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.

2020 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

As summer draws to a close, West Coast is saying goodbye to another cohort of dedicated summer law students who have contributed to our legal programs over the past few months. Each year we host a new group of lawyers-to-be, who assist greatly with legal research, developing educational resources, legal aid support and more.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) come in many shapes and sizes, and are created under a welter of different laws.

The response to plastic needs to be drastic!

Imagine it’s summertime, and you’re having a backyard barbeque with some friends. You have some beers, a little something sizzling on the grill and maybe some fresh seafood. Sounds enticing, right?

This election, who we vote for matters more than ever. Not just for our country, but for our children’s future and the health of our planet.

Zero charges, one recent conviction, two overdue reports – the numbers tell the story on fish habitat protection law enforcement in Canada

Law reform is our specialty at West Coast Environmental Law.  We work at all levels of government to transform the legal landscape and strengthen the laws that affect land, air and water.

Canada’s approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project this week is a glaring reminder that the endangered orcas of the Salish Sea may still go extinct. People concerned about a southern resident killer whale population that has dipped to 76 should keep fighting this bad decision, which could push these beloved orcas over the edge.

Efforts to protect BC’s northern coast go back half a century and are not to be taken lightly as the Senate considers killing Bill C-48.

At Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald famously referred to Canada’s Senate as a chamber of sober second thought. One, he said, that “will never set itself in opposition against the deliberate and understood wishes of the people.”

Sir John A. should be turning in his grave.

May 3rd, 2019 was a great day for climate action.