Seniors Act on Climate
Law suit on climate action
Both ends of the age spectrum rising up for climate action
Eli Pivnick - Oct 27, 2026 Castanet
Last month, the Seniors’ Climate Witness Caravan rolled across the country in electric vehicles, from both Vancouver Island and the Maritimes, to arrive in Ottawa for the opening of Parliament. They stopped in Vernon on their way east and met other seniors taking climate action.
One thing youths and senior citizens usually have in common is they are not deeply involved in their careers or raising a family.
That gives them more time and energy to look at the world around them. One of the things they see very clearly is the growing catastrophe world-wide of climate change.
In the Okanagan, agriculture, forestry and tourism, some of our biggest industries are increasingly affected. July and August, which in the past were the most anticipated months of the year, are becoming anxiety-inducing months where we have smoke, fires and drought.
Climate scientists agree, global temperature increases beyond 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels will be catastrophic. Yet, September of this year was the second month to surpass that level. The latest U.N. report projects 2.6 C by 2100, even if countries fulfill current emission pledges under the 2015 Paris agreement. (Canada is not doing so.)
For a two-minute snap shot of what we are facing globally, you can find Australian Steve Anning’s music video, “We didn’t start the fires 2019” on YouTube [about the 2019 fires.]
This was the worst year to date for fires in Australia and seventh worst for the planet at 4.07 million square kilometres burned, more than four times the area of B.C. Forest fires are not just a disaster for people but also for wildlife as this video illustrates with the plight of one young koala.
This week, 15 young Canadian plaintiffs from seven provinces and two territories, aged 10 to 19 when the law suit began, will begin testifying in La Rose v. His Majesty the King. ( https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/canadatrial-headquarters ) [You can help them.]
It will run for four weeks in Vancouver. They are arguing Canada is putting young people’s health, safety and futures at risk by supporting fossil fuel development while repeatedly missing its emissions targets. They want the court to require the government to develop and carry out a climate recovery plan that protects their constitutional rights.
Last month, the Seniors’ Climate Witness Caravan rolled across the country in electric vehicles, from both Vancouver Island and the Maritimes, to arrive in Ottawa for the opening of Parliament. Some were arrested in Ottawa outside the Parliament buildings for refusing to move when ordered to do so.
I spoke to several of them when they passed through Kamloops, including Bill Darnell, 80, who lives in Victoria. In September, 55 years ago, Bill and 11 others sailed from Vancouver to Alaska on the fishing boat they chartered, the Phyllis Cormack, to protest the nuclear test of a U.S. weapon of mass destruction. In doing so, the group created Greenpeace, named by Bill on that voyage.
“We have benefited greatly from fossil fuels but they are now killing us.” Bill said. “We want the government to act in the best interests of our children, grandchildren and generations not yet born. Are we going to create a future with renewables and harmonious relations with our more-than-human kin? We will respect the federal government but we won’t go away. We want to make people aware that they are not alone. Eighty per cent of Canadians feel the same way. We need to think about this rationally, share our grief and work together. With disasters like the fires in Summerland, B.C. this summer, people shared, helped each other and sacrificed. Our abuse of the environment is a long term threat to our existence and that of literally millions of other species, all woven together in our existence.”
A new study from Simon Fraser University predicts the cost to Canada of hotter temperatures will be $46 billion by 2100. On the other hand, the International Renewable Energy Agency has determined that keeping temperatures within 1.5 degrees will deliver $47 trillion U.S. in cumulative economic gains for the world by 2050.
Globally, fossil fuel burning is the number one cause of climate change. However, in B.C., forests are the number one cause—both deforestation and fires. The NDP (government’s) response in the past year was to increase logging in 2027 and there is no indication the new Conservative government will do anything differently. Both parties’ policies are also to increase LNG production, while Alberta is pushing hard to increase oil production—all of that with the active support of the federal government using taxpayer dollars.
The Climate Action Tracker rates Canada’s climate action policies as “critically insufficient,” its lowest ranking.
One optimistic note in B.C. is that electric vehicles made up 25% of new car purchases (so far) this year. Traditionally, B.C governments on the right of the political spectrum ignore environmental concerns. Lately, neither party has paid much attention.
Also, neither party has shown much concern for our growing debt. One thing is sure though. If we do not deal with climate change, our debt will grow faster and faster as the costs of climate change begin to bite harder.
Eli Pivnick
Eli lives in the north Okanagan near Vernon and has a PhD in insect ecology from Université Laval in Quebec City. He has conducted insect research in the Canadian Prairies for the National Research Council, Agriculture Canada and Parks Canada. He has worked as a wilderness guide and wilderness skills instructor and has explored many parts of Canada by canoe. He recently retired from 20 years of teaching high school, mainly on First Nation reserves in northern Ontario and in Saskatchewan. He currently spends a lot of his time working with two Vernon-area environmental groups, writing, educating, lobbying and organizing for climate action. He is a dedicated hunter, angler, forager, birder, canoeist, and skiier and is happiest in Nature.
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