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
June 16, 2023 – For Immediate Release Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory – In today’s ruling on the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) challenge, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the Asper Centre, LEAF and West Coast LEAF that there must not be a hierarchy of Charter rights in which equality rights occupy a lower tier. … Read more Release: Supreme Court of Canada affirms gender equality rights must not be neglected but fails to strike down the Safe Third Country Agreement
We offer legal education that is based on our feminist and social justice values. In addition to providing information about law, our approach includes analyzing power and privilege, critiquing the law, and valuing non-legal pathways. Our public legal education programming has been providing people with information about colonial law for more than 20 years. Since then, … Read more Our intentions and values for public legal education and information
May 17, 2023 – For Immediate Release Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory – Tomorrow, West Coast LEAF and LEAF are jointly intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in HMK v Tsang, a case that will have far-reaching impacts on how courts approach the credibility analysis in sexual assault cases where a trial judge has relied … Read more Release: West Coast LEAF and LEAF intervene at Supreme Court of Canada on common-sense assumptions in sexual assault law
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 that … Read more HMK v Tsang [2023]
This workshop explores the gap between colonial legal and ethical standards of consent…
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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
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
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
