Meet the N.B. woman about to testify in a federal climate trial

A high-profile trial is getting underway in Vancouver this week, as a group of young people take the federal government to court over climate change. The trial is a first of its kind in Canada. There are 15 plaintiffs from across the country, including one from New Brunswick, who say the federal government hasn't done enough to protect the planet. I was hesitant at first because it would be a lot to undertake, but it was important for Mi'kmaq people to be represented. the plaintiffs are suing the government over two main things. That their Charter 7 rights to life, liberty, and security of the person are being violated by the current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. And that the government is failing to meet its targets under the Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act. Hi, my name is Sophia. Sedaris first got involved with the case in 2019 when she was just 17 years old. Now, at age 25, she's even more concerned about the changing climate. It really is such a broad scope of how much we have been impacted in Mi'kma'ki. And specifically, the rising temperatures in New Brunswick are unprecedented. They're examples of climate change in our lifetime. and it's not natural and a perfect example are the wildfires that we had a year ago in the summertime of 2023 you know we're in New Brunswick and we don't have wildfires a lot of the medicines but also the salmon the moose you know the different species that we traditionally harvest We have to really be careful on how we harvest and hunt and fish. And we also have to keep an eye on the populations which are rapidly declining across New Brunswick and across Canada. Sedaris will testify on the third day of the trial, which is expected to last five weeks, and also call upon eight different expert witnesses. The plaintiffs aren't hoping for a financial settlement. They're hoping that the government will be legally obligated to create a climate recovery plan and to set a legal precedent.