Summary
The Social Justice Co-operative of Newfoundland & Labrador (SJCNL) and Climate Action Newfoundland & Labrador (CANL) revealed the first draft of a new “Rights of the Atlantic Ocean” bill on August 2nd, 2022, which is described as a “Bill of Rights” for the Atlantic Ocean. This bill will be brought in the city of St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador. SJCNL states that they intend this law to be used by governments to extend “personhood” to all bodies of water in and around Newfoundland & Labrador.
Patricia Johnson-Castle, a Nunatsiavummiuk (an Inuk from Nunatsiavut) and co-chair of the Social Justice Co-op of Newfoundland and Labrador, and former Director of Policy and Planning for Nunatsiavut Government (an autonomous regional and ethnic Inuit government in Northern Labrador), explains that this bill will be brought in the city of St. John, Newfoundland & Labrador, and should it bill be adopted, SJCNL and others can bring suit if the Atlantic Ocean is impacted by pollution.
The Social Justice Co-operative is a nonprofit grassroots collective out of Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. Climate Action Newfoundland & Labrador (CANL) is part of the Social Justice Co-operative of Newfoundland & Labrador (SJCNL).