West Coast Environmental Law was thrilled when the BC government tabled Bill 32, the Protection of Public Participation Act on May 15th, and nobody was happier than those of us in the
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.
Has the north coast oil tanker ban stalled in Parliament?
On March 20th, 2017, the New Zealand government enacted legislation recognizing the Whanganui River as a legal person, holding rights and responsibilities equivalent to a person.
As neighbouring US jurisdictions like Washington State move to ban fish farming on the Pacific coast and ‘Namgis First Nation
The neighbour of a composting facility is sued by its owner when she complains about odours and pests. An elderly couple arguing that a trail across private property is public receive a threatening letter from a lawyer telling them that they will be sued if they don’t stop talking about the trail.
On January 30th, 2018, the BC government decided to drop the private prosecution launched by Bev Sellars into the Mount Polley disaster. Through her private prosecution, Bev, a grandmother and former chief of the Xat’sull First Nation, gave the provincial government a second chance to show that BC can enforce its own environmental laws.
When it comes to implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, lawyers have unique responsibilities; Calls to Action 27, 28, 29 and 50 are particularly instructive. Today, my colleague Maxine Hayman Matilpi and I reflect on what this means for us as legally trained individuals, our public interest law organization and legal pluralism in Canada.
“Politicians grant the permits, but communities grant permission.” – Justin Trudeau
Wild salmon just can’t seem to catch a break right now.
“WE STILL HERE!” belts out JB the First Lady in the Wise Hall. “WE STILL HERE!” echoes the audience.