Cities should be inclusive, welcoming places where people’s basic needs are met. Women who are accessing services to deal with the impacts of violence must not have to choose between their safety and their liberty. West Coast LEAF is calling on the City of Vancouver to become a “sanctuary city” in which everyone can access … Read more Letter on the Sanctuary City Policy
Read our 2014 Annual Report to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2013/2014 fiscal year. Publications
On the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, we joined dozens of other human rights organizations, legal groups, women’s equality organizations, ethno-cultural groups and many more calling on the federal government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, … Read more Letter urging Canada to take action on torture
Case summary Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) v Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) started as a human rights complaint against the DVBIA for their treatment of people who are homeless in the downtown core of Vancouver. In particular, it was concerned with the “removals” of this population from sidewalks and city parks by … Read more VANDU v DVBIA [2014]
We signed on to this open letter opposing the federal government’s move to allow provinces to restrict access to social assistance for refugee claimants and others who have not yet been granted permanent residence. We believe that to deny social assistance based on immigration status is to cruelly deny the most vulnerable in our society … Read more Letter on Bill C-43 restricting access to Social Assistance for refugee claimants
Read our 2013 Annual Report to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2012/2013 fiscal year. Publications
Case summary Inglis concerns the constitutionality of the 2008 closure of the mother-baby program at Alouette Correctional Centre for Women. The program accommodated women who gave birth during their prison terms. Infants were allowed to stay with their mothers in the months after their births, giving them time to bond, breastfeed and develop familial attachments. The … Read more Inglis v Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General of BC [2013]
In our annual submission to BC’s Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, we called on the BC government to prioritize women’s equality in the upcoming budget by, among other things, investing in legal aid, implementing the recommendations of the Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry, and increasing funding to prevent and respond to male violence … Read more Submission to the 2014 Budget Consultations
Read our 2012 Annual Report to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Publications
Read our 2011 Annual Report to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2010/2011 fiscal year. Publications