In The News

A few weeks ago, I tweeted something that would, unwittingly, ruffle a few feathers.
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“Someone needs to tell the guy ashing a joint out of his sports car sun roof that his days are numbered,” I wrote. “Wonder if he’s heard of C-46?”

I’ll be straight up: It was deleted out of sheer embarrassment after a few people pointed out that it came across as a moral assessment of the driver’s choice to smoke a joint while at the wheel.

While my intention—to point out that cops across the country are preparing for an all-out roadside offensive against drivers like the one I saw—was poorly conveyed, a follower noted that instead of making it sound like the driver deserved what was coming to him, I ought to “use my platform as a journalist” to discuss the bill’s flaws.

​A Vancouver lawyer is calling on B.C.’s solicitor general to walk the walk when it comes to making changes to the province’s impaired driving laws.
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In 2010, the province introduced new, tougher laws around drinking and driving. The Immediate Roadside Prohibition program gives police the ability to issue fines and driving prohibitions to drivers who blow a “warn” or “fail” in a roadside breath test, or who refuse to give a breath sample.

Attorney General David Eby said money from the forthcoming red light speed camera program won’t be going to fix ICBC’s financial crisis, instead the proceeds will be directed to municipalities that have the cameras. 

There are many critics of these speed camera programs. BC driving advocates are concerned politicians will use the ticketing system to turn police departments into revenue-generation for the government. However, these cameras also present a legal problem regarding how reliable they are at proving a driver was going over the speed limit. 

The Trudeau government’s proposed alcohol-and drug-impaired driving legislation violates the Charter and will clog already overburdened courts with Charter challenges from coast to coast to coast, says Senate Liberal Serge Joyal, the influential chair of the red chamber’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

​As experts warn of flaws with the cannabis-impaired driving provisions of Bill C-46, a high-profile Canadian cannabis industry executive has vowed to bankroll a future court challenge against that aspect of the proposed law.

A parking lot could end up a paradise for a group of LGBTQ students and allies in Merritt, after city council rejected their proposal for a rainbow crosswalk.

Students at Merritt Secondary School had planned the crosswalk for the intersection of Chapman Street and Coldwater Avenue, and would have installed it at no cost to the city.

Marijuana vendors who return to set up shop at an illegal pot market in downtown Vancouver may be putting themselves at more risk than they think.

​In May of this year, the federal government announced a forthcoming amendment to the Criminal Code for impaired driving offences, which, in the advent of 2018’s legalization of marijuana (Bill C-45), includes a new legal limit for drug offences and mandatory drug screening. The first part of Bill C-46 adds new sections for driving under the influence of drugs, while the second part proposes reform for the entire Criminal Code transportation regime.

Supporters of the amendment believe it will reduce the number of impaired driving charges across Canada, while critics argue that it will put more impaired drivers in court, resulting in a greater burden on the justice system.

​As the provincial government casts itself as getting tough on street racers and stunt drivers one lawyer says what they are really doing is covering their legal butt.

Acumen Law’s Kyla Lee says accused drivers are subject to a process they aren’t even aware exists and don’t take part in, where a police officer’s word is god, and zero records are kept.