Mo Amir, host of the podcast This is VANCOLOUR, and Kyla Lee, a Vancouver criminal lawyer for Acumen Law Corporation, weigh in on B.C.’s latest five-year net new housing targets, the growing profile of the Conservative Party of B.C., and a B.C. poll that found swearing is becoming more common in the workplace.
“The provincial government is going to step in and it’s going to force municipalities to build these units, but it should also be working with municipalities to reduce the amount of red tape… The ability to get a permit to do anything and the number of permits you have to get for any type of project is so overwhelming and cost prohibitive.”
“In Canada, if you are responsible for the death of a police officer while they are in the act of duty, then that is automatically a first-degree murder charge… “
“I think this is something that may spur change. Particularly in the past week, the federal government passed a bill to the Senate regarding changes to our bail. This is just going to further ignite the very polarizing discussion we’re having across the country right now about potential repeat offenders, violent offenders… Incidents like this are only going to fuel that conversation further.”
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma is promising more money to fix a chronic shortage of sheriffs that has led to at least 86 court appearances being cancelled or delayed this year.
Sharma says the government is responding to an internal report that painted a damning picture of working conditions, including bullying and sexual harassment, for the people who transport prisoners and protect British Columbia’s courts.
That report found a years-old recruitment and retention crisis within the BC Sheriffs Service, problems it attributed to low pay, a toxic work environment and ineffective management.
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In some cases, court appearances have been delayed, cancelled or moved because a sheriff was not available. The ministry’s office said there had been 86 such incidents this year as of Sept. 7; there were none in 2021 or 2022.
Kyla Lee, a criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver with Acumen Law, says she has had multiple cases where a trial was delayed because a sheriff was not available. She said such delays had a “snowball effect” because they lead to further delays in the court system as matters are re-scheduled.
“It’s really caused a lot of chaos for people. The experience of going to court is very stressful for people as it is,” Lee said.
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But Lee believes sheriffs are still not paid enough. Sheriffs, she said, often protect judges when there are credible threats to their safety. They are armed and also transport accused persons in custody, she said, who include violent offenders and people with complex mental health and substance issues.
“They have to be mental health professionals. They have to be physical security. They have to be drug addiction and medical experts all at the same time in different courts,” Lee said.
The government’s information sheet for applicants notes sheriffs deal with “with unpleasant, upset, hostile, angry and potentially violent clients.”
“I am supportive of this. I think it’s an easy way for government to limit people’s speeds and make the roads and highways safer, but doesn’t result in hitting people in their pocketbooks and increasing the penalties associated with traffic tickets which can have a disproportionate effect on low income (families).”
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“Ultimately we don’t have enough officers on the side of the road, standing there conducting visible and consistent enforcement to send the message home to drivers that if you speed, you will get caught…”
“This technology already exists. It’s very inexpensive technology. In newer electric vehicles, a lot of it can actually be implemented just by a software change or update. And we recently passed legislation and changes to the motor vehicle act in BC to require by 2025, that new commercial vehicles are speed limited.”
“… If you can’t change people’s behaviour through speeding tickets and fines and penalties and public messaging, then perhaps we need to force people’s behaviour to change through passing laws that limit the speeds that their cars will go.”
Kyla Lee and Mo Amir weigh in on B.C. Premier David Eby’s comments following the stabbing in Chinatown, B.C. United’s plans to reverse decriminalization if elected, and the worst place to give a political speech.
“A complete overhaul of the system is definitely not required in this case. This is a one-off. There are lots of people who are subject to the mental health review board in BC and it’s a board that is established under the criminal code. They have various versions of it in every province and territory in this country. It’s administrated across the country all the time in similar circumstances.”
“I think part of the problem… is that the university was really looking at sexual assault from a university perspective or a high-level academic perspective… And they lost sight of the human element and in particular the unique humanity that Miss Hale had as a survivor of sexual assault. They forgot that the should take steps to make it less traumatizing for her in her particular circumstances.”
“This case has huge implications for all universities across Canada but definitely in British Columbia in how they investigate and handle sexual assault complaints but also in how they investigate and handle all academic and non-academic complaints..”
Kyla Lee and Mo Amir weigh in on the significance of carbon tax as the unaffordability and intensity of wildfires rises, the city of Vancouver staffs’ recommendations to hike up prices for a few things to level of 2024 residential tax hike, and the flavours of fall.
“I think we need to look at the carbon tax for what it is. We’re not seeing benefits that are discernible from where we’re all standing because we’re members of the public in how the tax is being applied… We’re spending any money we’re getting from the carbon tax on the climate emergencies. We’re having to repair roads, we’re having to evacuate people, we’re having to send in the military to assist with forest fires. All of these things are taking away the money we might be able to invest into better carbon-neutral strategies…”
“Cases like this are going before the Residential Tenancy Branch all the time where people are saying ‘my family member is moving in’ and then they’ll drive by and see that the house has been torn down and renovated or they’ll see that the suite is for rent or they’ll see that minor improvements were made – changing the carpets and painting the walls and now it’s listed for rent.”
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“The Residential Tenancy Branch’s order is a lawful order. That’s where their powers end. They can tell you that you have to pay money and that you did wrong, but they can’t force you to pay it. In order to collect your money, you have to take that order and you have to go file it in small claims… and then you have to compel the person to attend a payment hearing…”
Were you one of the hopefuls that bought tickets to the cirque-style dinner and show? The show that was originally scheduled for October 2022 disappeared like a circus magic act. Their website landing page changed to an announcement explaining the temporary suspension of ticket sales because of ‘corporate restructuring’. Since then, their Instagram account states: “The Show is Suspended Indefinitely.”
What can you do if you bought tickets and want a refund?
