In August 2016, West Coast LEAF wrote to post-secondary institutions in British Columbia about the implementation of legislation requiring them to adopt sexual violence and misconduct policies. We’re encouraged that the BC government is taking initiative to protect the rights of survivors on campus with Bill 23, the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (“the Act”), which will … Read more Letter to Post-Secondary Institutions Regarding Sexual Misconduct Policies
Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – Today a Coalition on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls responded to the Federal Government’s announcement of the national Inquiry. The Federal Government has released the names of the Commissioners and the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Inquiry. The Coalition continues to demand justice for missing and murdered … Read more Release: Coalition calls federal plan for national inquiry too vague
VANCOUVER – Today, West Coast LEAF calls on all levels of government to commit to addressing violence against Indigenous women and girls through a robust, effective national inquiry. Following decades of advocacy by Indigenous and women’s activists, the federal government finally committed to an Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. Earlier … Read more Release: Federal inquiry into missing, murdered Indigenous women lacks provincial commitment
Vancouver – On July 12, 2016 West Coast LEAF will release a new report entitled High Stakes: The impacts of child care on the human rights of women and children. The report concludes that the rights of women and children are being violated in complex and wide-ranging ways as a result of the shortage of affordable, … Read more Release: New report finds that inadequate child care violates the rights of BC women and children
In 2016, West Coast LEAF and the Canadian Centre for Elder Law created Roads to Safety, a legal handbook for older women in BC, as well as multilingual wallet cards listing sources of support. The handbook covers legal issues that older women might deal with when they have experienced violence. It explains rights and options, … Read more Roads to Safety
West Coast LEAF’s vision of gender equality includes a commitment to advancing the human rights of persons who are transgender and challenging the systemic inequalities they face. Read our letter in support of Bill M-222, an amendment to the Human Rights Code that would recognize gender identity and gender expression, which would add explicit protection from discrimination. … Read more Letter in support of the Bill M-222 to recognize gender identity and gender expression in the Human Rights Code
The Legal Strategy Coalition on Violence Against Indigenous Women has issued a press release to highlight its public statement urging full involvement of the provinces and territories in the national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women. The participation of provincial and territorial governments is essential in order to ensure coordinated efforts in responding to and preventing … Read more Release: Coalition on violence against Indigenous women statement on the importance of full cooperation with the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
On April 14, 2016, West Coast LEAF’s Executive Director and Director of Litigation appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa to offer our expert perspective on the barriers to women’s access to justice in Canada. West Coast LEAF was invited to share our expertise on these issues as part of … Read more Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on the Study on Access to the Justice System
Every year, West Coast LEAF issues our CEDAW Report Card on how BC is measuring up when it comes to international obligations under the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Learn more about this project or download the 2015 CEDAW Report Card. Publications
As a member of the Legal Strategy Coalition on Violence Against Indigenous Women (LSC), West Coast LEAF is one of 20 signatories to a statement demanding full participation of the provinces and territories in the upcoming National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The LSC calls for federal, provincial, and territorial governments to take all … Read more Statement on Provincial and Territorial Cooperation With the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
