West Coast Environmental Law

West Coast Environmental Law is an environmental law and public advocacy organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It believes in a just and sustainable society where citizens are empowered to protect the environment and environmental protection is enshrined in law. It fulfills its mission in a variety of ways. First, it works to shape existing and future environmental policies in British Columbia and in Canada. Work in this area spans a variety of topics including green communities, climate change, energy, forests and land use, aboriginal law and environmental assessment. Second, it provides free legal advice regarding environmental issues, and it provides grants, through its Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund, to individuals or groups who need to hire legal representation to resolve an environmental conflict. Third, it tracks and analyzes developments in British Columbian and Canadian environmental policy, and distributes this information to the public, through its Environmental Law Alert Blog, monthly Legal E-Brief newsletter, and Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

West Coast Environmental Law was founded in 1974 and is the oldest environmental law organization in British Columbia, Canada. It was established to promote the cause of environmental law reform and to empower citizens so that they could work together to bring about progressive change. For much of its history, it has been engaged directly in law reform, legal education and test case litigation. In the late 1980s it was determined that a stand-alone environmental law organization, which would devote itself primarily to test case litigation, was required. As a result, West Coast Environmental Law played an active role in the establishment of Sierra Legal Defence Fund, now known as Ecojustice Canada, to take the lead in using test litigation to defend and protect the environment. West Coast Environmental Law in turn narrowed its focus to drafting and advancing legislative reform initiatives and providing public legal education. From 1990 to present West Coast Environmental Law and Ecojustice Canada have avoided duplication by cooperating and coordinating on areas of potential overlap, and having distinct market niches.