West Coast LEAF joins 14 groups and organizations in opposing Vancouver City Council Motion B4 “CCTV Cameras for the Purpose of Public Safety and Deterring and Solving Violent Crime.” Motion B4 lacks any grounding in evidence-based practices regarding the use of surveillance as a deterrent to crime or investigatory tool for policing. It also involves no … Read more Joint letter opposing Vancouver City Council motion for CCTV cameras
Alongside a group of front-line family support organizations, impacted parents, and feminist legal advocates, West Coast LEAF and Keeping Families Together made a submission to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) regarding its redesign of Specialized Homes and Support Services (formerly known as Contracted Residential Services). MCFD places children and youth in government care in contracted residence … Read more Submission regarding Specialized Homes and Support Services Redesign
Case summary This case is about when and how an appeal court can consider new information when deciding an appeal of a family law decision. From a bigger picture perspective, it is also about how deferential (respectful) appeal courts should be towards factual findings by trial judges, including findings of family violence. The parties in … Read more Barendregt v Grebliunas [2021]
On September 29, 2021, West Coast LEAF made a written submission on BC’s Budget 2022 to the provincial legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. The Committee conducted public consultations on priorities for the next budget and will release a report outlining its recommendations by November 15, 2021. The upcoming budget must not be about … Read more Submissions to the BC Budget 2022 Consultation
Case summary This case is about whether the Criminal Code recognizes that a person can consent to sex on the condition that their partner wears a condom. When a person insists on condom use, does their partner commit sexual assault if they sabotage their condom, remove their condom during sex without their partner’s knowledge (a practice often … Read more R. v Kirkpatrick [2021]
In May 2021, West Coast LEAF wrote to the BC government to call for action to ensure that kinship caregivers have fair and equal access to the BC Recovery Benefit, which is designed to support families during the pandemic. Kinship families are made up of grandparents, aunts, cousins, older siblings, and other relatives who are … Read more Letter on the denial of the BC Recovery Benefit to kinship caregivers
This case is about the constitutionality of s. 96 of BC’s child welfare legislation, the Child, Family, and Community Service Act. Under s. 96…
On April 30, 2021 West Coast LEAF made a written submission to the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act…
In March 2021, the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity and West Coast LEAF made a submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, urging against more punitive restrictions of online sex work and pornography, and calling for policy informed by meaningful consultation with sex workers. The harms of … Read more Submissions on the impacts of criminalization and punitive regulation of online sex work
This case is about the constitutionality of certain rules of evidence in criminal sexual assault cases…
