The Human Rights Commissioner intervened in the Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation's cases challenging the Province's registration of mineral claims on their territories with no prior consultation. As an intervenor, her role was to assist the court and is independent from the parties.
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.
After three years of deliberations, engagement, and drafting, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs established the Gitanyow Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process (GWSAP) in 2020.
Last month, the West Coast team attended the UN Biodiversity Conference (aka COP15) in Montreal, where we pushed for meaningful action from our governments to better respect and protect nature.
On December 15th and 16th, Justice Ross of the BC Supreme Court heard from a wide range of applicants seeking permission to intervene in an important legal challenge launched by the Smgyigyetm Gitxaała and Gitxaała Nation (Gitxaała).
Reflections from our RELAW* Retreat: Indigenous Law in Story
(Retreat 1 of 3: November 14–17th, 2022)
*Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air & Water
West Coast lawyers are on the ground at the most important nature conference of the century
Standing under the towering presence of a 600+ year old being, a hushed awe permeates the group. As we silently recognize the magnificence of this life form, I suspect I am not the only one who longs to hear the stories this tree carries.
nʔaysnúlaʔxw iʔ k̓̓łluxwnwixwmntət (Ashnola Declaration)
On April 28, 2022, the sməlqmíx, the syilx people of the Similkameen Valley, declared the nʔaysnúlaʔxw snxaʔcnitkw (Ashnola Watershed) in its entirety and for all future generations an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA).
Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRT) has produced a short video sharing some of the work it has been doing over the past five years through its RELAW project.
This joint op-ed was originally published in the Globe & Mail on April 14, 2022.