Scenes like this are all too common in BC and take a tragic toll in lives lost and families destroyed. The cost is high and we all pay but are Insurance Rates out of control in B.C.? Check out this article, as you may be surprised to see where British Columbia sits in relation to other Provinces.

This article is brought forward following an article in the Saanich News stating ICBC rates for some classes of vehicles are grossly inflated as compared to Alberta. Also included are recent updates.

Updated:  February 10, 2020

Further to the update below (February 1, 2020), I note that since the government announced a “No-Fault” insurance plan for BC, Robert Mulligan is taking a slightly different tack, suggesting that no-fault will only increase the problems by taking away the right of an injured party to sue.

I’ve copied just one sentence from Mulligan’s longer discussion, “And I think people don’t like the idea that somebody who’s, for example, was drunk and ran into you and you become a quadriplegic is going to be treated exactly the same way you would in terms of getting benefits (go to minute 00:15:26 to see his full comment)

Statements like this appear to be simple fear-mongering. As was the case in the past, people who commit criminal offences, as well as other forms of negligence while driving, may well lose their insurance coverage and in all likelihood would be sued by ICBC to recover costs of the claim.   (Link here to Mulligan’s full conversation on CFAX radio)

Updated:  February 7, 2020

It is reported ICBC is heading for a 20% rate reduction and largely cutting out lawyers in a change to No-Fault insurance.  This will be the largest change to ICBC in several years and will hopefully place the Crown Corporation back on an even keel.

It will be interesting to see how trial-lawyers who earn a large part of their income from ICBC, and the Conservative (aka Liberals) opposition in the Legislature, respond to these changes.

That being said, a February 1, 2020 article by Robert Mulligan, an experienced trial-lawyer, suggested implementing several of the changes currently being proposed by the government.

This will be explored more fully over the next few days.

Read more at CBC Major Overhall of ICBC

Also, a Times Colonist report:   Major overhaul at ICBC would limit the ability to sue, cut rates by 20%

Update: February 1, 2020

For an interesting update of the challenges facing ICBC, read a CFAX interview with Robert A. Mulligan titled, “Extinguishing the ICBC Dumpster Fire“.   You should disregard the title of the article as it was prepared by a media outlet and does not reflect the considered opinion of a respected, practicing lawyer here in Victoria.

Update: August 20, 2019.

A further article debunks the statement that ICBC rates are soaring and that they are among the highest in Canada:  BC News Outlets Exaggerated the Costs of ICBC Insurance

Update: August 13, 2019.

A Global News broadcast this afternoon quoted heavily from an article prepared by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, an Ontario based private enterprise organization that promotes private insurance, which states BC has the highest auto insurance rates in Canada and that rates could be lowered through ‘competition’.  There was also an article in the Saanich News which similarily quoted the IBC information and also indicated ICBC is facing a huge deficit. The article made no mention of the considerable sums of money the government has removed from Crown Corporations such as ICBC and BC Hydro.

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Church and State Street: The Canadian Experience

Canada has made considerable progress over the past 150 years (mainly within the past 100 years) in advancing individual rights, particularly those of women, children, visible minorities, and lifestyle. Yet, many openly practice discrimination with impunity, and their right to do so is protected in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It is an unusual situation in which a more accepting set of human values is applied by those considered to be non-religious, than is applied by Christians, Muslims, Jews and other faith-based organizations in their approach to those values.

Link Here for a 2014 historical perspective on Church and State

A continuing Conflict Zone In Canada

As Canada continues working to balance Church and State roles, we have much rocky terrain yet to negotiate. There is little doubt an open debate would be helpful, but if the current flashback and heated rhetoric over the wording of a government funding application is an example, the time has yet to arrive. It is unlikely any current government, Liberal, Conservative or NDP, would dare open the discussion as an election issue. Hence, it will be up to occasional bold government action and the courts to draw the line, as did Trudeau in 1969 when the Liberals removed abortion from the Criminal Code. Then, again, in 1982, the same government brought home the Constitution and developed the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Since then, a series of court, parliamentary and legislative decisions at the provincial and federal levels have helped push forward individual rights, particularly those affecting women, children, visible minorities and the LGBTQ community. While women have made considerable gains, many barriers still stand in their path as they march towards equality with men. (For an earlier article on the subject link to Women’s Suffrage.)

On a side note regarding my career in the police, when I first started in 1964, there were no sworn female members. The first came on board in the late 1970s, and as of 2023, the force is equally divided between male and female sworn officers, including Sergeants and a Deputy Chief. How many police departments in Canada, large or small, could match that division? 

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Martel D. Popsecul, Chief Justice
Presiding over the R. vs. Stanley Trial 

The following Charge to the Jury by Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan, the Honourable Martel D. Popescul, is likely the most reliable document yet published providing insight into the R. vs Stanley trial.

(This post outlines my analysis of why I think the Chief Justice led the Jury directly to a finding of not guilty. It was not a directed verdict in the usual sense, but his words had the same effect.)

And, in those words, all 11,000 of them, the Chief Justice attempts to summarize every aspect of the trial as well as the law governing the charges.  It took the Chief Justice just over one and one-half hours to read his document in court with copies then supplied to the Crown and defence as well as to each juror.

In the copy below, those parts which, in my mind, inexorably led the jury to conclude that Gerald Stanley was not guilty on all counts, are highlighted.  There is little doubt the majority of jurors would have found some parts of the summary so complicated as to render them nearly useless in their deliberations.

Having spent thirty years in law enforcement and a further twenty-five reading and writing about various law enforcement issues, I have some degree of understanding of these complex issues, but even at that, I found some sections of the summary tough slogging.

The jury, on the other hand, deliberated a mere fifteen hours before reaching a ‘not guilty’ verdict on all counts.  Fifteen hours is scant time to consider the various pieces of physical and verbal evidence presented over the two-week trial let alone give full consideration to the details provided in the Judge’s Charge to the Jury.

The jury was made up of random citizens selected from the community and while the process was random, many who have experience with law enforcement (police members active and retired, lawyers and judges, as well as a myriad of others involved with the criminal justice system) would have been removed from the jury pool. This is routinely done to remove any suggestion of bias.  Additionally, “pre-emptive” removals can be used to remove others that either the Crown or Defence think may not be impartial. It was by that process Defence Counsel removed all aboriginals from the jury.

As for the those selected, most are unlikely to have had any experience with jury duty and, before selection, will have been exposed to considerable information about the killing which led to the charge. Given the role played by ‘confirmational bias’ in the lead-up to and during the trial, the Judge’s charge seems the best source for an unbiased view of the case. Or was it?

While the Judge read his comments to the jury before handing them a copy, it is hard to rationalize how, in 15 hours of deliberation, the jury could absorb the complicated issues to a degree that would allow them to render an informed decision.  Because jury deliberations are secret, we shall never know exactly how they reached that verdict in such short order.

If you have the time and inclination to read the Judge’s words to the jury, you may or may not come to the same conclusion I have about a clear path being set out for them to render a ‘not-guilty’ verdict on all counts.

In the following copy, I have separated the ‘Charge to the Jury’ into several parts for easy reference and have highlighted some comments in bold (those I consider important) and in yellow, as ‘very important’.  In addition, I have made a few short comments on some numbered sections.

Before presenting the complete text of his remarks, I will submit the thread comments the Honourable Justice, made that I think pushed the jury towards a finding of ‘not guilty’ on all counts.  The fact the jury deliberations took less than two days suggests the Jury had likely made up their minds very early in the process.

Harold McNeill (Det. Sgt. Retired)

Note: Here is a short discussion along with related links regarding the rights and responsibilities of private citizens to use firearms as a means of Protecting Life and Property. 

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How to scratch open a jail cell.

At 2:00 am Sunday, or at that time any other day of the week, Greater Victoria was known as the land of “Newlyweds, Nearly Deads.” As traffic thinned during those early morning hours, the hum of the tires on a car traveling at high speed could be heard for miles. On this morning, the hum was that of an early 1960’s Oldsmobile, a machine having witnessed better days, as it sped East along Pandora, then onto Oak Bay Avenue.

The four young men inside were still hooting and hollering after partying late in one of the downtown clubs. They were now heading home to Gordon Head but having missed the Fort Street cut-off that would have taken them to Foul Bay Road then north, continued East along Oak Bay Ave. All had been drinking heavily and had no particular purpose in mind other than getting home to continue the party.

As they approached Foul Bay Road someone hollered: “Hey man, ya gotta turn here!” However, speed and distance would soon become limiting factors given the tank in which they were riding. The driver, his sense dulled by alcohol, braked heavily then cranked the wheel hard left. As momentum and weight took over, the tires broke away in a wide yaw that led first to the sidewalk, then to West wall of Frost’s corner store.

Photo (web) A 1960’s style Oldsmobile, 4-door.

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 Annual Awards Night Photos
Expedia CruiseshipCenters, Sidney
Saturday, January 6, 2018

A fun time for everyone at the McTavish Academy when Elaine Kirwin, owner/manager of the Sidney based agency, hosted her Annual Expedia CruiseshipCenters Awards Event. With Bronze, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Ruby and Diamond awards being handed out, there was plenty of buzz about the successes of 2017 and what’s in store for 2018. With two men now counted among the crew of twenty-five, it seems the reverse glass ceiling was finally breached.

Elaine (photo right) has much to be proud of, as over the last two decades she has built a skilled team of Travel Professionals, and this has led to the agency receiving several Provincial and National Awards for Service Excellence and Achievement.

The awards include two National Awards, as well as being #1 in Western Canada for Uniworld Boutique River Cruises; and in the Top 3 in Western Canada, for the past five years, with Premier Ocean Cruises – Holland America and Celebrity;  and Scenic River Cruises. For a small agency, these are noteworthy achievements.

As part of the festivities, John Lovel (left), a representative with Emerald Cruise Lines, and Elaine handed out several gifts during the fun and games held after dinner. The competition for prizes was stiff with ties broken during the no holds barred, “rock, paper, scissors” playoffs.

Many thanks to Elaine, her daughter Katie and the catering team from the Airport Spitfire Grill for tasty appetizers, meal, fine wines, and cold beer.

A photo album of the evening’s events is linked here: Awards Night

Cheers,

Harold

Notes:   I didn’t manage to get a photo of everyone with their award. If you have a photo(s) you like me to add, please send by email to: lowerislandsoccer@shaw.ca or pass along to Lynn.  H.

You may link into other travel background stories posted by Harold and Lynn on our McNeill Life Stories Facebook Page.   The photo albums will usually provide a link to the background story.   H.

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May 19, 2017: Party goers celebrate after spending an hour in the Art Room at the McTavish Academy after completing a group art session with Harry Fowler, the Director of Art.

A rocking good time was had at Lynn’s 65th held at the McTavish Academy of Art on McTavish Road in North Saanich. While Lynn probably expected a little something for the special day, an earlier lunch at the Prairie Inn with a half dozen former police buddies and their wives, likely threw her off a tad. To complicate things for Lynn, the Academy event everyone wore a New Orleans style as part of the evening’s festivities.

For those who didn’t catch the words to “When I’m 64”, here is the Lynn McNeill Birthday Party version:

VERSE I (Begin)

When I get older losing my hair, Many years from now? Will you still be sending me a Valentine,
Birthday greetings bottle of wine
If I’d been out till quarter to three, would you still let me drive? Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I’m sixty-five.

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Collage (L to R): (T) From various web sources. Langford, Sidney, Victoria, Saanich, Highlands,
(C) Esquimalt, (Malahat), (CRD) Oak Bay, Metchosin,
(B) Colwood, Sooke, North Saanich, Central Saanich, View Royal

The reason for linking the following comments to the issues swirling around amalgamation is that dealing with sewage treatment is frequently pointed to as being one more reason amalgamation would save us from all manner of problem. Of course, that is not true, but there is no dissuading those who think amalgamation is the answer to every problem.  Previous posts on the topic of amalgamation are provided in the footer.    (This post opened to public on March 25, 2017).

March 16, 2017: The following comments were posted by Mr. Gilbert on an open Facebook page that deals with Local Government Issues in the Capital Regional District of Southern Vancouver Island. Link to the Original Post and Comments   Thanks Bryan for taking the time to provide further insight on this topic.

Bryan Gilbert:

Recently I listened to some friends talking about sewage treatment and I felt very sad to hear how uninformed they were. I don’t blame them because the media has been very one-sided on this issue. Here are ten common misunderstandings about sewage treatment with facts that are verifiable. If you can’t find the source then ask. I offer the following to inform and encourage people to check the back story before believing what we have been told:

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NetFlix Documentary Review: The Untold History of the United States

As with many, I am (or a least was) perplexed by how the United States managed to elect a President that, in almost every way, is the polar opposite of his predecessor, Barack Obama. After reading dozens of news articles linked by various FB friends, as well as having rooted out others from various sources, I was no further ahead. Heck, no one came close to understanding how the man managed to become President.

Almost all sought to explain the troubling aspects of Donald Trump’s ascent to power, in terms of his personality and the cult surrounding him. Of course, the same explanations, from the flip side of the coin, could be applied to Barack Obama. However, none of the explanations took into account the historical aspects of America’s ascent to world domination, both militarily and economically, over the middle part of the last century (1940 – 1960). It was a time when politics flowed out much as it has over the past two decades, with the Obama Presidency being the most peaceful interlude in decades of US hegemony.

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