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

The High Seas Treaty will govern areas of the ocean that are beyond national jurisdiction. Canada has signed – but not ratified – this important international agreement. Send a message to your MP and federal Ministers urging them to ratify the High Seas Treaty without delay!

Parliament passed Bill C-5 giving the federal government sweeping powers to fast-track projects deemed to be in the “national interest.” We’ve set out seven non-negotiable criteria for what truly counts as being in the national interest.

This Canada Day we are reflecting on the values that we need most to stand up in this moment and the history we need to learn from. Here is what some of our staff have to say.

Check out a list of ten questions you can ask to find out where your federal election candidates and their parties sit on key priorities for climate, nature and communities.

Take the pledge today and tell parties that this federal election, you are voting for a resilient, sustainable and fair Canada.

Know a young person who has made important contributions to environmental justice in BC, and/or who has a vision for how strong Canadian and/or Indigenous laws could contribute to ecological and community resilience in BC over the next 50 years. Nominate them to be recognized as a Young Changemaker for Environmental Justice!

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. 

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.