2023 Media coverage
We’re proud to make the news regularly, to share our expertise widely, and ultimately to shift public opinion, laws, and policies…
Updates & Press
Release: A huge win for single mothers fleeing violence
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
BC becomes first province to end immigration detention in its jails
In a historic move, BC has become the first Canadian province to end immigration detention in its jails!…