The BC Parks Service says that the provincial parks and conservancies are a “public trust” for the “protection of natural environments for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the public.” These noble sentiments are difficult to square with
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.
Tuesday night (February 4th) the City of Chilliwack passed a bylaw intended to allow the development of a
We and our allies have emphasized the many and real environmental risks of the Enbridge Pipelines and Tankers Project, the wall of opposition of First Nations, the lack of social licence among British Columbians. The National Energy Board Joint Review Panel, in its recent report recommending that the project be allowed to proceed, had to c
On Thursday, December 5, 2013, members of the Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of six First Nations in northern BC who have banned the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines from their territ
The government is currently consulting on bylaws that would continue to allow cosmetic pesticide use, as long as commercial lawn care companies or other licensed applicators apply the pesticides. British Columbians have repeatedly called for a ban on pesticides used for cosmetic purposes, and the government needs to hear that message again
Local government elections should be about communities discussing their problems, and electing people who will address those problems. Making a home-made lawn-sign or printing a few leaflets should be a basic right.
As anyone who has worked in environmental or social justice knows, sometimes change takes a very, very long time, somewhat like a glacier carving out a valley.
Recently the BC Water and Waste Association (BCWWA) posted a video of a short talk that West Coast Staff Lawyer, Deborah Carlson, gave last June to their Climate Change Committee. The talk, which is intended to be a
The Yinka Dene Alliance (YDA), a group of First Nations whose territories cover 25 percent of Enbridge’s proposed Nor
[Update - 4 Jul 2013 - Unfortunately the bee deaths in 2012 were apparently not a one time event, with reports that tens of millions of honey bees have died this summer in one town in Ontario, apparently due to exposure to neonicotinoid pesti