Media Releases

Commitment to sustainability, public participation and reconciliation essential in next-generation assessment law

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – West Coast Environmental Law Association is pleased to see today’s announcement that the BC government has refused to grant an environmental assessment certificate for the proposed KGHM Ajax open-pit gold and copper mine.

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 – 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.

OTTAWA – A coalition of environmental groups will host a reception and panel discussion next week to discuss vital reforms needed to strengthen environmental assessment in Canada.

OTTAWA - Leading environmental organizations, Indigenous nations and prominent people in Canada are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and the federal government to restore protection for 99% of all lakes and rivers in Canada.

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.

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Canada’s plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) will require substantial changes in how we make decisions affecting water, according to a

Fifty years ago, on the centennial of confederation, Chief Dan George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation said:

"Oh Canada, how can I celebrate with you this centenary, this hundred years?"

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – Following the release of the federal government’s discussion paper

Proposed changes to Fisheries Act and National Energy Board encouraging, but environmental assessment and Navigation Protection Act reforms fall far short, say environmental lawyers

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

VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories - The report released today by the Expert Panel on the Modernization of the National Energy Board (NEB) contains a mixed bag of recommendations to significantly overhaul Canada’s sys

Ottawa, ON – Today, 21 leading charities and non-profit organizations reacted to a new independent Expert Panel Report by requesting the federal government immediately table a bill to implement

Environmental lawyers say Expert Panel report should be a floor, not a ceiling

Williams Lake, BC – MiningWatch Canada today filed a private prosecution against the B.C. government and the Mount Polley Mining Corporation for violations of the federal Fisheries Act in connection with the largest mine waste disaster in Canadian history.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Jan. 9, 2012) - A poll released today by BC environmental groups shows that almost 75 percent of British Columbians are worried about foreign investment in Canadian natural resources.

VANCOUVER.

District of Central Saanich repeals bylaw, pays court costs for neighbourhood group

VICTORIA – This morning Chief Roland Willson and the entire Council of the West Moberly First Nations will walk into the Courthouse in Victoria, BC to ask the BC Supreme Court to overturn mining permits in the critical habitat of an endangered caribou herd.

Vancouver - For the past 20 years the West Coast Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund (EDRF) has provided legal support to British Columbians seeking to protect their environment.