This column was originally published on Slaw – Canada's online legal magazine.
Environmental Law Alert Blog
Through our Environmental Law Alert blog, West Coast keeps you up to date on the latest developments and issues in environmental law. This includes:
- proposed changes to the law that will weaken, or strengthen, environmental protection;
- stories and situations where existing environmental laws are failing to protect the environment; and
- emerging legal strategies that could be used to protect our environment.
If you have an environmental story that we should hear about, please e-mail Andrew Gage. We welcome your comments on any of the posts to this blog – but please keep in mind our policies on comments.
Many of us feel some pressure, or even guilt, about our environmental footprint and our role in creating climate change. West Coast's Anjali Appadurai breaks down this common narrative and points to the need to hold Big Oil accountable for the much bigger part it has played in creating and perpetuating the climate crisis.
It’s been a while since we’ve updated you about Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker expansion project (KMX). A lot has happened in the past few months, so here’s a snapshot of where we’re at:
Political approvals
On Thursday, February 23, I appeared before the City of Victoria’s Mayor, Lisa Helps, and its Council to talk about climate accountability.
Last week, the BC NDP released its “Clean Growth Climate Action Plan.” Unfortunately for both the NDP and public debate on climate policy, much of the media coverage
On January 25, 2017 West Coast and over 50 other organizations from around BC wrote to 190 local governments asking them to take action to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in causing climate change.
The words on this button have become my mantra: “Water Is Sacred. No Pipelines.” Isaac Murdoch’s image of Thunderwoman – the same image we see on social media, at Standing Rock, at protests encouraging divestment – is doodled into my notebook, on my calendar and emblazoned on my hoodie.
In January 2016, West Coast Environmental Law Association released Keeping Our Coast Clean: Frequently asked questions about an oil tanker ban on BC’s Pacific North Coast, in response to the Prime Minister’s
From providing legal aid for communities to defend their environment, to revitalizing Indigenous laws, and holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in climate change – this year the West Coast team will continue working toward a better future for people and the environment in Canada.
Along with many other environmentalists, I found myself torn about how to react to last week’s First Ministers’ Meeting and the release of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.