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
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
This is a complaint before the BC Human Rights Tribunal about discrimination in the family policing system…
This case is a human rights complaint brought by Nicholas Dinardo, regarding harassment and discrimination by Correctional Services Canada…
West Coast LEAF, alongside Rise Women’s Legal Centre, has made a submission to the Department of Justice as it considers establishing a new Criminal Code offence for coercive control in the context of intimate relationships. Coercive control is a form of non-physical abuse or violence that uses psychological intimidation, threats, humiliation, financial or property abuse, … Read more Joint submission on the potential criminalization of coercive control
Open letter calling on the BC government to immediately end involuntarily drug testing parents…
On June 15, 2023, West Coast LEAF appeared before BC’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to share our key recommendations for Budget 2024…
West Coast LEAF, alongside the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE), has made a submission to the Justice Committee at the House of Commons as it deliberates on Bill S-224, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons). Our submission urges the Committee to consider the danger of conflating sex work … Read more Joint submission with the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity on Bill S-224
West Coast LEAF intervenes in cases that will contribute to gender equality in British Columbia and Canada. Our current and past cases can be found on our cases page. Below we have provided some answers to frequently asked questions about our litigation work in the courts.
Case summary This case is about how courts approach credibility analysis in sexual assault cases. In this case, the complainant alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the accused while she was affected by alcohol consumption. At the BC Supreme Court, the trial judge convicted the accused of sexual assault, finding that the survivor’s account … Read more HMK v Tsang [2023]