Updates & Press

Release: Case to determine parents’ right to privacy at BC Court of Appeal

16/01/2023Criminalization, Family well-being Press

For Immediate Release – January 16, 2023 Vancouver, unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands – Today, West Coast LEAF is intervening at the BC Court of Appeal in a case that will impact how parents are surveilled by the family policing system (also known as the child welfare system), T.L. v the Attorney … Read more Release: Case to determine parents’ right to privacy at BC Court of Appeal

2023 Media coverage

01/01/2023Access to justice, Criminalization, Economic security, Family well-being, Gender-based violence, Healthcare Press

We’re proud to make the news regularly, to share our expertise widely, and ultimately to shift public opinion, laws, and policies…

Release: A huge win for single mothers fleeing violence

15/12/2022Access to justice, Family well-being, Gender-based violence Press

December 15, 2022 – For Immediate Release Vancouver, unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands—After five years of fighting to be heard, single mothers will finally have their day in court. Today, the BC Supreme Court granted the Centre for Family Equity (CFE), formerly known as Single Mothers’ Alliance (SMA), public interest standing … Read more Release: A huge win for single mothers fleeing violence

Release: BC Human Rights Tribunal rules family policing system discriminated against Indigenous mother

23/11/2022Family well-being Press

November 23, 2022—For Immediate Release Vancouver, unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands – The BC Human Rights Tribunal ruled yesterday that the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS), a delegated agency of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, discriminated against an Afro-Indigenous mother, R.R., while R.R.’s children were in … Read more Release: BC Human Rights Tribunal rules family policing system discriminated against Indigenous mother

Release: Rights groups to argue in Supreme Court case that survivors of gender-based violence and their equality rights claims cannot be ignored by the courts

05/11/2022Access to justice, Economic security, Gender-based violence Press

October 5, 2022 – For Immediate Release Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory – The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) discriminates against refugee women, yet courts have decided not to consider their arguments. When the Supreme Court of Canada hears submissions in Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al. on October … Read more Release: Rights groups to argue in Supreme Court case that survivors of gender-based violence and their equality rights claims cannot be ignored by the courts

Release: Rights groups call on BC government to dismantle framework for policing families

26/10/2022Family well-being Press

October 26, 2022 – For Immediate Release Vancouver, unceded Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) homelands – Family advocates are calling on the BC government and Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) to dismantle the framework for policing and surveilling families in BC. MCFD’s current framework for investigation, intervention, and child removal in … Read more Release: Rights groups call on BC government to dismantle framework for policing families

Our new visual identity

24/10/2022Uncategorized Update

Over the past few years, we have continued to deepen West Coast LEAF’s work to advance justice and equality for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination. Our work is rooted in relationship-building and sustained community engagement. In all we do, we center the people most impacted and marginalized by systems of injustice and … Read more Our new visual identity

Release: Supreme Court of Canada case to address equality implications of defamation lawsuits against marginalized people

11/10/2022Access to justice, Gender-based violence Press

October 11, 2022 – For Immediate Release Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory – Today, West Coast LEAF is intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Hansman v Neufeld, a case that will affect the ability of British Columbians to speak out against public discourse that threatens the dignity, equality, and safety of marginalized groups. The SCC … Read more Release: Supreme Court of Canada case to address equality implications of defamation lawsuits against marginalized people

Release: Rights group in court to defend right of Single Mothers’ Alliance to challenge BC’s family law legal aid regime

23/08/2022Access to justice, Family well-being, Gender-based violence Press

Tuesday, August 23, 2022—For Immediate Release Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish homelands—Today, West Coast LEAF is in court to defend the public interest standing of the Centre for Family Equity (CFE), formerly known as Single Mothers’ Alliance (SMA) in their constitutional challenge to BC’s family law legal aid regime. In an outrageous attack on access to … Read more Release: Rights group in court to defend right of Single Mothers’ Alliance to challenge BC’s family law legal aid regime

Release: Supreme Court deems non-consensual condom removal sexual assault

29/07/2022Gender-based violence Press

For Immediate Release – Friday, July 29, 2022 Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory—Today, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released a decision in R. v Kirkpatrick that will result in a broader recognition of non-consensual condom refusal or removal as sexual assault under the law. The Court confirmed that a person can make their partner’s … Read more Release: Supreme Court deems non-consensual condom removal sexual assault