Where we’ve been and where we’re going 

When legal protections around gender equality were first being developed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, West Coast LEAF’s founders knew that we would need to bring a feminist lens to law and policy, to ensure that gender equality is a reality and not just a promise. Over the past four decades, we have done just that; working hard to secure some of the most important feminist victories in Canada for reproductive rights, workplace standards, fairness in family law, legal protections from sexual harassment, and more.

Much has changed since the Charter was written, but our work together is far from over. While your support has made tremendous gains possible, many people still experience intersecting forms of marginalization on the basis of gender, particularly Indigenous women, Black women, women of colour, trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people, and women with precarious immigration status or fewer financial means.

Why leave a legacy to West Coast LEAF?

West Coast LEAF has begun addressing our responsibilities towards reconciliation and decolonization as an organization that advocates for change through colonial legal systems. Likewise, we have committed to broadening our organizational mandate to seek equality, justice, and accountability for people of all genders who are disempowered and oppressed by patriarchy.

We occupy a unique space in the gender-justice landscape as a legal organization with the skills and resources to use a law as a tool, and as a community-oriented organization that seeks to centre and privilege lived experience, ensuring that voices that have been ignored or silenced by the legal system are heard. Through a renewed commitment to community, we have been able to deepen our relationships and impact, and we are deeply honoured for the trust and confidence placed in us.

As we look to the future, we need your help to ensure that we can continue to advocate alongside those most directly and deeply impacted by structural oppression. We are fortunate to receive grant support to fund some of our work, but that funding often isn’t stable, making it challenging to respond to new and emerging issues. We are also largely supported by people who have experienced marginalization because of their gender, and who, as a result, may be restricted in how easily they’re able to offer financial support.

What you can do

Leaving a gift to West Coast LEAF is an opportunity for you to transform the future — to create an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination. It allows us to plan for the long term, to work more sustainably, and to respond to emerging gender-justice issues.

We would love to talk through your options with you. There are many ways to leave a legacy, both in the future and to benefit West Coast LEAF’s work today. Email Cat Hart at chart@westcoastleaf.org, or call 604-684-8772, ext. 119, to learn more.