February 2026

Impaired Driving Update – BC Edition: Volume 13

Welcome to British Columbia’s only weekly DUI law update newsletter. This newsletter contains the most cutting-edge information, the newest case law, and helpful practice tips for DUI defence in BC.

Authored by Kyla Lee, BC’s Impaired Driving Update is released weekly on Thursdays.

What’s inside:

  • Impaired Driving Defence Tip
  • IRP Decision of the Week
  • DUI Decision of the Week
  • Kyla’s Insight

Impaired Driving Update – BC Edition: Volume 13 Read More »

Kyla Lee on CBC’s On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko: Soapbox Social: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim made false drug claim about COPE councillor

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim apologized to Coun. Sean Orr for falsely claiming, without evidence, that Orr distributed illegal drugs on Christmas Day, but refused to answer detailed questions about the allegation. Orr has strongly denied the claim, calling it defamatory, while other councillors criticized Sim’s remarks as harmful and irresponsible…

Kyla Lee on CBC’s On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko: Soapbox Social: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim made false drug claim about COPE councillor Read More »

Episode 442: VPD Training Changes, Traffic Court Appeal & Motorcycle “Reasonable Excuse” Case

This week, we discuss Vancouver’s plan to create its own in-house police training academy, examine a traffic court appeal involving distracted driving and cross-examination fairness, and analyze an Alberta motorcycle case where the rider claimed he couldn’t hear police sirens because he modified his exhaust.

Episode 442: VPD Training Changes, Traffic Court Appeal & Motorcycle “Reasonable Excuse” Case Read More »

Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 387

This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Garbage Cans, Gulf States, and the Art of the Great Escape

Justice is blind. Or so we are told. But it’s also surprisingly good at sniffing people out of trash cans. Welcome back to Weird and Wacky Wednesdays. This week’s edition is dedicated to those bold and frankly delusional souls who looked the long arm of the law in the eye and said, “No thank you, I’ll be leaving now.”

Spoiler: they mostly didn’t get far.

Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 387 Read More »

When “Interference” Turns on Someone Else’s Irritation: The Cautionary Tale in R. v. Leippi

In R. v. Leippi, 2026 BCPC 26, the BC Provincial Court convicted a recreational drone operator of “interfering with fire control” under the Wildfire Act.

The case arose from the 2023 Kelowna wildfire. Mr. Leippi was operating a small drone from a boat on Okanagan Lake to capture footage of fire damage. A helicopter pilot who was bucketing water for wildfire suppression noticed the drone, became irritated by its presence, and briefly attempted to knock it out of the air with water before moving on. Conservation officers saw this and then seized the drone and charged Mr. Leippi.

At trial, the only question was whether Mr. Leippi’s operation of the drone “interfered” with fire control. The court concluded that it did.

When “Interference” Turns on Someone Else’s Irritation: The Cautionary Tale in R. v. Leippi Read More »

Prior Testimony: Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t!

Welcome to “Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t!”

In this episode, Kyla Lee from Acumen Law Corporation examines a case about the admission of prior testimony and out of court statements when a witness is unavailable at trial. At a preliminary inquiry, parties have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, and a transcript of that evidence is created. In certain circumstances, that prior testimony can later be admitted at trial under the principled exception to the hearsay rule, on the basis that it is both necessary and sufficiently reliable. In this case, the preliminary inquiry transcript was admitted, but a separate police interview given by the same unavailable witness was excluded. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the appeal.

Prior Testimony: Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t! Read More »

Kyla Lee on CBC’s On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko: Soapbox Social: Latest B.C. budget and Vancouver politics

The B.C. government’s 2026 budget announced a series of tax increases, capital project delays, and a reduction of 15,000 public sector jobs over three years.

Kyla Lee on CBC’s On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko: Soapbox Social: Latest B.C. budget and Vancouver politics Read More »

Episode 441: Supreme Court Right to Silence Case & AI Privacy Concerns

A new episode of Driving Law is now available.

This week, Kyla discusses appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of Women in Canadian Criminal Defence in a case about compelled accident statements and the right to silence. The episode also examines privacy law, AI facial recognition, and the risks of expanding surveillance technology.

Episode 441: Supreme Court Right to Silence Case & AI Privacy Concerns Read More »

Impaired Driving Update – BC Edition: Volume 12

Welcome to British Columbia’s only weekly DUI law update newsletter. This newsletter contains the most cutting-edge information, the newest case law, and helpful practice tips for DUI defence in BC.

Authored by Kyla Lee, BC’s Impaired Driving Update is released weekly on Thursdays.

What’s inside:

  • IRP Defence Tip of the Week
  • IRP Decision of the Week
  • DUI Decision of the Week
  • Kyla’s Insight

Impaired Driving Update – BC Edition: Volume 12 Read More »

Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 386

This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Lawyer criminals rather than criminal lawyers

Recently for Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, I covered some legal stories where police officers did some horrible things. Of course just because you’re a police officer, that does not make you moral, honest or ethical or not a criminal. Same goes for lawyers. Both lawyers and police officers have higher ethical standards to maintain. Some lawyers and some police officers fall far below those standards and go further, committing crimes. This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we are going to look at some fairly notorious cases where the lawyers were not just unethical but criminal. 

Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 386 Read More »

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