Let’s build BC back better
After COVID-19, let's build BC back better – in ways that fight climate change, inequality & injustice.
Climate and Energy
On the river’s edge
An update from a unique flood season in Ashcroft, BC, on the territories of the Nlaka'pamux and Secwépemc Nations.
Fast support for slow food: Could COVID-19 economic recovery measures strengthen local food systems in BC?
Exploring some federal and provincial frameworks that could guide stimulus in the wake of COVID-19 to support a more food-secure future
Recreating Canada
This pandemic is a stark reminder of how our economies and societies are interdependent, and how the well-being of humans, other living beings, and ecosystems, are deeply connected. Only a healthy planet can support healthy people. Once this situation passes, humanity will be called to reflect on its relationship with nature and redouble its commitment to safeguarding the natural world and rebuilding a healthy and equitable planet for all.
-Dr. Grethel Aguilar, Acting Director General, International Union for the Conservation of Nature
Haida Gwaii diesel spill highlights the importance of Caring for the Coast
Last week, a barge belonging to Taan Forest spilled 4,500 litres of diesel into Dinan Bay (Diinan Kahlii) in Masset Inlet.
How our clients are seeking environmental justice
Earth Day is a time for us to reflect on all that our planet has given to us and to celebrate those who have worked tirelessly to strengthen our relationship with the environment. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, we would like to honour and share with you some of the exciting legal initiatives we are currently supporting through West Coast’s Access to Justice program.
Earth Day then and now
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of first Earth Day in 1970, here’s a look at what things looked like then and now.
Three recent climate wins through the law
For Earth Week our climate program is celebrating three recent international wins that show what litigation and the law can do to protect our climate. While we’ve yet to see climate litigation and legal strategies of these types succeed in Canada, we believe that it is only a matter of time before courts and tribunals around the world recognize that climate change is having unacceptable impacts on human and other legal rights – impacts that require a legal response.
Nature's rights come of age – Hope on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
In 1972, two years after the alarm bell of the first Earth Day, law professor Christopher Stone made the case for legal rights for nature in Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects.
Timeline: Legal Challenges vs. the TMX Pipeline
Since the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker expansion project (TMX) was first proposed in 2013, there has been a series of legal challenges over government decisions to approve the project. Cases have been brought by First Nations, local governments and environmental groups, challenging both the federal and BC government approvals.
This infographic briefly describes some of the key legal challenges to the TMX pipeline's approvals in provincial and federal courts.