case started. I was working with an organization called Fridays for Future on climate strikes, where students across the world would walk out of school in protest of government inaction. My mother, Anne Keary, is an incredible advocate with the Toronto Climate Action Network. Ecojustice reached out and asked her if I would like to be part of the case. At first, I was very nervous. I was like, “I’m 12—Should I be suing the government?” But I knew it would be a really powerful thing to do, so I said yes.

Related: This First Nation may sue the Ford government over the Greenbelt

When did climate justice first appear on your radar?
I don’t remember exactly, but by the time I was five or six, I would blow out the candles on my birthday cake and wish that climate change would stop. As I got older, I learned about how the climate crisis exacerbates existing inequalities. For example, it drives up food insecurity, which disproportionately harms Indigenous communities.

And where does the provincial government fit into all this?
When the Ford government came into power, it scrapped the previous government’s target of getting emissions to 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. This decade is critical—the United Nations says we need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. The Ontario government’s current target, which is to cut emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, is severely inadequate. So we’re arguing that this is an infringement on our Charter rights to life and security, because it will put us at serious risk in the future. We’re also arguing that it constitutes discrimination against young people and Indigenous people in Ontario, because they will be most affected.

What was it like being in court?
I had to miss class, which I wasn’t upset about. The hearings were online, so the other applicants and I joined the Zoom call at the beginning to say hello. After that, we sat together in the Ecojustice office and watched the livestream. It was pretty quiet, but we were eating popcorn and chatting a bit. It felt energizing to hear our lawyers present arguments we knew to be true. I was nervous whenever the government presented evidence, though.

The province had two experts testify that Ontario’s emissions aren’t substantial enough to contribute to global warming. What did you think of that?
It’s so annoying. It’s essentially a way to pass the buck and procrastinate. Climate change is a collective action problem, and every tonne of carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere has irreversible effects. If everyone used that argument, we would never get anywhere.

Justice Vermette ultimately dismissed the case, saying that the disproportionate effects of climate change will not be caused by Ontario’s policies specifically. How did that feel?
It was disappointing. Ford’s policies will not protect us from environmental catastrophe. Our lawyer said it best: “Ontario is bringing a glass of water to a house fire.” But the judge did agree that climate change is an existential threat to young Ontarians and Indigenous people in particular and that Ontario’s targets fall short. That’s a fairly damning indictment. The fact that she accepted all of our evidence will be helpful when we move to an appeal court.

Was the decision to appeal a difficult one?
The judge already said that our evidence is valid in the eyes of the law, and the legal understanding of what the evidence means for our Charter rights can be argued over. That could lead to pretty serious victories for us. All of the applicants were enthusiastic about moving forward. There wasn’t any sense that our fight was over. It was a setback, but it made us more determined.

What’s at stake for future generations if governments don’t tighten their climate policies?
Our safety, on a physical level. Natural disasters, heat waves, floods—these are already causing thousands of deaths and refugee crises around the world. My mom is from Australia, and in 2019 and 2020, they had a massive wildfire season. Some of our friends and family couldn’t leave their houses because of the smoke. Natural disasters also cost tens of billions of dollars to clean up. We deserve to live our lives without constant anxiety about the state of the environment.

If you could say anything to Doug Ford, what would it be?
I would say that young people are already doing everything we can. We’re exhausted. For someone with a lot of power, it’s an absolute failure of responsibility to not protect the people of your province.

Do you and the other applicants ever get together to just hang out and be kids?
Most of the applicants are from elsewhere in the province, but when we do see one another, we’ll have dinner together and wander around the city or play games. When the case was getting started in 2019, we had a big scavenger hunt around the Toronto Islands. My team won, and I’m still gloating about it. They were all in Toronto for the trial too. There were cookies involved—Ecojustice has the best snacks.

It was recently forecasted that the earth is going to break a new average temperature record in the next couple of years. How concerned are you about what’s to come?
I am naturally very worried. But being involved in climate organizing has made me much more hopeful. I can see all the different ways that people in my generation are taking action. Fridays for Future is made up of so many people I admire. For example, my friend Chloe Tse works to prevent banks and institutions from investing in fossil fuels—all while being a university student with assignments and exams. The clock is ticking, and it’s a race to get emissions down. But many of us are working tirelessly—at a local level and all across the globe.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.