Old-growth logging in British Columbia is just as controversial today as when the “War of the Woods” hit international headlines in the 1990s. The way the RCMP is continuing to use legally-questionable “exclusion zones” to restrict access in the Fairy Creek area protests is fueling the public’s confusion about these important issues.
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.
On June 9th I appeared as a witness before the Senate Energy, Environment and Natural Resource Committee to speak about Bill C-12, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.
“Our ancestors knew that their survival depended on clean water and taking only what was needed. Indigenous peoples lived by the natural laws of the land and waters, and that allowed our societies to thrive.” - Bev Sellars, Elder and former chief, Xat’sull Nation
West Coast’s climate team was talking recently with an Environmental Coordinator with a BC local government when she mentioned – almost casually, although she was clearly upset – that most of the funding that her community has for climate change adaptation and planning had disappeared for next year.
This World Oceans Day, let’s create a wave of momentum for a Blueprint for the Coast
In 1992, Canada first proposed the idea of a World Oceans Day at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, as a day to encourage protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. Twenty-nine years later, on World Oceans Day 2021, the message of World Oceans Day is needed now more than ever in British Columbia.
All of us can benefit from respectfully learning about Indigenous stories on the territories we live, work and play on. Whether you are Indigenous or not, this blog is for you.
“Could we have the bill, please?”
In November 2020, the federal government introduced new legislation to help ensure that Canada meets its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.
This month, we spoke with BC-based novelist William Deverell about his new book, Stung – the latest political-legal thriller in his popular series following lawyer Arthur Beauchamp.