In a joint submission, West Coast LEAF and Rise Women’s Legal Centre responded to the Ministry of Attorney General’s call for public input on Phase 2 of the Family Law Act (FLA) Modernization Project. The FLA builds off the 1979 Family Relations Act and is BC’s primary legislation on issues related to family relationships. It … Read more Joint submission on the Family Law Act Modernization Project
In a joint submission, West Coast LEAF and Rise Women’s Legal Centre responded to the BC Law Institute’s (BCLI) Consultation Paper on Parentage. The Consultation Paper suggests reforms that will update and modernize BC’s parentage laws under Part 3 of the Family Law Act (FLA). Parentage is the legal relationship between a parent and child. … Read more Joint submission to the BC Law Institute on Parentage
About the safe shelter survey The Safe Shelter Survey is a human rights awareness-raising and accountability tool to document emergency shelter access, barriers, conditions, and the harmful impacts of not having access to safe shelter spaces. It was co-designed by West Coast LEAF and the Society for Narcotic and Opioid Wellness (SNOW) as part of … Read more Safe shelter community survey
Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory, March 8, 2024 – Today’s Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision affirms the importance of protecting survivors’ equality and dignity rights in the trial process, says West Coast LEAF and LEAF. In its decision in R v Kruk and R v Tsang, the Court ruled against recognizing the proposed rule against “ungrounded common-sense assumptions” as grounding an error … Read more Supreme Court of Canada affirms the dignity of sexual assault complainants
West Coast LEAF, alongside other legal advocates, impacted parents, and front-line family support organizations, has written a letter to the Premier and Minister of Child and Family Development to voice serious concerns about amendments made to Ministry of Child and Family Development’s (MCFD’s) Out-of-Care Policy. In the fall of 2023, MCFD amended its Out-of-Care Policy … Read more Open letter on changes to MCFD’s Out-of-Care Policy on Extended Family Program Agreements
Today, we were at BC’s 2024 Budget presentation in Victoria on the unceded Coast Salish homelands of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples to hear whether the government will implement our key recommendations. Lawsuit settlement provides some much-need support, but not enough Last week, we announced a historic win as the government settled our lawsuit brought … Read more Budget 2024: Historic legal aid expansion, but lots left to do
VANCOUVER unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands – More people in B.C. will soon have a historic level of access to legal aid services, including legal representation through a new family law clinic model and a significant expansion of legal aid eligibility criteria. The Province, Legal Aid BC (LABC) and the Centre … Read more Release: $29M legal aid expansion for people experiencing family violence
Case summary This case is a human rights complaint brought by Nicholas Dinardo (Mx. Dinardo), regarding harassment and discrimination by Correctional Services Canada (CSC) on the grounds of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender identity or expression, and disability, contrary to s. 5 and s. 14 of the Canada Human Rights Act (CHRA). … Read more Dinardo v Correctional Services Canada [2023]
Vancouver, unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands – Earlier this week, the BC Supreme Court (BCSC) released a decision in Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS) v R.R. that impacts how families can hold child welfare agencies accountable for discrimination. In November 2022, the BC Human Rights Tribunal ruled that … Read more Release: BC Supreme Court confirms Human Rights Tribunal jurisdiction, but sends Indigenous mother back for a rehearing
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