Do you, like us, think that governments and fossil fuel companies should be sued for what they have done to our atmosphere? This was one of the lenses with which we read last week’s new report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. While the report is frankly scary, we were struck by the importance of the report for future climate change litigation – and its nod to the political power of citizens. 

Last month Imperial Metals agreed to relinquish its mineral claims in the Skagit River Headwaters, about 37 kilometres east of Hope, BC, near the Canada-US border. On January 19, 2022, officials announced that an agreement was reached with the Government of British Columbia that will see Imperial Metals surrender all mineral tenures and related rights in the 5,800-hectare unprotected region of the Skagit Headwaters.

The telling of true stories is necessary to remember our collective history across the globe. Specifically, this has become clear in recent discussions about the abundant life of Semá:th Lake (also known as Sumas Lake) in the Fraser Valley of BC, which once “reached from Chilliwack into Washington State.”

Lawyers urge incoming federal government to apply a “climate justice lens” to all statutes

West Coast has reviewed the party’s ocean commitments in its election platform and assessed how they measure against the work that needs to be done. We identified a few glaring holes, many important and encouraging commitments, and several high-level statements whose effectiveness will depend on the details.

The election is over, subject to the counting of mail-in ballots in a handful of close races.* The new Parliament looks very much like the old Parliament, and many people are asking: did this accomplish anything?

This election, vote for a healthier, more just and sustainable future.

No matter where you live, it’s likely that the climate crisis has been top of mind this summer – especially with the August 9 release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. With wildfires ravaging the West Coast and the heat dome that traversed the country last month, to droughts and water shortages across most of Western Canada and the Prairies – it’s clear that we must tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crises from all angles.

**TRIGGER WARNING**

I am a staff lawyer at West Coast and I work with our Access to Justice and RELAW (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water) Programs. I am a mother, I am a daughter, and I am the granddaughter of Lottie and Isaac Lindley, who both attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Secwépemc Territory. I also work in the building and my office is #215.

Old-growth logging in British Columbia is just as controversial today as when the “War of the Woods” hit international headlines in the 1990s. The way the RCMP is continuing to use legally-questionable “exclusion zones” to restrict access in the Fairy Creek area protests is fueling the public’s confusion about these important issues.