The other day, a friend of mine who lives in Vancouver Point Grey said he was conflicted about who to vote for in the provincial election.  I don’t live there, but if I did, the choice would be clear.  I have met Christy Clark, and she is certainly personable enough, but NDP challenger David Eby stands head and shoulders above her, literally and figuratively.  Dave is smart, principled and hard-working.  He has entered politics to further his burning desire to make a positive difference in real people’s lives.  There is no doubt in my mind that David Eby will be a better member of the Legislative Assembly than Ms. Clark has ever been, and, if given the chance, will make sound decisions that will be best for everyone,  whether they reside in the poorest or the wealthiest neighborhoods of this province.  A vote for David Eby will not be wasted and will never be regretted.

Lawyers hired by the Law Society of British Columbia took the lead role in opposing the appeal, supported by counsel for the Attorney General herself.  The transcript of the Court of Appeal’s decision should be available in about two weeks.  Ms. Askin has 60 days to file an application for leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Incidentally, the Honourable Shirley Bond is the fourth Attorney General in the history of British Columbia who has lacked legal education or training.  Since Confederation, the only federal lay Attorney General was the Honourable Joe Clark, who briefly served as Acting Attorney General in the 1980′s.  For over five hundred years, lawyers have served as Attorneys General in England.

The situation in British Columbia is similar, if not worse.  For example, when Jeffrey Berg was beaten and kicked to death by a Vancouver police officer in October of 2000, the homicide was investigated by his VPD colleagues.  The officer who killed Mr. Berg, along with the two other officers who were present when it happened, all visited the same lawyer after the incident, producing similar typed statements weeks later.  This deplorable practice has to stop if there is to be any measure of justice for the families of victims involved in these tragedies.

That is not to say there has been no improvement in this province.  We now have the Independent Investigation Office (IIO) so police-involved fatalities are no longer investigated by the police themselves.  The IIO has intervened in today’s appeal hearing, hoping that the Supreme Court’s decision establishes uniform national standards in this area.  We expect that judgment will be reserved and a decision rendered at a later date.

Mr. Henry was acquitted of ten counts of sexual assault by the British Columbia Court of Appeal on October 27, 2010 after spending more than 27 years in jail. Mr. Justice Low of the Court of Appeal wrote:

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More than a half a million Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals were minted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the monarch’s reign, with 60,000 of those handed out to deserving Canadians.  If you weren’t one of the worthy recipients, not to worry.  At least nine are being offered for sale on eBay today by an Ottawa area retailer called “Militaria Express”.  There is no indication whether any of the trinkets came from disgraced Sen. Patrick Brazeau’s personal allotment. 

Each Canadian Senator and MP was given 30 medals to distribute as he or she saw fit.  The rest, almost 50,000 in total, were delivered to others to allocate, including the Canadian Forces (11,000), the RCMP (2,300), municipalities (4,000) and various non-governmental organizations (10,000).  These NGOs include the Monarchist League of Canada, REAL Women of Canada and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, to name but a few.

I don’t always find myself in agreement with Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella, but it is hard to dispute his recent assessment that the award process is a “fiasco”, a “joke”, a “disgrace” and a “scandal…deserving of further investigation”.

If you really want one of these baubles, I suggest waiting awhile…the current $180 asking price on eBay may well come down.

Our criminal justice system isn’t necessarily better than India’s, but it certainly is slower.

“At approximately 11:30 AM on Dec. 30, 2012, the VPD attended a residence in response to a complaint.  Once there, officers located a 26 year old male who was reportedly distressed and exhibiting aggressive behaviour.  Police attempted to subdue the man in order to transport him to hospital.  During the altercation with officers, the man sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital where he remains.

The IIO was notified at 12:30 PM on Dec. 31, 2012.  At that time, the extent of the man’s injuries was not clear. Over the following days, IIO investigative staff met with the affected person’s family and medical team to determine if his injuries met the statutory definition of “serious harm”.

On Jan. 10, 2013, upon further review of the information, the Chief Civilian Director asserted jurisdiction.  Eleven IIO staff have been assigned including the Senior Investigator, Affected Persons who will provide support to the man and his family…..No further information is available at this time.”

…..

Who is this man?  Has he been charged with any offence?  Was he breaking any law when he was “subdued”?  Is he still in hospital today, a full month later?  What are his injuries?  Why did the VPD wait thirteen hours to report the matter to the IIO, when the law requires “immediate” notification?

The police are accountable to the public, at least in theory.  The public deserves a full accounting in this serious matter and we deserve it now.  The IIO was never intended to be something the police could use to cloak their actions in secrecy.  If that is what is going to happen, we need to revisit its very existence.