Does Canada’s Pest Control Product Act protect farm workers?
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 It has been said that the measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. So when I recently testified the House of…
other issues
Financial Clout v. Right to Speak Out
Friday, February 13, 2015 “The right to speak is more precious than gold”. Members of the Wilderness Committee displayed these words proudly on the steps of the Supreme Court of…
Is this glass half full, and what should it cost?
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Last Thursday (February 5th) the BC government unveiled its new pricing framework for water use in BC. The new pricing for BC water was undertaken after…
Kinder Morgan v. Freedom of Speech
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 To what extent does our society afford us a right to freedom of expression? This is a question Mr. Alan Dutton must be quizzically trying to…
Top Environmental Law Alerts of 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014 It’s been a busy year – with West Coast sounding the alarm on some major changes to BC’s laws and analyzing and commenting on other legal…
Lost in translation on Burnaby Mountain
Tuesday, December 9, 2014 It’s a bit over twenty years since I was arrested, along with 300 other people who stood on the Kennedy Lake Road on August 9th, 1993,…
Happy 40th birthday, West Coast Environmental Law
Monday, November 17, 2014 This year, West Coast Environmental Law is proud to celebrate our 40th anniversary and the many accomplishments the organization has achieved over the past four decades.…
Leading Haida Lawyer and Gitanyow Hereditary Chief Joint Winners of 2014 Andrew Thompson Award
Friday, November 14, 2014 The winners of the 2014 Andrew Thompson award were announced at our 40th anniversary celebration last week. The award was established in 2002 by West Coast…
Canada-China Free Trade Agreement is not the end of environmental law
Monday, November 3, 2014 Since FIPPA was ratified we’ve received several inquiries asking what the ratification means for the environment. While the FIPPA provisions are certainly alarming, we do not…
Proposed BC Societies Act could invite litigation against non-profits
Thursday, September 18, 2014 We believe that BC’s incorporated societies – community development organizations, church groups, secular groups, community organizations, hunting groups, and, yes, environmental organizations such as West Coast…
Who writes Canada’s Environmental Laws?
Wednesday, September 17, 2014 We’ve written before about the apparent and unacceptable influence of the oil and gas industry on Canada’s environmental laws, which may have extended to a suggestion…
Weakening BC’s environmental laws risks eroding social licence for Government’s Cleanest LNG goals
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 Several of the most contentious changes to environmental laws passed during the 2014 spring session of the BC Legislature seem to have been developed, and pushed…
Challenging U.S. Coal to China from Texada Island, BC
Friday, June 13, 2014 Should BC be used to trans-ship American coal to China? Who gets to decide? And what does that mean for our environment? These issues and others…
“Certainty” for Fish Farms Could Mean Uncertain Future for Fish
Monday, April 28, 2014 New regulations under the Fisheries Act allow Canada’s Fisheries and Environment Ministers to give blanket authorization to cause pollution in fish habitat in a range of…
The lowdown on changes to BC’s environmental laws
Monday, April 14, 2014 The current session of the BC Legislature has kept us quite busy. While we’ve had occasion to discuss several bills in our Environmental Law Alert, we…
Bill 24 – Agricultural Land Commission Amendment Act: Undermining BC’s Food Security
Thursday, April 10, 2014 Following hot on the heels of the controversial Park Amendment Act (Bill 4), the BC government has introduced another bill that would open up some of…
Urgent: Act now to protect Canada’s wild fish
Friday, March 14, 2014 Since 2012, the Canadian government has systematically gutted its laws protecting fish. First, it amended the federal Fisheries Act, dramatically weakening protection of fish and fish…
The world is better when charities are heard
Friday, February 7, 2014 You may have heard our sister organization, the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation, mentioned last night on CBC’s Power and Politics; Power and Politics discussed…
Some applause for administrative penalties
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 A current BC Ministry of Environment public consultation on "administrative penalties" under the Environmental Management Act and the Integrated Pest Management Act is a good thing…
Canadians have a right to know about fracking, tar sands chemicals
Friday, January 17, 2014 Canadians may soon know more about the chemicals being used to extract bitumen from Alberta’s tar sands, thanks to West Coast Environmental Law and our colleagues…