At Inclusion BC, we often say that while we may not be rich in money, we are rich in relationships. Relationships are the heart of our work. We intentionally collaborate with partners who share our commitment to dignity, equity, and human rights. When values align, collective impact becomes possible.
This month, we are proud to highlight the powerful work of West Coast LEAF. Their leadership in legal advocacy, public education, and systemic reform is helping create meaningful change for people across British Columbia. The cases they advance and the resources they produce are both practical and transformative.
West Coast LEAF works to dismantle gender-based discrimination and advance gender justice. They use litigation, law reform, and public legal education to challenge inequities embedded in policies and institutions. At the centre of their approach is a strong commitment to working alongside people directly affected by injustice; people marginalized by intersecting systems of oppression, including colonialism, patriarchy, racism, ableism, white supremacy, and economic inequality.
Their work spans critical issues such as access to justice, family well-being, healthcare access, economic security, gender-based violence, and criminalization. Through legal cases, submissions, workshops, webinars, and accessible publications, they equip communities with knowledge and tools to advocate for change.
One of the many things we value about West Coast LEAF is their willingness to challenge not only systems, but also language. Drawing on the scholarship of Dorothy Roberts, they use the term “family policing” rather than “child welfare” or “child protection.” This shift reflects how many families experience the system: not as supportive, but as surveillant and punitive. Instead of addressing structural inequities, families are often blamed for circumstances shaped by poverty, racism, ableism, and colonialism. Naming the system differently helps expose these realities and opens space for reform.
Over the past year and a half, Inclusion BC has proudly participated in the Family Well-being Coalition, a continuation of West Coast LEAF’s earlier community of practice. The Coalition brings together people with lived experience and organizations committed to transforming the family policing system. Our shared work focuses on three key themes: Just Processes, Challenging Risk and Surveillance, and Meaningful Supports. Each theme includes concrete actions and practical resources designed to shift policy and practice.
One particularly important resource is The Access Toolkit, a guide that supports advocacy for meaningful access arrangements in child and family services proceedings. When a child is removed from their family, maintaining connection to community, culture, and identity is critical. The Toolkit equips parents’ counsel with legal and practice tools to protect those connections during ongoing proceedings. It has been especially helpful in supporting parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are facing child apprehension.
Coalition meetings are spaces of learning, strategy, and most of all, solidarity. We leave re-energized, reminded that systemic change requires persistence and partnership.
We are grateful for the welcoming space West Coast LEAF creates, one where the experiences of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are valued in shaping this work.
We encourage you to learn more about their projects and follow their leadership in advancing justice for families and communities.
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