Category Archives: Justice

Justice

RCMP investigating after woman was found dead on Quadra Island, say it was ‘targeted,’ but ‘isolated’

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

An investigation has begun on Quadra Island after a 39-year-old woman was found dead inside her home.

RCMP were conducting a wellness check on Jan. 16 when they found her inside her home, according to press release Feb. 1.

Police have confirmed that the death is criminal based on evidence forensic investigators have collected and believe it was a targeted killing.

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Indigenous Nations, Justice

Reasonable grounds that officers committed offences in killing of Indigenous man, IIO finds

Windspeaker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Jared (Jay) Lowndes, Wet’suwet’en of the Laksilyu clan, was killed by Campbell River RCMP in 2021. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) opened an investigation into the officer-involved shooting and today, Thursday Dec. 1, the Chief Civilian Director shared IIO’s findings with Lowndes’ family.

The IIO has determined the actions of three of four subject officers, a dogmaster and two officers who fired shots, were not justified. Subject officers are persons who caused injury or may have caused injury.

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Forests, Justice

Police officer quits task force over concerns about RCMP tactics at Fairy Creek

By Jen Osborne / Rochelle Baker, National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At least one police officer joined protesters, journalists and politicians raising alarm bells over RCMP enforcement tactics during the peak of conflict at the Fairy Creek old-growth blockades in B.C. during the summer of 2021.

The officer, a former member of the RCMP’s specialized team that deals with resource extraction protests, resigned from the task force over concerns about “unjustifiable” police behaviour during an August crackdown on activists, a freedom-of-information (FOI) request shows.

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Forests, Justice

Fairy Creek RCMP whistleblower’s concerns reflect a pattern of questionable enforcement at industry protests

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Concerns over questionable RCMP tactics raised by an officer involved in the crackdown at the Fairy Creek old-growth blockades in the summer of 2021 are not surprising, says a lawyer representing dozens of activists.

There’s been no shortage of legal proceedings or social media videos focused on the treatment of protesters, said lawyer Karen Mirsky, who is the president of the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).

But it is remarkable an officer was willing to risk voicing concerns about police behaviour to superiors, Mirsky said.

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Justice

More Chaos, Less Patience – qathet has a serious crime problem

Originally published on qathet Living

By Isabelle Southcott

More than most, Debbie Dee’s words hold weight on issues affecting marginalized locals. So when she stood at the lectern at the Evergreen Theatre on September 14, the 200-plus people who had come to discuss solutions to the escalating crime issue listened intently. Debbie has been executive director of the Powell River Brain Injury Society since 2003. She was a Powell River city councillor from 2008 to 2014. In her speech at the meeting, she revealed that last year, she lost her step-son, Bodie, to a fentanyl overdose. 

Debbie was very clear: Powell River’s support system for struggling people isn’t working. It’s not working for people with addictions, mental health challenges and sometimes brain injuries. It’s not working for the wider community, who have to live with theft, vandalism, and fear. 

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