Each year, our staff lawyers provide hundreds of hours of legal information and advice to individuals, community groups, non-profit organizations, and First Nations facing environmental justice and environmental health problems in British Columbia. We want to help you understand your legal options so you can better protect the health of your environment and community.
Our legal advice program consists of a phone call or email to help you understand the law and the legal options you have to address an environmental concern, and occasionally formal representation.
If you think you may be impacted by an environmental issue but are unsure how the law can help you, please contact our Access to Justice team by completing the form here.
If you have any questions about the form, or if you are not able to fill it out online, please give us a call or send us an email.
Email: legalaid@wcel.org
Phone: (604) 684-7378 ext. 229
Toll-free in BC: 1 (800)-330-9235 ext. 229
Any individual, community group, NGO, non-profit organization and/or First Nation within the province of BC can request legal advice through this program.
Accessing free environmental legal advice
- Contact us using the information above, and we will set up an intake call to learn the details of your concerns and identify how we can support you and/or your community.
- The Access to Justice staff lawyers will review the information you share with us, identify the relevant laws and what next steps may exist to remedy your concerns.
- We will either provide you with basic legal information or advice, or we may refer you to a private lawyer with expertise in the area of law you require.
- If your concern is outside of our scope of expertise, we will suggest another organization or lawyer to reach out to.
We’re here to help you explore the legal issues and identify possible legal options to address your environmental concerns, including those connected with human health, community well-being and traditional cultural practices.
Sometimes the legal issues involved aren’t obvious – don’t worry about having it “all figured out” before you contact us! We can discuss your situation over the phone and can work with you to understand your goals, explore the legal issues and identify possible legal options to address them.
If our staff determine that an issue requires more than basic legal advice, we may encourage you to apply to our Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund and/or refer you to a private lawyer. We will never discuss information you share with us with anyone outside of West Coast Environmental Law without your consent.
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Please note that we are an environmental organization and we will not provide legal advice for matters that, in the opinion of our staff, are contrary to the environmental objectives of West Coast Environmental Law. Any legal advice given by West Coast Environmental Law staff is subject to our legal advice policy.
Top photo: Province of BC
