Media Releases

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Environmental lawyers are celebrating the news that Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, has passed the House of Commons.

VICTORIA – On Saturday, April 14, 2018, the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) voted to send a climate accountability letter to Chevron, Exxon and 20 fossil fuel companies.

Local government association to vote on climate accountability

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories - Lawyers from the West Coast Environmental Law Association applaud the Liability for Climate Harm Act, 2018, introduced today in the Ontario Legislature today by Peter Tabuns, MPP, the Environment and Climate Change Critic for the Ontario NDP.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories - Today, the BC government announced that it is initiating a reference case to confirm the scope of provincial authority to protect BC from the risks of a diluted bitumen spill.

Amendments needed to fulfill government’s promise to restore public trust in environmental decisions

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Six years after the habitat provisions of the federal Fisheries Act were gutted, West Coast Environmental Law Association is pleased to see full habitat protection finally restored for all fish across Canada.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – West Coast Environmental Law applauds a new provincial plan announced today to restrict the transportation of diluted bitumen in BC unless the science shows that spills can safely be cleaned up.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Today’s announcement that New York City is suing fossil fuel companies for local climate impacts is a “game changer” for climate accountability, says West Coast Environmental Law.

VANCOUVER — BC’s Oil and Gas Commission withheld a report from the public for four years showing that 900 gas wells could be leaking methane - a finding that highlights why a public inquiry into oil and gas industry fracking operations is needed. 

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Lawyers with Vancouver-based West Coast Environmental Law congratulated Peruvian farmer, Saul Luciano Lliuya, for yesterday’s court win against German coal giant, RWE.

VANCOUVER – A promised “review” of natural gas industry fracking operations should be broadened to a full Public Inquiry that examines all aspects of the dangerous gas extraction technique, says a coalition of community, First Nation and environmental organizations.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Lawyers at West Coast Environmental Law are pleased to see the progress the federal government has made in marine conservation over the past two years, which was highlighted today during an

VICTORIA, BC – Last night the City of Colwood became the fourth municipality on southern Vancouver Island to demand accountability from fossil fuel companies for local climate impacts.

VICTORIA, BC – Last night the City of Victoria voted nearly unanimously to send a "Climate Accountability Letter" to 20 of the world's largest fossil fuel companies, asking the companies to pay their share of the municipality's climate costs.

Time is running out to fend off extinction

Vancouver, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Today environmental leaders from across Canada will converge at ground zero for the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tankers project, on the water in Burrard Inlet.

Unceded Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver BC - British Columbians deserve the same federal climate review for the Kinder Morgan pipeline project as was promised for Energy East, says a diverse group of BC First Nations, local groups and citizens.

SMITHERS, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Today a broad range of groups including northerners, Indigenous organizations, local governments, labour unions and environmental groups, are sending a strong message of support for Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.

VICTORIA, BC – Last night the Council of the District of Saanich voted unanimously (7-0) to send a “Climate Accountability Letter” to 20 of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies, asking the companies to pay their share of the municipality’s climate costs.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – The BC government has revealed a series of steps aimed at defending the coast and communities from the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project, with a focus on ensuring that the Province meets its constitutional obligations to consult and accommodate In

VICTORIA, BC – The West Coast Environmental Law Association applauds the District of Highlands, a Southern Vancouver Island municipality, for sending a “Climate Accountability Letter” to 20 of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.

Proposed changes add some wind to the law’s sails; more needed for rough waters ahead

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – A new backgrounder released today by West Coast Environmental Law Association outlines concrete legal strategies that British Columbia could employ to stand up to Kinder Morgan and defend the environment, communities and the climate from the risks associa