FAQs

Ecojustice is a registered charity. Our charitable registration number is 13474 8474 RR0001. Our legal name is Ecojustice Canada Society.

Legal battles can be costly and time-consuming, which is why we follow clear steps in picking our cases. First, we ask ourselves if the issue is an environmental priority. If it is, then we see if it’s a legal priority. If it’s both, then we look at how this case will help shape the future and whether Ecojustice has the required expertise. Read more about the selection process. 

Yes, you can. You will need to fill out this form. But note that we receive hundreds of new case inquiries each year, the majority of which we can’t act on. This could be due to limited capacity, or a lack of knowledge on that subject. When this happens, we’ll sometimes direct you towards another organization that may be more able to help.

Our lawyers represent citizens, environmental organizations, First Nations, sustainable businesses, labour organizations, and any other groups that share our mission. Find out more about our partners.

We are the only environmental law charity in Canada taking on strategic public-interest litigation and advocacy from coast to coast to coast. We are grateful to operate offices in the cities commonly known as Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax.

While Ecojustice focuses on Canada, the environmental issues we work on are not confined by geography or political borders. Ecojustice, like most Canadian charities, has supporters from around the world. We welcome donations from everyone who wants to contribute to our mission because when we defend nature and combat climate change, we all win. 

Most of our funding comes from individual donors, with the remainder coming from grants and bequests.

Ecojustice works hard to put your money to good use. Over the past years, we have heavily invested in our legal experts to take on high-stakes cases and law reform work. We also spend money on behind-the-scenes systems and fundraising, which help us stretch your dollar further. 

We also make sure we’re investing in the right people to deliver the vision you donated towards. The rest gets reinvested for the future. 

Ecojustice was named one of Charity Intelligence’s Top 100 charities in 2021 and has been accredited under Imagine Canada’s national Standards Program since 2014. 

Learn more about where your gifts go and find links to our financial statements. 

Funny you should ask; we have a blog post on that. We know that laws alone can’t fix the world — but litigation and law reform are powerful tools nonetheless.

As Ecojustice lawyer Andhra Azevedo explains: “The timing differs court to court and judge to judge, but a judge may sit on a number of hearings back-to-back. They may not have a lot of time to just sit down and write.  

“Depending on the court, they might hear in one week simple cases that they make decisions on the spot to multi-day family law and criminal law trials. Some are super urgent to decide (e.g., child protection) so they need to prioritize making and writing those decisions first. 

“This means that for cases like ours, even if they have an idea of what they want to write coming out of the hearing, it will take them a while to actually review the materials, write a long judgment, and they may have their clerk do further research on the case if needed.”

Due to limited capacity, we aren’t always able to accommodate speaking and event requests. But we do try, especially invites from groups which align with our mission and are based near cities where we have offices. 

To request an Ecojustice speaker for an upcoming event, please click here to complete the request form.

We understand that inboxes become crowded, but we’re sad to say goodbye. To go ahead, just click on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of our emails to remove your email address. Alternatively, click “manage my email preferences” to reduce the number of emails you receive.

Thank you for helping us save paper! You can update your communication preferences at donor@ecojustice.ca or by phone at 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295.

Yes, we send receipts for all gifts that are eligible to receive a receipt. When you make a one-time donation online, an email with a link to your PDF receipt is sent shortly after. 

For over the phone or mailed in one-time donations, it will take approximately three weeks to process and issue a receipt after receiving the donation. If you would like to update your receipting preferences, please contact our Donor Relations team at 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295 or by email at donor@ecojustice.ca

To save time and labour costs, we send one consolidated receipt for your monthly donations in February the following year via conventional mail or email depending on your preferences. For example, monthly donations made in 2022 will receive receipts in February 2023.

If you’re having issues downloading your electronic receipt it might be because you have an older version of Adobe. 

Here are some troubleshooting tips: 

View and print your receipt on a laptop or desktop computer. Not all devices support full PDF functionality, and you may encounter issues on smartphones or tablets. 

Make sure you’re using the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to open your receipt. Download the most recent version free here by clicking “Download Acrobat Reader.” 

If you’re still having difficulty viewing and printing your receipt, we can mail it to your address. Just let us know by calling 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295 or emailing donor@ecojustice.ca

Please contact Donor Relations at 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295 or by email at donor@ecojustice.ca and we’ll be happy to provide you with a replacement.

To mail in a donation please download and complete this form and send it, along with your donation, to our Vancouver office at the following address: 

Ecojustice, Suite 390, 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6E3

To update the payment method for your monthly donation, or to update the amount, or to cancel your monthly donation altogether, please contact our Donor Relations team at donor@ecojustice.ca or by calling 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295.

If you signed up via our online form, you can now log into our online donor portal to view, update or make changes to your monthly donation, click this link to log in:  https://ecojustice.donorsupport.com

We use a company named Strategic Communications to call our supporters sometimes. 

They’ll ask if you want to set up a monthly gift, increase your current gift, or offer other opportunities. They’ll also make calls to welcome, thank you, and tell you about the work and progress you’ve made possible. 

If you’ve any suspicions about the call, please check that:  

• The call is from Canada  
• The caller states their first name and that the call is on behalf of Ecojustice Canada  
• The caller has access to your Ecojustice donation history   
• The caller knows Ecojustice’s mission and vision and can answer questions about our work  
• The caller will never ask for your social insurance or passport numbers. If you want to donate or update your information, the caller will ask for your bank details. 

If you’re concerned the call may not be genuine or you’d rather have no phone outreach, let the Donor Relations team know at 1-800-926-7744 ext. 295 or email donor@ecojustice.ca with your full address, name, and telephone number.

We invite, and are grateful to accept, gifts which meet our strict criteria. We don’t accept gifts from those who are fundamentally at odds with our mission, which includes any industry that violates Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Check out our Fundraising & Gift Acceptance policy in full.

If your question isn’t addressed in the FAQs above or elsewhere on the website, then please get in touch with Suzie MacMillan.