Efforts to streamline regulatory processes are particularly prevalent when it comes to environmental laws. Problems arise when efficiency comes at the expense of environmental protection, or is simply a guise for rubber-stamping applications for potentially harmful resource extraction projects.
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.
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.
This summer, we were lucky to have five talented law students working with us on a wide range of projects related to fish habitat protection, climate accountability, fossil fuel finance, revitalizing Indigenous laws and more. They share a few reflections on their time with us.
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.
The Sue Big Oil campaign is a collaboration of British Columbians concerned about the harmful impacts of climate change on BC communities and the skyrocketing costs for local governments and taxpayers. As the campaign enters its third year this summer, we asked Staff Lawyer Andrew Gage about the progress and potential of this key campaign.
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.
The newly released Coastal Marine Strategy ushers in a new era of collaborative and sustainable management of the BC coast.
Send a thank you note to the Government of BC for releasing the province’s first Coastal Marine Strategy.
Canada must act now to establish legally binding targets and thresholds that protect marine life, as well as dedicated quiet areas of the ocean, and requirements that all offshore projects must be designed to reduce underwater noise.
Gitxaała Nation is headed back to court to make sure that BC is held accountable for aligning its laws with UNDRIP. Is BC’s legislated commitment to UNDRIP and Indigenous rights just a political promise, or is it legally enforceable?