Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Premier David Eby was up in the legislature last week under fire for assorted shortcomings and had to come up with an omnibus defence to all the failures laid at his feet. One of his comebacks was that “BC is leading in crime reduction.” “An 11 per cent reduction in the crime severity index and a seven per cent reduction in the overall crime rate. Our actions are showing results.” The numbers come from a StatsCan annual survey. They are handy for rebutting Opposition critics, but he is the first to acknowledge that they don’t do much to convince anyone outside the legislature. This week, he confirmed once again how pervasive the public worry about crime is, statistics be damned ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It seems Canadians have been sentenced to a lifetime of their political leaders rattling on about bail reform. Earlier this month, Mark Carney’s government announced plans for a new public safety bill that would introduce reverse-onus bail for major crimes, as well as tougher sentences for multiple offences and new RCMP funding to fight organized crime. The federal Conservatives advanced even stronger “jail-not-bail” proposals. We have been here before. After police officer killings and high-profile offences by people on bail in 2023, premiers pushed Ottawa to tighten the rules, prompting Bill C-48. The fixation on bail still misses the point. Parts of the new federal plan are sound. Extra resources for policing and organized-crime enforcement are long overdue. But bail is not the core problem ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

These days, you don’t have to look far to find heartbreaking stories of people being failed by the justice system. In 2024, 45 percent of people charged with homicide in Saskatchewan were under court-ordered conditions or supervision at the time. In July of this year, a BC woman was murdered by her ex-husband merely hours after he was released on bail. And just a few months ago, a father of three was killed in a head-on collision by someone with a recent history of dangerous driving in Ontario. Our system isn’t working, and Canadians are paying the price ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary 

... Anybody who has followed court proceedings for violent, chronic offenders knows the usual lines of defence. He was Metis and suffered due to colonialism. He was an addict. He had a rough upbringing. Blah blah blah. You know what? I couldn’t care less. When it comes to sentencing for criminals, the only thing that should be taken into consideration is public safety. How the criminal got there in the first place is irrelevant. Wheeler is clearly so dangerous he should never be free again yet he will be and he will re-offend ... CLICK HERE for the full story

"The NDP Attorney General must direct the BC Prosecution Service to seek mandatory risk reassessments after every charge and conviction involving intimate partner violence. If this had happened, Bailey’s murder may have been prevented.” ~~  Steve Kooner, Critic for Attorney General & MLA for Richmond-Queensborough KELOWNA, BC:  Conservatives are demanding urgent administration of justice reform following the tragic murder of  Kelowna mother Bailey McCourt . Bailey was allegedly killed by her ex-husband just hours after he was released on bail — despite being convicted of four charges related to domestic violence.  The NDP soft-on-crime experiment has weakened British Columbia’s (BC’s) justice system, repeatedly failed to keep victims safe, and allows repeat offenders to walk free. Conservatives are calling for immediate action from Attorney General Niki Sharma to fix the justice system’s failures. “To prevent further suffering and deaths, the adminis...

Repeating the government's tough language on crime, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said, 'I want to be absolutely clear — these criminals are not welcome in Alberta. Nothing is off the table'    Two teenage brothers — one 16, the other 18 — are charged with second-degree murder. When the accused appeared in court Monday, something telling happened. Defence lawyer Alain Hepner attended, but no prosecutor was on hand. One was to be assigned later Monday. This is hardly a case of justice delayed. But it’s a reminder that lack of Crown prosecutors, and government-inflicted muddle over how they handle serious cases, has been obvious for years. Justice Minister Mickey Amery said Monday that this stops now. Violent offenders will be brought to trial promptly by new teams of prosecutors devoted to such cases in Calgary and Edmonton ... CLICK HERE for the full news story

  A B.C.  repeat offender  who hit an Asian student with a pole in a random, racist attack in downtown Vancouver last year, is free in the community after being sentenced to time already served plus probation. Mohammed Majidpour, 35, struck the 19-year-old woman over the back of the head with a pole as she walked near Dunsmuir and Cambie streets on Sept. 27, and hurled a racial slur, according to police. Global News has learned Majidpour told the young woman to “go back to China.” Hours later that same day, he torched a car in the 600-block of Richards Street ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  LAST NIGHT (Wednesday Oct 21) on the 6pm TV news out of Vancouver came a story about a mentally unstable individual who had again severely stabbed someone unknown to them – for the second time in just a handful of days.   And the relevance of this some may ask? Well, of course, it happened on the same day that the NDP government of Premier John Horgan announced their much-awaited report on ‘ expert recommendations on repeat offending ’.   Sadly, this report, and it’s recommendations, will do little to stem what has become a plague of street crime by several dozen thugs with rap sheets a mile long – many with 100’s of charges (one alone with 400+ arrests) and VERY LITTLE if any jail time, random assaults on innocent victims on downtown city streets, an epidemic of drugs overdoses and thousands of deaths through a poisoned drug supply, and untold numbers of people suffering from mental health issues who are unable, or unwilling, to care for themselves. ...