March 2023

Kyla Lee on NL Morning News with Jeff Andreas

I was surprised to see it, because it’s very rare for Health Canada to grant these types of exemptions. But the ability of Health Canada to give medical or research companies or scientific companies exemptions to rules around production, distribution, even sale and possession of controlled substances has always existed. That’s actually in use in lots of instances in Canada.

Read more: Kyla Lee on NL Morning News with Jeff Andreas

But at the end of the day, it’s really not a decision that is a political one. It’s a decision that is medical and scientific and that’s why it was a decision made by Health Canada, presumably, free from political interference

Kyla Lee on NL Morning with Jeff Andreas

Listen to the full interview here.

Kyla Lee on NL Morning News with Jeff Andreas Read More »

Kyla Lee on City New: B.C. Chief Justice’s retirement gives opportunity to diversify bench

An opportunity to bring in more diversity to the Supreme Court of British Columbia is coming as B.C.’s current chief justice, Christopher E. Hinkson, is retiring from the position come October, after serving in the role since 2013. It is a chance to implement change to a position that has been historically held by white men.

“I walk down the hallways of the B.C. supreme court, I look at the portraits, and none of them look like me, and that doesn’t make me feel like I belong in this profession, I don’t think [it] reinforces the idea for other people that they need to make sense for people from more diverse backgrounds.”

Vancouver-based Metis lawyer Kyla Lee on CityNews

Lee says the problems candidates for the top job see are compounded by a lack of diversity at all levels in the legal profession.

The first indigenous supreme court justice was only appointed as recently as 2022, with the first justice who is a person of colour appointed in 2019.

Read the full article.

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Kyla Lee on City News: Vancouver Police say wrong person arrested and shot with rubber bullets

Vancouver Police Arrest Wrong Person

The Vancouver Police Department is under scrutiny after Elijah Barnett, an innocent man, was wrongfully arrested and shot with rubber bullets while walking his friend’s dog in Yaletown last week. The police were responding to reports of a suspect in a violent home invasion in Calgary, and believed that Barnett was the suspect. However, they realized their mistake within minutes of taking him into custody. Barnett suffered injuries, cuts, and bruises as a result of the arrest.

“I remember walking out of the apartment building and the next thing I remember I’m on the ground and they attacked me from behind,” said Barnett.

Justice is difficult to get in cases of police misconduct

Kyla Lee explained, “The office of the police complaints commissioner will do an investigation and they’ll determine if there’s been a violation on behalf of the police, but they can’t really award compensation for injuries that were suffered.”

“In order to get compensation you have to sue the police and that can be a lengthy, expensive and time-consuming process,” Lee added.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner will conduct an independent review of the circumstances of Barnett’s arrest. Barnett is seeking accountability for the officers involved, including their suspension without pay and ultimately being charged. Meanwhile, the suspects involved in the Calgary home invasion have been arrested and charged.

Learn more about the story here.

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