For the past couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Carol Liao speak in a variety of sustainability classes, roundtables, and events here at Sauder. Every time I have had the chance, I always learn something new. Having her come into COMM484 was no different. What the key thing I learned this time was the necessity of being an advocate in all fronts of any changing making process. I found this point to be particularly meaningful because I initially thought that the wins through litigation seemed very incremental and barely moved the needle in advancing higher standards for a more sustainable world and cleaner environment.What Carol said was that, sure litigation may be incremental, but it is also necessary to advance the cause. She said that whether it be through the litigation, legislation, protesting, applying labels (like the BCorp), or forming alliances (like the Sustainable Apparel Coalition) to innovate, it is necessary to attack a problem in all fronts. As someone who wants to make the most impact in the most efficient way as possible, this seemed counter-intuitive, but definitely changed my perspective.
Speaking of the law, just three days ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the carbon tax enacted by the Trudeau government is legal. This is significant and links to Carol’s lecture where she highlighted that the Supreme Court of Canada already recognizes climate change as pure fact, and does not need to be established in court. This ruling from the Supreme Court goes further to say that the federal government has a responsibility to address this issue by creating a tax and that this an issue of national importance. This is truly unprecedented in any western country and is a huge win for the Trudeau government’s climate agenda. So there may be hope after all and some good news in 2021!
Source: Government of Canada
On a personal note, as I finally graduate from Sauder after 5 years, I’ve been considering what my next steps would be and something thats in the back of my mind is law school. What I’ve learned at Sauder has been invaluable. I have been able to study how real businesses innovate to create efficient solutions as well as meaningful and sustainable change in society. However, having also minored in Political Science, I have also seen how government is able to step in an enact widespread regulation across industries. This is where I believe the law can create something meaningful, as a combination of the two that could really catalyze innovation and sustainability. So having Carol, a distinguished professor from UBC Allard Law come in to speak at this time was really insightful and helpful! After hearing her speak, I definitely see myself applying to law school and hopefully be able to make an impact afterwards.