In July 2016, West Coast LEAF wrote to Michelle Stilwell, Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation, to call for an end to the clawback of maternity leave and parental leave EI benefits from assistance payments for parents who are designated as Persons with Disabilities (PWD). Deducting maternity leave and parental leave benefits from disability assistance has … Read more Letter opposing the clawback of maternity and parental leave benefits from disability assistance
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
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
We wrote to the BC Minister of Health to urge the province to immediately eliminate the three-month waiting period for newly arrived migrants to access provincial healthcare coverage. This policy disproportionately affects women, especially those women who require pre-and postnatal care, and contravenes the rights to equality and security of the person guaranteed by the Charter … Read more Letter on eliminating the waiting period for migrant healthcare coverage
West Coast LEAF provided a written submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee to inform the Committee’s preparation of a General Comment on Article 6 (Right to Life) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). We made this submission in order to ensure that the right to life under the ICCPR reflects … Read more Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on Article 6 (Right to Life)
We wrote to TransLink enquiring about their priority seating policy for transit vehicles. In particular, we urged TransLink to consider ensuring that public transit is accessible to all by creating priority seating designation for pregnant passengers. Read the letter. (PDF, 427 KB) Read TransLink’s response. (PDF, 2 MB) Submissions
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 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]
