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Why I’m suing the Ontario government over its climate inaction

I saw the effects of climate change firsthand at home in northern Ontario. Now, at 15, I’m suing the government for not doing enough to stop it. By Sophia Mathur.

My family always talked about climate change at the dinner table. My mom worked as a lobbyist for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and when I was around seven years old, I asked if I could tag along with her around Parliament. Watching her advocate for progress, I realized that climate change wasn’t just a dinner table discussion. It wasn’t just my mom’s job. It was a real issue that is affecting me, and I saw that if we work together, we can protect our future.

In northern Ontario, I live near a forest. When I was younger, I used to be able to go out and pick blueberries every summer. That’s rare now, because climate change shortened our blueberry season significantly. The changing weather also affected my family a couple of years ago during the winter. With unusual fluctuations in winter temperatures, multiple layers of ice and snow built up on our roof. The weight of this build-up was so heavy, hired contractors couldn’t even shovel it off. Our roof was at risk of collapsing, and the city of Sudbury gave my family one hour to evacuate our house. Our insurance company set us up at the Homewood Suites that night, where we stayed for six months. But a hotel can never feel like home. I was grateful we had somewhere to stay, but I missed the forest by my house, my friends in the neighbourhood, our home-cooked meals and dinner table discussions.

We found out that our roof beams had snapped under the weight of the snow and ice. Eventually, the roof would have completely caved into our bedrooms, and the walls of our house would have collapsed outwards. During the reconstruction process, the roof was installed by a crane, and everything on the second floor had to be redone, including the floor, the bathrooms and the stairs. It was haunting to visit my home and see a “condemned” sticker on the door. But, I also know that there are so many people around the world who feel even stronger effects of climate change.

As I became more involved in climate activism, I started going to rallies...

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