Death In-Custody
Forum

BCCLA executive director, Murray Mollard moderated the BCCLA sponsored Death in-Custody Forum held on September 24. The forum provided an opportunity for Linda Bush, mother of Ian Bush, Dolores Young, mother of Kevin St. Arnaud and Sylvia Fee, sister of Gerald Chenery to share their experiences and thoughts regarding the current system of investigation of in-custody deaths.

The forum's second half focussed on future reform with presentations from Howard Rubin: Counsel to the Bush family, Cameron Ward: Counsel to Rebecca Gingera, David Eby: Counsel to the Chenery Family. Shirley Heafey: Board Member, BCCLA, Past Chair, Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario.

André Marin described the current system in place in B.C. as being in the "dark ages" and described how, for example, in England and Ontario, special civilian units take over investigation of in-custody deaths.

When asked to respond, Solicitor-General John Les was quoted by the Vancouver Sun "When it comes to the major investigations, I think they're being handled as well as they can be."

The BCCLA has made four complaints to the RCMP Police Complaints Commission in September as a result of four in-custody deaths in this province in August. The BCCLA believes that civilian oversight is essential with respect to investigation of deaths in-custody and will continue to work to achieve the implementation of this.

We encourage you to email or write BC Solicitor General John Les and federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day to urge them to reform the law to create civilian agencies for investigating in-custody deaths and serious injuries.

The BCCLA has won a first round victory in Federal Court against the Attorney General of Canada in its bid to have a decision of the RCMP to terminate the BCCLA’s complaint against RCMP members involved in the Ian Bush death reversed by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC). The Chair of the CPC, Paul Kennedy, had upheld the decision of the RCMP to terminate the BCCLA’s complaint.

Murray Mollard, Executive Director of the BCCLA: “This is an important victory that will let us challenge Paul Kennedy’s decision to let the RCMP off the hook. Our goal is to keep Mr. Kennedy and the CPC’s feet to the fire in ensuring thorough and timely civilian oversight of police, especially in in-custody death cases.”

The RCMP had terminated the BCCLA’s complaint pointing to an ongoing criminal investigation and the availability of a Coroner’s Inquest which was held earlier this year in Houston, B.C., nearly 18 months after Mr. Bush’s death. Evidence at the Coroner’s Inquest raised a variety of troubling questions about the competence of the RCMP investigation into Mr. Bush’s death. However, Coroner’s Inquests are legally prohibited from finding responsibility for a death.

Hayes Discrimination Case Update

We last reported in 2006 that one Peter Hayes, had brought a human rights complaint against the Vancouver Police Department alleging that a VPD officer had denied him a chauffeur's licence because Mr. Hayes is Pagan and engages in BDSM (bondage and discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and masochism) sexual practices. The City of Vancouver (acting on behalf of the VPD) tried to have the case tossed by the Human Rights Tribunal on the basis that the claim was without merit and could not possibly succeed because BDSM is not a form of "sexual orientation" as defined by the B.C. Human Rights Code. The BCCLA successfully intervened in the matter in the Supreme Court of B.C. The decision was appealed by the City and is to be heard in the Appeal Court of B.C. in October where the BCCLA will appear as an intervenor.

The 3rd annual Freedom in Action conference presented by the BCCLA will be held in Vancouver at SFU Harbour Centre on November 28 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. In the past, the conference has been held at SFU's Burnaby Mountain campus.

The event is designed for high school students and covers issues such as homelessness, student activism, aboriginal justice and the nature of democracy. Those interested in attending can contact the Association by way of e-mail or by calling 604-630-9748.

Here's how...

Donating publicly traded stock and securities is a tax-smart way to donate to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. When you make a donation of stocks you will receive a tax receipt for the full appreciated value of the donation of publicly traded stock or securities. By making such a donation you become exempt from being taxed on the capital gain. As a result, not only do you get a tax receipt for your full donation amount, but you have completely eliminated having to pay any capital gains tax on this transaction.

If you are considering a gift to the BCCLA and have shares you would like to donate, we recommend obtaining legal advice before making the donation. If interested, the BCCLA is fortunate to have access to financial and legal experts who are willing to help guide you through the process at no cost. Please email our Director of Development, Sarah Frew or contact her by phone at 604-630-9750 and she will be happy to arrange a free legal consultation for you.

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