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

In 2024, West Coast Environmental Law is celebrating our 50th anniversary – marking five action-packed decades of legal research, advocacy and action in service of nature and communities. 

British Columbians are heading to the polls on October 19th, and BC Election 2024 campaigns are in full swing. Not sure what to say when your candidates come knocking? Our lawyers have put together a list of five questions for BC election candidates about a few key priorities for nature and communities.

How can we stop stormwater from harming fish? We look at some of the ways that governments and communities can start filling regulatory gaps and implementing creative solutions for stormwater planning to reduce harm now.

Urban pollution is killing salmon and hurting local waters. Who is responsible? We explore sewage and stormwater in urban settings; how polluted stormwater affects urban creeks and fish; and how stormwater still exists in a regulatory no-man’s land.

Throughout West Coast’s history, we’ve been committed to transforming the legal landscape in ways that are more sustainable, more democratic and more just. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we’re reflecting on five key moments that have made the organization into what it is today.

A once in a decade opportunity: Have your say about how Metro Vancouver and its member communities manage wastewater and stormwater.

As Indigenous Peoples Day approaches on June 21, 2024, the RELAW (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air & Water) team wanted to take this moment to reflect on the significance of this day and the rich cultural heritage it celebrates.

West Coast Executive Director and Senior Counsel Jessica Clogg spoke with Nuxalk Hereditary Chief Smawn (Richard John Hall) about coastal and ocean conservation in accordance with Nuxalk Ancestral Law, and the importance of decolonizing ocean spaces.

Get to know Staff Lawyer Deborah Carlson and West Coast Environmental Law's Liveable Sustainable Communities, where she works with communities in BC to develop legal frameworks that support healthy, low-impact urban areas, and community-based planning processes that start from our connection to the natural environment. The program also focuses on climate change challenges and how communities can adapt and thrive with ecosystem-based responses.

Our RELAW (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water) program has reached its eight-year milestone. Read along as we reflect on powerful themes from our collective learning and celebrate eight years of making an impact.