The many children in BC living in homes led by kinship caregivers should not be left out of the financial supports the federal government is providing to families during the COVID-19 crisis. This is why we have joined Parent Support Services Society of BC and other organizations in calling for the Canada Child Benefit to extend to … Read more Letter urging Canada Child Benefit eligibility for kinship caregivers
In these times of uncertainty where events are rapidly unfolding, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed and daunted by the challenges we must confront. Like many of you, West Coast LEAF’s staff team is in our fifth week of working remotely and maintaining social and physical distance to quell the spread of COVID-19. We … Read more Community in action: Ways you can support our most marginalized communities during Covid-19
In January 2020, West Coast LEAF added our voice to the call by Sanctuary City Vancouver and many other groups to end the three-month waiting period to access health care for people entering or returning to Canada. Read our letter to the BC Ministry of Health Medical Services Commission. Submissions
“We need, each of us, to begin the awesome, difficult work of love; loving ourselves so that we become able to love others without fear so that we can become able enough to enlarge the circle of our trust and our common striving for a safe, sunny afternoon near to flowering trees and under a … Read more Eight Black writers to check out during Black History Month and beyond
VICTORIA – Today, the provincial government released Budget 2020. While we are pleased that this budget is aimed at holding the course on earlier commitments, it still leaves BC’s most marginalized residents lagging far behind. “This budget does not go far enough to address the gendered dimensions of poverty and inequity,” says Raji Mangat, Executive Director … Read more Release: Budget 2020: Province committed to staying the course, but leaves many behind
Academics such as Anne Orford have challenged feminists who operate at the intersections of law, equality, and social justice to imagine a rights framework that avoids reproducing the pervasive and often unspoken assumptions of imperialism and patriarchy. To me, feminist governance frameworks challenge masculinist and Eurocentric approaches to labour, decision-making, and communication by calling on us to actively reimagine … Read more A feminist governance framework recipe
Read our 2019 Annual Report. to learn about West Coast LEAF’s work for gender justice in the 2018/2019 fiscal year. Publications
OTTAWA – West Coast LEAF is at the Supreme Court of Canada this morning, intervening in a case about the ability of judges in BC to ensure that children and their caregiving parent get the financial support to which they are entitled, by making changes to existing child support orders. In this important family law … Read more Release: Child support system must promote gender equality, advocacy group argues at Supreme Court of Canada
In September 2018, West Coast LEAF submitted a briefing note on Bill C-78 to ensure that proposed changes to the Divorce Act fulfill the stated goals of “promoting the best interests of the child, addressing family violence, reducing child poverty, and making Canada’s justice system more accessible and efficient” and avoid unintended and harmful consequences. … Read more Briefing Note on Divorce Act Amendments
The report highlights efforts by Indigenous families, communities, and Nations to revitalize…