Updates & Press

Release: Supreme Court to decide case on child support orders with critical impacts on women and children’s poverty

03/11/2020Economic security, Family well-being, Gender-based violence Press

Ottawa, ON – Tomorrow, on November 4, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments in a family law case from Ontario that will significantly affect women and children’s poverty. LEAF and West Coast LEAF will be intervening in the appeal to highlight the reality that child support in Canada is chronically underpaid and overwhelmingly gendered. LEAF and West Coast … Read more Release: Supreme Court to decide case on child support orders with critical impacts on women and children’s poverty

Release: Supreme Court of Canada’s anti-SLAPP judgments endanger survivors of gender-based violence

11/09/2020Access to justice, Gender-based violence Press

VANCOUVER – On September 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released judgments in two cases concerning the interpretation of Ontario’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) laws; on which BC’s Protection of Public Participation Act is modeled. In response to the decisions, the anti-violence sector urges the Supreme Court to centre the voices of survivors of … Read more Release: Supreme Court of Canada’s anti-SLAPP judgments endanger survivors of gender-based violence

A piece of feminist history: Celebrating 35 years of West Coast LEAF

15/07/2020Access to justice, Economic security Update

This month, West Coast LEAF officially turns 35 years old…

21 Days of Paid Sick Leave: A Feminist Issue

01/07/2020Economic security Update

As Canada and the world adapts to a “new normal,” we’re grappling with the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened economic precarity…

Addressing the Child Support Crisis in Canada

17/06/2020Access to justice, Economic security, Family well-being Update

In 2018, in anticipation of amendments to the federal Divorce Act, Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, brought public attention to the vast scope of unpaid child support in Canada. “There are billions of dollars in unpaid child support payments in Canada and we need to do something about it – parents have to meet their obligations – and … Read more Addressing the Child Support Crisis in Canada

Six Things to Know about The DTES Ethical Research Manifesto

10/06/2020Access to justice, Economic security Update

Back in February 2020, which now seems like a lifetime ago, West Coast LEAF signed on as an organizational endorser of Research 101: A Manifesto for Ethical Research in the Downtown Eastside. The Manifesto was developed by peer workers in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) through a six-part workshop series, in collaboration with SFU researchers. It “provide[s] guidelines … Read more Six Things to Know about The DTES Ethical Research Manifesto

Release: BC Gender Equality Report Card reveals areas of progress and areas of serious concern

27/05/2020Access to justice, Criminalization, Economic security, Family well-being, Gender-based violence, Healthcare Press

VANCOUVER, UNCEDED COAST SALISH HOMELANDS – Today, West Coast LEAF released a report card assessing the BC government’s recent progress on gender equality and human rights. While recognizing that BC has taken some steps in the right direction between December 2018 and early April 2020, the BC Gender Equality Report Card also finds that many of these … Read more Release: BC Gender Equality Report Card reveals areas of progress and areas of serious concern

Meet the Report Card Partners

20/05/2020Access to justice, Criminalization, Economic security, Family well-being, Gender-based violence, Healthcare Update

On May 27, we will launch our Gender Equality Report Card. We are excited to share this report assessing what the BC government has done—or failed to do—to advance gender justice and human rights between December 2018 and early April 2020. This year’s report builds on the work we have been doing over the last … Read more Meet the Report Card Partners

Mind the Pay Gap: How Legislation Could Help End Pay Discrimination in BC

06/05/2020Economic security Update

We, Anastasia, Ashley, Megan and Zev, are graduate students at the School of Public Policy at SFU. We are taking over this week’s FThis! Blog to speak about our partnership with West Coast LEAF on the BC Priorities Project, to analyze a pressing and long-standing societal problem: the gender pay gap. Below, we share our work … Read more Mind the Pay Gap: How Legislation Could Help End Pay Discrimination in BC

Release: Survivors of sexual assault will be supported by a new legal toolkit to protect against invasive disclosure of private records and sexual history

28/04/2020Access to justice, Gender-based violence Press

VANCOUVER – Today, West Coast LEAF launched a toolkit for navigating the admissibility of evidence of a survivor’s sexual activity and the production of third-party records in criminal proceedings. Designed for lawyers representing survivors, the toolkit addresses section 276 and 278 Criminal Code matters. It provides an overview of the evolution of this area of law, practical advice for advancing … Read more Release: Survivors of sexual assault will be supported by a new legal toolkit to protect against invasive disclosure of private records and sexual history