Tomorrow, October 4, is the annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil. This is a day to honour and remember Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people; those we have lost to ongoing colonial and misogynistic violence across Turtle Island (otherwise known as North America). The Native Women’s Association of Canada describes the vigils as a … Read more One Mouth and Two Ears: Setting Intentions for the Sisters in Spirit Vigil
West Coast LEAF has long been a trans-inclusive organization – to some extent. Since 2003, we have explicitly defined “women” as encompassing all those who define themselves as women, whatever their sex assignment at birth. The hard part for us in recent years has been whether and how to include people who don’t define themselves as women; … Read more The Feminist Tent
VANCOUVER – West Coast LEAF welcomes the Supreme Court of Canada’s judgments, released today, in two cases concerning admissions to a proposed law school at Trinity Western University (“TWU”), an Evangelical Christian university located in Langley, BC. The Court ruled that the mandatory Covenant at TWU creates inequitable barriers to entry to their proposed law … Read more Release: Supreme Court Says No to Discriminatory Law School Admissions
COAST SALISH TERRITORY – VANCOUVER – Members of the BC Coalition on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (the coalition) are deeply disappointed that Canada has granted only a six-month extension to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (the inquiry). Many Indigenous, civil society, and front-line service organizations supported the … Read more Release: National inquiry six-month extension “too little, too late,” say coalition members
VANCOUVER – This morning, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (“Inquiry”) begins the first of four days of expert hearings. West Coast LEAF is in Quebec City for the hearings, which are focused on understanding a human rights framework for the Inquiry’s work. The Inquiry has a mandate to identify and examine … Read more Release: Changes to National Inquiry needed to meaningfully meet its mandate
As a legal organization with standing in the institutional and expert hearings in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, West Coast LEAF wrote to the Inquiry’s Chief Commissioner Marion Buller to express concern about the rushed, incomplete, and procedurally flawed process for the hearings. We noted that many Indigenous organizations, vital … Read more Letter regarding the process for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
VANCOUVER – Yesterday, the BC Court of Appeal (BCCA) released its judgment in a case about discrimination against Vancouver’s street homeless population. The Court upheld the 2012 dismissal of a human rights complaint brought on behalf of the population of homeless in downtown Vancouver. In many ways, this case is about equal access to human rights protections … Read more Release: BC Court Decision Leaves Street Homeless Vulnerable
Read our 2017 Annual Report. to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2016/2017 fiscal year. Publications
On December 6th, 2017, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, West Coast LEAF issued our 9th annual CEDAW Report Card, assessing BC’s progress in nine key areas impacting women’s human rights, including access to justice, economic security, affordable housing and child care, and women’s health and safety. Government inaction in all of … Read more 2017 CEDAW Report Card
VANCOUVER – Today, West Coast LEAF released its ninth annual report card on the rights of women in BC. While BC has pulled up its grade in seven of the nine key areas this year, the report card still shows a serious need for improvement in order to fulfill international commitments on women’s human rights. The … Read more Release: BC still not making the grade in women’s equality, despite modest improvements
