Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Shand Power Station with a dragline in front of it on July 2, 2025. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
SASKATOON – It looks like the folks who wanted to stop coal refurbishment in its tracks are lining up for round two in the courts, after their initial injunction failed.
Saskatoon lawyer Glenn Wright filed notice of appeal in Saskatchewan Court of Appeal with regards to the Jan. 12 decision by Justice Smith which tossed the coal injunction application.
That decision, which you can read about here, was unequivocal that governments get to make these sorts of decisions, not the courts. Well, the appellants disagree.
At question: Do a 12 year old, a podcaster and someone who doesn’t even live here get to kill 1100 coal-related jobs? According the Court of King’s Bench, no, they don’t. Governments get to make those sorts of decisions, and can’t be second guessed by the courts.
Well, these applicants are taking a second round at second guessing.
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In that Jan. 12 decision, Justice Smith wrote, “Not every dispute is justiciable. Climate change is real. Therapeutic steps should be taken. This is why it is important that all citizens of the body politic elect thoughtful and intelligent people to sit in our parliament, legislature and municipal councils.
“I respectfully posit, the Court’s role is to administer justice, resolve legal disputes and interpret the Constitution and laws, acting as the independent judicial branch of government that upholds the rule of law and protects rights. It is not for the Courts to sift through the granular details with a view to directing departments and government agencies as to the appropriate steps to be taken to reach a particular goal.
“The Courts are not designed to manipulate the nuts and bolts of government action with a view to achieving policy ends. Those steps should be taken by men and women who will be answerable to the body politic for their actions.
“The Courts should be cautious and exercise deference to those who are elected and thus accountable to the people who bear the impact of those decisions.
“In sum, Courts should not be dictating to the Government of Saskatchewan what its overarching environmental policy should be. Nor should the Courts purport to decide the multiple steps to be taken to combat climate change. In fact, the Courts should not be deciding the day-to-day steps of a government, like where to put the town dump or where the bicycle lanes should be situated.
“It is appropriate to grant the relief sought by the government, namely an order under Rule 7-9 of The King’s Bench Rules striking out and setting aside the application brought by the applicants in its entirety.”
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UDPATED WITH SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIETY (SES) PRESS RELEASE:
“The Court of King’s Bench dismissed the case without allowing the full legal arguments to be heard,” says Margret Asmuss, SES President, in a Feb. 5 press release.. “We are asking the Court of Appeal to allow the case to proceed to a full hearing.”
The organization said, “Saskatchewan’s decision to extend coal-fired power generation is not an abstract policy decision. It involves concrete administrative actions, including plans to spend almost one billion dollars retrofitting aging coal-fired power stations with the explicit intention of operating them well beyond December 31, 2029 — the date by which federal law requires all conventional coal-fired power plants in Canada to cease operations. The Saskatchewan government has further indicated that these retrofitted plants are intended to operate into the 2040s.”
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“SES believes this is precisely the kind of administrative decision that should concern the courts, whose role is to uphold the rule of law and intervene when a provincial government signals an intention to defy federal law,” said Peter Prebble, SES board member and former NDP cabinet minister who once threatened to resign that cabinet post if the government pursued nuclear power generation. “Our court case involves one of the most significant climate change decisions in Canada, because coal is the most polluting form of electricity generation, and because Saskatchewan currently accounts for a stunning 24% of the greenhouse gas pollution associated with electricity generation In Canada. Curbing that pollution is urgent.”
Saskatchewan is also moving in the opposite direction from every other province, the SES said. “Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada extending the use of coal to generate electricity,” said Bob Halliday, SES Vice President. “Every other province has already phased out coal or committed to doing so by 2030.”
The SES release added, “Extending the use of coal-fired power locks in pollution, worsens climate and health risks, and exposes Saskatchewan residents to higher long-term costs by investing public money in outdated infrastructure that risks becoming stranded assets.”
“SES believes taxpayer dollars can be better spent on clean, reliable, and more affordable renewable energy solutions,” said Elaine Wheaton, SES board member.
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Here’s the guts of their notice of appeal, followed by a reply from Crown Investments Corp. Minister Jeremy Harrison. Please note there was some difficulty in getting the paragraphy numbering to match the original document:
- CITIZENS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE, KIKÉ DUECK a minor by their litigation guardian KRIS DUECK, SHERRY OLSON, MATTHEW WIENS, and the SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIETY INC. (collectively the “Appellants”) hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal from the judgment of the Honourable Justice Smith of the Court of King’s Bench dated January 12, 2026, (2026 SKKB 9) (the “Judgment”).
- The Judgment is being appealed in its entirety, particularly:
- a) The decision to strike out and set aside the Appellants’ Originating Application to set aside or quash the Respondent’s decision to refurbish and extend coal-fired electricity generation in the province to 2050 (the “Coal Decision”) at paragraph 27 of the Judgment;
- The source of the Appellant’s right of appeal and the Court’s jurisdiction to entertain the appeal is: The Court of Appeal Act, 2000, SS 2000, c. C-42.1, s7(2).
- The appeal is taken on the following grounds:
- a) There are reviewable errors in law:
- i. The Court below failed to grapple with the differences between a direct Charter challenge to the constitutional merits of state action and legislation versus an application for judicial review that probes a public decision for compliance with relevant legal and factual constraints.
- ii. The Court below erred by failing to address the legal issues raised by the Appellants’ Originating Application with respect to judicial review of the Coal Decision. The Court below failed to engage with, inter alia, the irrelevant economic analysis relied upon in the Coal Decision, the international law constraints that bear on the Coal Decision, and the obligations to phase out unabated coal under federal law by 2030, all of which were pleaded by the Appellants in their Originating Application.
- iii. The Court below erred by misinterpreting and misapplying the ratio in Dykstra v Saskatchewan Power Corporation, 2025 SKKB 175 [Dykstra], adopting Dykstra in full without analysis or comparison despite the different legal theories that distinguish Dykstra from the Appellants’ Originating Application.
- iv. The Court below erred in mischaracterizing the Coal Decision as a matter of policy rather than as a reviewable decision of an administrative decision maker.
- v. The Court below erred in determining that “the applicants cite no statute or treaty or other edict that would underpin the relief they seek.” (paragraph 16 of the Judgment). Disclosure of the record of proceedings related to an administrative decision is the normative process in an application for judicial review. The Appellants’ Originating Application and Notice to Obtain Record of Proceedings are a reasonable and effective way to seek disclosure of the record and to engage the Court in judicial review of the Coal Decision.
- b) There are reviewable errors in mixed fact and law:
- i. The Court exercised its discretion to proceed with hearing the motion to strike on the pleadings only, and in the absence of an official record. The Court failed to follow normative civil procedure for judicial review as established by case law that preliminary motions should be heard as part of the proceeding on the merits of an application for judicial review.
- a) There are reviewable errors in law:
- The Appellants requests the following relief:
- a) That this Honourable Court grant this appeal of the judgment of Justice Smith of the Court of King’s Bench dated January 12, 2026, in its entirety by:
- i. setting aside the Judgment striking the Appellants’ Originating Application;
- ii. Issuing an Order for an interim stay of the Coal Decision pending the determination of the Appellants’ Originating Application for judicial review;
- iii. Issuing an Order that the Respondent shall produce the record of proceedings pursuant to Rule 3-57 of the Court of King’s Bench Rules on an expedited basis;
- iv. directing the Court of King’s Bench to proceed with a hearing on the merits for the Originating Application on an expedited basis.
- b) That the Court order that each party shall bear their own costs in this matter.
- a) That this Honourable Court grant this appeal of the judgment of Justice Smith of the Court of King’s Bench dated January 12, 2026, in its entirety by:
- The Appellant requests that this appeal be heard at Saskatoon.
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Crown Investments Corp. Minister and Minister Responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Minister Harrison sent the following statement by email in response:
The Government of Saskatchewan notes that the Saskatchewan Environmental Society has chosen to appeal the Court of King’s Bench decision that dismissed its legal challenge to Saskatchewan’s continued operation of coal-fired generation.
The Court correctly found that this matter is fundamentally one of public policy, not something that should be decided by the courts.
Our government was elected to make decisions that put Saskatchewan people first. Extending the life of existing coal-fired power generation is about ensuring Saskatchewan families, businesses, and communities continue to have access to reliable and affordable electricity. It is also about protecting the skilled workers and families who depend on these facilities and the communities that have powered this province for generations.
We are proud of the Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan introduced this fall. This plan provides a practical, Saskatchewan-made path to the future by transitioning to nuclear power fueled by Saskatchewan uranium, while responsibly maintaining our existing coal-fired thermal plants fueled by Saskatchewan coal. This balanced approach ensures energy security, affordability, and stability for workers today, while preparing our province for tomorrow.
The unserious NDP can keep holding press conferences. We’ll keep running the power system. Saskatchewan people know exactly which one matters.
Our government will always stand up for Saskatchewan’s interests, and make decisions based on what works for this province—not ideological agendas that put reliability, affordability, and jobs at risk.
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