Are you or your community impacted or at risk of being impacted by an environmental issue where you work, where you play sports or do recreational activities, or inside your home? If so, until December 12, 2025, you can provide input to the Government of Canada on what you want to see in the National Strategy on Environmental Racism and Justice.
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.
As BC rushes to rubber-stamp major projects aimed at boosting the economy, provincial leaders must not forget about the commitments they’ve made to ensure a healthy environment and uphold Indigenous rights.
BC Premier David Eby has joined Coastal First Nations in urging the federal government to stand firm and uphold the longstanding tanker ban. Call your MLA and Premier Eby to thank them for standing up for the coast.
The recent suite of poorly conceived and hastily passed laws in Canada not only weakened environmental safeguards; they also, to varying degrees, sidelined the processes that traditionally trigger the duty to meaningfully consult with First Nations before approving projects that could adversely affect Indigenous rights.
On October 1st, 2025, the Alberta government announced its intention to develop a proposal for a new crude oil pipeline to transport raw bitumen to the north Pacific coast. Unfortunately this idea fails to acknowledge some important realities.
This blog provides a reality-check on five key issues that must be central to the conversation about the idea of a proposed pipeline to the BC coast.
Carney once wrote that “climate change is the most pressing issue of our time.” It’s time to act like it. Canadians deserve a government that meets its climate obligations, not one that gives up on them when they become inconvenient. Anything less is a betrayal – not just of climate policy, but of future generations.
We trust our governments to make decisions for us, including making investments now that will keep our communities safe tomorrow.
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.
BC Bill 14 promises to speed up approvals for renewable energy projects. But in practice, it’s designed to power LNG exports and mining – and it could gut environmental oversight in the process.
This summer, the West Coast office has been buzzing with the addition of five law students to our team. Check out what they had to say about their time with us!