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

A group of parents and kids in Vernon are celebrating, after School District 22 finally agreed to stop using pesticides to control dandelions and other “cosmetic pests” on school properties.  After years of inaction by the School District, parents used the School Act, with help from lawyers funded through West Coast’s

The Special Committee on Cosmetic Pesticides has announced that it’s going to hold its third meeting tomorrow (October 6th and several other meeting dates have also been announced), followed by the announcement that

On September 13th, 2011, the Land Use Committee A of the Capital Regional District (CRD) voted to reject a rezoning proposal that would have allowed the controversial Marine Trail Resort development, at the boundaries of the

A BC Court of Appeal decision issued earlier this month (July 5th) has confirmed that the province’s Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR) by itself provides little legal protection for fish habitat.  The RAR is the province’s primary legal

Anyone interested in rapid transit in Vancouver has until this Friday, April 22nd (Earth Day) to tell Translink what they think about the proposed Broadway line. In particular, Translink’s

Can you imagine waking up in the morning, looking out the window and being annoyed that your view is blocked by a green leafy tree?  If you live in the City of White Rock and the tree happens to be on city property you can now just apply to the City to have that eyesore removed and your view of the ocean (or whatever view you happen to look

Health Canada – through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) – is supposed to approve every pesticide used in Canada before it’s sold or used in Canada.  While the PMRA itself cautions against claims that the pesticides it approves are safe, proponents o

With the federal government’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) currently examining how it re-evaluates pesticides, it’s worth noting that at least one re-evaluation of a pesticide did not go as quickly as expected. 

 Metro Vancouver has given second reading to its new Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), and sent the plan to its member municipalities for approval.  But the plan is coming under attack