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
In April 2016 West Coast LEAF wrote a letter calling on the Burnaby Board of Education to establish a Sanctuary Schools policy so that all parents, regardless of immigration status, can feel safe sending their children to school without jeopardizing their lives in Canada. Such a policy would also reduce barriers for undocumented women experiencing abuse because … Read more Letter in Support of Sanctuary Schools Burnaby Proposal
Read our 2015 Annual Report to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2014/2015 fiscal year. Publications
Tomorrow we release our 10th annual CEDAW Report Card. A lot has changed in BC since our last election in April 2017. A lot of promises have been made, and a lot of words spoken. This year, we are measuring whether all this talk has trickled down to make a real impact in the lives of women. … Read more Why a Report Card? CEDAW as a Tool for Accountability
VANCOUVER – Today, West Coast LEAF released its seventh annual report card on women’s rights in BC. While the situation for women in BC has seen minor improvements this year, unfortunately for many women, BC continues to fail to deliver on its responsibilities. In particular, BC has not taken action to address the ongoing violence against … Read more RELEASE: Report card finds that BC fails to make the grade in women’s equality
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
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
Case summary This case is about the ongoing struggle to have women’s reproductive work fully recognized, and to ensure that all benefit schemes for parents and pregnant women are consistent with the requirements of substantive equality. The central legal issue in this case is whether a government employer who provides benefits to women who give … Read more BC Public School Employers’ Association v BC Teachers Federation [2014]