Empowering communities, protecting ecosystems
Empowering communities, protecting ecosystems
Indigenous Guardians monitor and protect the lands and waters on their territory. They are the “eyes and ears” of a First Nation on the ground. Guardians monitor the activities of resources users, enforce federal, provincial, and Indigenous laws, gather data…
Our latest report on dealing with plastic pollution calls for the introduction of plastic recycling standards in Canada. This is the fourth report in the series of our work on plastics issues. Only 9% of total plastic is actually recycled,…
In the last year, our work in documenting the lack of enforcement of drinking water contamination led to province-wide improvements to control agricultural waste. This result means better drinking water protections for the entire province. It started in 2016 when…
Old growth forests are valuable to BC’s ecological and economic health and vital in the fight against climate change. However, standards to protect these important resources vary across the province and, in many areas, are inadequate. On behalf of Sierra…
With contributions from Emily Benoit, ELC Clinic (Fall 2018), Coop student (Spring 2019) Current rules for managing private forest land in BC fail to protect the province’s streams, fish, wildlife and other natural values. If not managed responsibly, logging activities…
Much of the infrastructure that deals with stormwater in the Capital Regional District (CRD) is in urgent need of upgrading, a problem that was highlighted in 2017 when Victoria’s annual Gorge Swimfest was cancelled caused by cross contamination of sewer…
Although mining has significant and ongoing impacts on communities, it is the only resource industry in BC that has not had a comprehensive legal review from a public interest perspective. The ELC has long worked on mining law reform projects,…
Thanks to the ELC, BC has improved information and privacy law regarding the government’s obligations to release information to the public. In one of her last acts before leaving office, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham responded in late June…
