Facing jail over Trans Mountain protest, this lawyer asks court to consider what ‘no one wants to talk about’

Retired lawyer David Gooderham among his files on climate change at home in Vancouver, B.C. on Jan. 25, 2019. Photo by Michael Ruffolo

Retired lawyer David Gooderham, 73, may soon cap a distinguished career in law with a 28-day jail sentence for contempt of court for joining protesters who have gathered to block work on the Trans Mountain pipeline.

But he says it’s worth the risk if it gives him a chance to trigger the first-ever court hearing in Canada on the validity of the science of climate change and the implications of federal pipeline policy.

“Climate change and climate politics have brought us to the point where a defense of necessity is relevant and justified.” – David Gooderham – story by @RLittlemore #TransMountain #bcpoli #cdnpoli #TMX #climatechange #oilsands #pipelines #protests

Gooderham was arrested Aug. 20, 2018 and accused of violating an injunction by blocking access to a Trans Mountain work site in Burnaby, B.C. In interviews with National Observer and in materials presented to the court Dec. 3-4, Gooderham admitted that he sat in the path of workers who were trying to get to the pipeline. But he said he did so expressly for the purpose of trying to present the court with a “defence of necessity.” The defence is allowed in instances of “imminent peril” when, in the words of a 1984 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada (Perka v. The Queen), an offence can be “justified by the pursuit of some greater good.” MORE