Metro Vancouver News

West Vancouver lawyer suspended for professional misconduct

Suspended for misconduct

Photo: Contributed

File photo of a BC courtroom.

A West Vancouver lawyer has been suspended from practising law for two months after admitting professional misconduct related to the use of his firm’s trust account.

In a decision released Jan. 27, a Law Society of British Columbia discipline panel ordered the suspension of Julian Reginald Porritt following a joint submission between the Law Society and the lawyer.

The panel found Porritt committed professional misconduct by allowing his firm’s trust account to be used to receive and disburse millions of dollars in transactions without providing legal services connected to the funds and without making adequate inquiries into the circumstances of the transfers.

According to an agreed statement of facts, between about 2017 and early 2021 Porritt received approximately $4.2 million into the trust account and paid out about $3.7 million through 22 transactions.

The decision notes the trust account was used in connection with two client files to transfer funds from people outside Canada to family members in Canada.

Money was received through a common practice in the clients’ cultural community involving transferring family wealth through third party brokers in such a way that no money was directly transferred outside of the clients’ home country, according to the decision.

Some of the transfers were described as family gifts or funds intended for investment or real estate purposes.

Lawyers’ trust accounts are intended to hold money connected to legal work being carried out for clients. The panel found that Porritt did not provide legal services directly related to the money and failed to make reasonable inquiries about the source and purpose of the money or why his trust account was being used to facilitate the transfers.

The panel found the circumstances – including the movement of large sums of money through third parties – should have prompted further questions.

In admitting misconduct, Porritt acknowledged that some transactions proceeded without adequate inquiry and that he failed to properly assess whether the use of his trust account was appropriate in the circumstances.

The decision notes that strict rules governing lawyers’ trust accounts are intended to protect the public and maintain confidence in the handling of clients’ money.

Porritt has been a member of the Law Society since 1984 and practised primarily in business and real estate law through his own firm since 1994.

In addition to the suspension, Porritt was ordered to pay $3,000 in costs.

Four men arrested after heavily armed police rescue man from North Vancouver home

Cops rescue man, 4 arrested

Photo: .

A Vancouver Police Department Emergency Response Team had a heavy presence in a Dollarton neighbourhood Thursday afternoon. |

Four men were arrested after members of the Lower Mainland’s Emergency Response Team showed up with a heavy presence in North Vancouver’s Dollarton neighbourhood Thursday afternoon.

Police allege the suspects forcibly entered a home near the intersection of Dollar Road and Dollarton Highway and held a 45-year-old man captive inside.

Police said they believe the victim was specifically targeted.

Streets were cordoned off and neighbours reported seeing large numbers heavily armed ERT members flood into the area around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Nearby Sherwood Park Elementary was locked down for a short time at the end of the school day, with no students permitted to leave and no parents permitted to enter the school until about 3:40 p.m. when North Vancouver RCMP deemed it safe for students to leave.

Police said the victim who had been confined in the house was safely rescued with only minor injuries.

Nearby video footage shared with the North Shore News showed three men with beards dressed in dark coloured clothes and gloves breaking a fence and running across a neigbhour’s backyard prior to their arrest.

Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Darren Wong said all four men arrested remained in custody Friday.

Police said more information will be released as it becomes available.

Vancouver filming locations: 'The Last of Us' to start filming Season 3

'The Last of Us' filming soon

Photo: Photo: @PaulMorcombe and @ChewieAdam/X.

The HBO zombie drama will start filming in Vancouver, BC, in March 2026 with stars like Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna and Jeffrey Wright.

Warning: This article contains plot spoilers for the TV show.

Arguably the most beloved zombie series of all time will start filming in Vancouver this March.

The Last of Us filmed its first and second seasons in and around Metro Vancouver, bringing its star-studded cast and apocalyptic sets to the streets, parks, forests and the UBC campus. 

The HBO zombie drama has starred Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) and Nico Parker (Dumbo). Season 2 was filming in the city for months.

To many fans' despair, Pascal's character died in the second season, meaning the popular actor won't return to Vancouver for filming. 

But several new actors may be living in the city during filming, along with some of the old cast. 

Clea DuVall (Girl, Interrupted, The Grudge) will join the cast and play a "seraphite," a religious cult introduced in Season 2. "They worship a female Prophet and see the Cordyceps infection as punishment for the sins of humanity," according to Deadline. 

A new actor, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Love, Simon, Spider-Man: No Way Home), will take on the role of Manny, previously played by Danny Ramirez.

Lead actress Bella Ramsey will return to play protagonist Ellie Williams, and told Elle Magazine she will continue to play the lead for as long as the show allows. 

Other returning actors include Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna and Jeffrey Wright.

Bear and Pear Productions is slated to start filming on the show on March 2 and continue through Nov. 27. The series will be filmed this season under the working title "Calm Current," according to Creative BC.

The third instalment of the zombie drama is speculated to be the final season and focus on Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), as she tells the story from the beginning of the Zombie apocolypse and after killing Joel (Pedro Pascal).

Where will the show be filmed in Metro Vancouver? 

Exact set locations are currently unknown, but the production has used numerous shooting spots in the past. Some of them have completely shut down major city blocks, sparking interest from residents and passersby. 

Most recently, filming for the hit show took place on a portion of East Cordova Street last August, which included numerous, weathered-looking picture vehicles, graffiti, debris and plants.

Vancouver filming locations for 'The Last of Us'

In May 2025, Alexander Street was made to look like a post-apocalyptic streetscape with debris, plants and moss-covered vehicles moved into Gastown.

Then, in the summer, the show's crew popped up in lots of nearby spots.

 

New location “The Last of Us” set in Downtown Vancouver!! #TheLastOfUs @yvrshootstweets @YVRFilming pic.twitter.com/E6144cHK9I— Cristina Barper (@CristinaBarper) May 11, 2024

A couple of blocks of Raymur Avenue were used in mid-July for an overnight shoot. Around the same time Chinatown was used: the intersection of Columbia and Pender streets was dressed up to look derelict.

Another set was built involving Arch Alley and East Cordova Street, where shooting took place in early August.

Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver's iconic park and aquarium were used several times by The Last of Us while in town.

In July 2025, the crew was spotted in the park. More scenes were filmed in the park's forest in September.

In what were likely some of the last filming days in Vancouver for Season 2, shooting took place at the Vancouver Aquarium in mid-January 2025.

The Orpheum Theatre

While much of the shooting around Vancouver took place outside, at least one local interior will likely show up in the show: The Orpheum Theatre.

The show filmed at the iconic performance venue and outside on Granville Street in July.

Harbour Green Park

The Coal Harbour park was used for a few days in late July. It was cordoned off from the public and appeared to have several vehicles flipped over in it. Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey was spotted there as well.

The park runs along Vancouver's harbour directly west of the Vancouver Convention Centre and Jack Poole Plaza.

Pacific Spirit Park

In one of the smaller scenes shot here, a military or paramilitary convoy was spotted rolling through the park on West 16th Avenue between Blanca Street and Wesbrook Mall, which leads into UBC.

Britannia Beach

Likely the biggest The Last of Us set in the region was built near Britannia Beach in 2024. 

Nanaimo

Parts of downtown Nanaimo, near the city's main library, were used in April and May 2024.

Kamloops

The Tranquille area outside of Kamloops was also used for filming for the series early in 2025. A grocery store called Greenplace Market was built. A place with the same name is a setting in the video game.

Other spots in B.C.

On social media, several other sets were linked to the show, including in Mission, Langley, Fort Langley and North Vancouver.

With files from Brendan Kergin. 

Police say threats made against schools in Coquitlam, B.C., for third straight day

Schools threatened again

Photo: The Canadian Press

An RCMP epaulette is seen in Edmonton, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Police in the Metro Vancouver community of Coquitlam say more threats have been made toward local schools, setting off safety protocols.

Coquitlam RCMP did not say how many schools were targeted in the latest round of threats but has confirmed that authorities have received additional reports of alleged threats Friday.

It comes after a series a threats were made on Wednesday against nine schools in the Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, in addition to another two schools that were threatened on Thursday.

Police say there has been no evidence of students or staff being at risk because of the threats, but hold-and-secure protocols were initiated out of an abundance of caution "to prioritize safety."

The investigation into the threats is ongoing.

A parent of a student at one of the schools that had been locked down this week reported texts from her daughter saying the classroom windows had been covered by paper and students were sitting on the floor in response to the threats.

Vancouver home insurance premiums rose nearly 10% in 2025, says report

Home insurance prices soar

Photo: Chung Chow.

Annual insured catastrophic losses in Canada exceeded $4 billion per year on average in the last five years, almost twice the level during 2010-19, according to TD Economics.

Vancouver homes are getting older, more costly to repair and more expensive to insure, according to a new report.

Home insurance premiums in Vancouver rose 9.94 per cent in 2025, according to My Choice Financial Inc.

A Feb. 3 report by the Toronto-based insurance comparison platform said rising premiums can be linked to aging housing stock and rising renovation costs.

In Vancouver, 7.38 per cent of homes were built before 1960, and 5.89 per cent of homes require major repairs, said the report.

Older homes with deferred maintenance pose higher risks for water damage, electrical fires and structural failure, explained Vitalii Starov, My Choice’s vice-president of product growth.

As the cost of repairs goes up—renovation inflation in Vancouver was 1.91 per cent last year—homeowners may delay fixing things, which increases risk and pushes premiums higher, he said.

A home’s replacement cost is the key ingredient in property insurance pricing, Starov said.

The study looked specifically at detached and semi-detached houses around 2,000 square feet with three to four bedrooms, monitored fire alarms, burglar alarms, fire extinguishers, fire coverage and enhanced water coverage.

Condo chargebacks

Insurance for condos works a bit differently, said Sean Ingraham, senior vice-president with FirstService Residential.

There are often two insurance policies in play: the strata corporation’s policy, which covers common property and can have a five- or six-figure deductible, and the individual condo owner’s personal policy, which covers their unit and can have a much lower deductible of several hundred dollars.

If the condo owner causes damage—water damage is most frequent—to other parts of the building, it’s very common for strata corporations to have a bylaw where they charge back the strata’s deductible to the responsible unit, he said.

An owner’s personal policy normally covers this chargeback, but if they don’t have personal insurance—it’s not mandatory—the owner would have to pay the strata corporation’s entire chargeback out of pocket, which can be financially ruinous.

“I’ve heard of one strata corporation that has a million-dollar water deductible,” Ingraham said.

Even if the condo owner has a personal policy, it may not cover the whole chargeback if the strata corporation’s deductible has gone up recently. Strata corporations are supposed to notify the ownership of significant changes to the corporation’s deductible, but this isn’t always done, he said.

That’s why it’s important for strata lot owners to take their strata corporation’s insurance summary to their personal insurer to ensure correct coverage, Ingraham said.

The good news is that strata corporations’ deductibles are currently declining in B.C. due to a softer insurance market with more capacity, he said. This may be leading to lower insurance costs for some homeowners—particularly those governed by stratas that take steps to mitigate risk and have a history of fewer losses, he said.

Perfect storm

Not all risks can be mitigated.

The frequency and cost of catastrophic weather events—those that cause at least $30 million in insured losses—have risen significantly in recent years, according to a November 2025 report by Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD).

December’s atmospheric rivers in B.C. caused nearly $90 million in insured damage, for example, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Likeleli Seitlheko, economist and author of the TD report, said B.C. accounted for five per cent of total insured losses between 1983 and 2024, compared to 42 per cent for Alberta and 24 per cent for Ontario.

It’s more proportionate to B.C.’s population or economy relative to Canada, she said.

Seitlheko said she’s seeing some evidence that areas of Canada that have had higher losses are seeing premium increases.

Insurance companies may also be increasing deductibles, reducing coverage levels or even pulling out of some areas affected by repeated flooding and hailstorms, she said.

This may be due in part to underwriting losses, meaning an insurance company’s claims and operational costs are higher than premiums collected.

She suggested people research climate risk for the areas they’re looking to buy in and invest in property upgrades that make homes more resilient in high-risk areas.

'Seeing the sights' costs man his Lamborghini after being clocked at over double the speed limit

Speeding Lambo seized

Photo: Photo courtesy BC Highway Patrol.

A Lamborghini SUV being towed after an excessive speeding impound on the Alex Fraser Bridge.

A 51-year-old Surrey man has a pocketful of traffic tickets and no car keys for a week after being stopped for speeding on the Alex Fraser Bridge.

On Feb. 4, 2026, just after 8 p.m., BC Highway Patrol spotted a Lamborghini SUV driving much faster than other traffic northbound over the Alex Fraser Bridge in Delta.

A laser reader clocked the Lamborghini doing 197 km/h in a 70 zone.

“Some drivers seem to think that bridges are free from speed enforcement. That is a foolish and dangerous assumption. Bridges are no strangers to deadly collisions,” says Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol in a news release. “Driving over double the speed limit is extremely dangerous to you, your passengers, and everyone around you.”

The driver and his two passengers were picked up by family, and the driver is now facing:

• Excessive speed (over 60 km/h), section 148(1) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act (MVA), for a fine of $483;


• Illegal window tint, section 7.05(8) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (BC MVAR) for a fine of $109;


• The cost of a tow truck and a seven-day impound (at the owner’s expense);


• At least three years of high-risk driver premiums and escalating insurance that will bring the total costs over $2,500.

 

“The driver claimed he was showing his out-of-country cousins the sights of Metro Vancouver,” added McLaughlin. “Instead, they saw the consequences of dangerous driving. We’re grateful it didn’t end much worse.”

20 coal cars derail near B.C. wetland, says ministry

20 coal cars derail

Photo: Rob Kryut, BIV

Metallurgical coal—B.C.'s second most valuable export—moves through Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver. Canada's busiest coal export terminal, operated by Westshore, at Roberts Bank in Delta.

A train carrying coal through a wetland in Surrey derailed Friday morning, prompting the rail operator to launch a spill response.

Reports to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness suggest the incident occurred at around 9 a.m. near the corner of Colebrook Road and East King George Boulevard.

“The initial report indicates that the derailment involved 20 coal cars,” reported the province in a spill response bulletin.

“There is a wetland in proximity to where the derailment occurred.”

The province said Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) was operating the train and that it has deployed its spill response contractor, Nucor Environmental, to conduct an on-site assessment.

The Ministry of the Environment and Parks said it has also deployed two response officers.

More information will be provided as the ministry learns more, the bulletin said.

BNSF spokesperson Kendall Sloan said in an email the incident occurred at around 9:13 a.m. “near New Westminster” and that it has affected the main track.

“There were no reported injuries to the crew and there is no hazmat release associated with this incident,” said Sloan. “A team is on site working to clear the area as quickly and as safely as possible.”

The spokesperson said the cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

Under B.C. law, those responsible for environmental spills are responsible for cleaning them up.

BNSF has a rail network extending to B.C. coal terminals at Roberts Bank and North Vancouver. It's not clear which direction the train was headed.

U.S. companies use B.C. ports to export thermal coal largely because Washington state and Oregon won’t approve new export terminals.

In February 2025, then-B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad suggested placing a “graduated carbon tax” on U.S. thermal coal that is shipped out of B.C. ports.

At the time, Rustad suggested the policy be used as “a tool to fight back” against threats of U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix responded to the idea, saying it was “clearly federal jurisdiction” and that the Conservatives were using the idea to distract from not having a strong position against U.S. tariff threats.

Fitness trial begins for man accused of killing B.C. Mountie Shaelyn Yang in 2022

Accused cop killer on trial

A person enters The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Click here to view gallery

Photo: The Canadian PressPhoto: The Canadian Press

 

The hearing to determine if a man accused of killing RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang is fit to stand trial has begun in the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Jongwon Ham, who appeared at the hearing Friday wearing a grey suit and white sneakers, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Yang in October 2022.

The three-day hearing comes after Justice Michael Tammen ordered a fitness assessment on the day Ham's judge-alone trial was set to begin last month.

An interim publication ban temporarily prevents the reporting of evidence at the fitness hearing, which is scheduled to continue next week.

A fitness hearing, or fitness trial, allows a judge to determine if the accused has the mental capacity to understand the charges and is able to meaningfully participate in their own defence, and does not examine their mental state at the time the alleged crime was committed.

Yang was stabbed to death on Oct. 18, 2022, when she tried to speak to a man sheltering in a tent in Broadview Park in Burnaby, B.C.

B.C.'s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has said the man in the tent was shot and wounded by Yang.

In a statement in December 2022, the office said its chief civilian director determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed an offence in the incident.

RCMP have said Yang was a mental health and homeless outreach officer who had joined the police three years before her death.

Inside the 'con code', the unwritten rules that may be fuelling prison violence

Inside the 'con code'

Photo: The Canadian Press

William Head Institution is shown through a security fence in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008.  

In a Surrey, B.C., pretrial centre, an inmate is goaded into fighting his cellmate — dubbed a "rat" by fellow prisoners — but then dies after being put in a 10-minute chokehold.

In a Vancouver court, a convicted gangland killer with multiple murders to his name refuses to testify at a hearing, fearing the consequences if he co-operates.

And in a Quebec prison, serial killer Robert Pickton is fatally speared in the head by a fellow prisoner.

What binds the cases, prison advocates say, is the "con code" — a set of unwritten rules among inmates that they believe is behind a sharp rise in attacks behind bars. But they say Canadian courts have been reluctant to take the situation seriously.

Advocates say the phenomenon — also known as the inmate code or prison code — is the violent day-to-day reality for those involved in the prison system, well known to inmates, guards and lawyers. And while the Correctional Service of Canada acknowledged the problem, an officer said it was in a "Catch-22" situation, if reporting prison code violence would itself put an inmate at further potential risk.

Numbers provided by the correctional service show prison violence has increased by about 45 per cent in recent years. In fiscal 2021-22, there were 2,265 "assault related incidents" in federal institutions, while in 2024-25, that jumped to 3,279. The figures include assaults involving both inmates and prison staff.

Catherine Latimer, executive director of prison reform group the John Howard Society of Canada, pointed to a contempt-of-court ruling issued by the B.C. Supreme Court in December, after convicted killer Cody Haevischer refused to answer questions under cross-examination by a Crown lawyer, citing the "inmate code."

He said the code prohibited inmates from "ratting" on fellow gang members or others if they're still alive.

Haevischer was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy in 2014 over his role in the so-called "Surrey six" murders in 2007.

He was testifying at an evidentiary hearing last July as part of his ongoing bid for a stay on his case, claiming police misconduct and inhumane prison conditions tainted his trial.

"As an inmate in prison, and a general population inmate specifically, naming names or co-operating in any way, I'll be viewed as a rat and put my life in immediate danger," Haevischer testified.

The judge cited him for contempt and told him, "your inmate code, as you've described it, isn't a code that prevails in this courtroom," while ruling his claims of "duress" lacked an air of reality in the absence of a "concrete threat" to his life by other inmates.

But Latimer said the court's finding was concerning because prisoners know violating the inmate code by co-operating with authorities can put their lives in danger.

"It should be taken seriously and is taken seriously by correctional authorities and by others," Latimer said. "All I can say is if I had been (Haevischer), I would have opted for the contempt charge rather than loss of life.

"This guy I'm sure was quite genuine in being afraid for his life."

Chris McLaughlin, a senior project officer with the Preventive Security Intelligence Branch of Correctional Service Canada, said the code "can vary from institution to institution."

"There are a number of different aspects to it which include not co-operating with authorities, paying your debts and stepping up if you're disrespected," he said. "The inmate code is a thing that does exist. We acknowledge that. We train our staff in recognizing the negative behaviours that are explicit within that."

He said inmates who feel unsafe could inform prison staff of any "incompatibilities" with other offenders.

Co-operating with prison authorities may be against the inmate code — but McLaughlin said authorities can't take action on threats they don't know about.

"If somebody feels that they are in jeopardy already and that they would increase that jeopardy somehow by seeking out some type of assistance, then we're kind of in a Catch-22 situation," he said.

Latimer said the murder of B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton at a maximum security institution in Quebec raised a litany of questions about how someone like him, whose offences made him a target under the inmate code, was accessible to harm.

Pickton was waiting for medication in a common room of Quebec's Port-Cartier Institution on May 19, 2024, when fellow prisoner Martin Charest thrust a broken broomstick into his face. Pickton died in hospital less than two weeks later.

"He was a sex offender and part of the prison code is that if you get a shot at a sex offender, you have an obligation to sort of assault them," Latimer said.

Charest pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Pickton in September 2025, saying he "killed him for the victims."

Latimer said an independent observer's report for the correctional service into the killing was inadequate.

"How did he get access to Pickton? How did he get within range of assaulting him? Normally they would keep people like Pickton, who's particularly vulnerable, in a protected wing, protected from other prisoners who are assaultive," she said. "There's a lot in that (report) that doesn't add up and leaves me with still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to Robert Pickton."

Adherence to the inmate code has also had deadly consequences for those in jail for minor offences.

At a pretrial centre in Surrey, B.C., in August 2016, John Murphy was goaded into a deadly fight with cellmate Jordan Burt. They were not enemies, but "dominant members" of the segregation unit where they were housed told Murphy that Burt was a rat, according to a B.C. provincial court sentencing decision.

The ruling says Burt was serving time for a probation violation, and the Toronto Star reported in 2019 that Murphy was behind bars for breaching a driving-ban imposed after he was involved in a fatal drunk-driving incident when he was 20.

Burt, 21, denied the "rat" accusation, and Murphy, 25, didn't want to fight, but the other inmates were "vocal in making clear" that Murphy was obligated to fight Burt. Burt "gained the upper hand, putting Mr. Murphy in a chokehold," which lasted for more than 10 minutes before Murphy died.

Burt pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to five and 1/2 years.

"They liked each other, but the unique and warped prison culture in which they lived pitted them against each other," B.C. provincial court Judge James Sutherland found in 2018.

"This incident arose from the prison culture or this code, and ultimately it perpetuates the prison code and prison politics, and thus the power of distribution in prison. The incident cannot be condoned, even if perpetuating the code was not Mr. Burt's motivation."

'THE INMATE CODE STILL LIVES WITHIN MYSELF'

Lawrence Da Silva served 19 years in prison for the violent carjacking and confinement of Toronto lawyer Schuyler Sigel and his wife, Lynn, and has been out since 2016.

He now works with the John Howard Society, and said in an interview that even after nearly a decade on the outside, the inmate code still pervades his life.

"Unfortunately sometimes the inmate code still lives within myself," he said. "It was something that was trained into us, not only by other offenders, but by the empowerment of guards."

He said he learned very early on that talking to guards, or speaking with them for too long, "could look suspicious and you could be targeted."

Adhering to the code, inside and outside prison, is "vital" to survival, he said.

He said prison hierarchy puts "rats" at the bottom, along with so-called "box thieves" who steal from the cells of fellow inmates, and sex offenders. Da Silva said "going against the grain" of the code would have violent, sometimes deadly, consequences.

"There are people inside that will not allow you to break the rules. They will attack you, they will kill you. And they will kill you in front of the guards. I've been stabbed multiple times," he said.

"Where I came from, the con code was exacerbated by methodical means of violence, throwing boiling oil or jam or water mixed with coffee — things that will not roll just off your skin. This is serious violence that people carry out for the con code."

Da Silva said it is "offensive" to hear judges and politicians acknowledge the existence of the code but not take it seriously, citing remarks by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew last year.

Kinew denounced a Supreme Court of Canada finding that mandatory minimum sentences over child sex abuse materials are unconstitutional.

"Not only should (you) go to prison for a long time, they should bury you under the prison. You shouldn't get protective custody. They should put you into general population, if you know what I mean," Kinew said in November.

Edmonton defence lawyer Tom Engel said Kinew's comments were a "disappointment," echoing criticism he's levelled at other Canadian politicians for failing to condemn prison violence.

"Politicians are not only condoning it, but they're encouraging it," Engel said.

Engel said he's been involved in many cases that also point to a "code of silence" among prison guards, allowing violence and complicity in inmate attacks to go unchecked.

The code is well-known in legal circles, he said, but it's incumbent on lawyers to present compelling evidence for judges to take "judicial notice."

John Randle, spokesman for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers for the Pacific Region, said the inmate code and prison populations have shifted a lot over his 17 years as a guard.

He said gang members are no longer mixed in with rivals in general population. But the abolition of administrative segregation has made managing violent prisoners more difficult.

"I think that risk of violence is present whether you break the code or not in jail," he said, and it would be "naive" to believe violence could be stopped in prisons, citing the impact of the drug trade behind bars.

"Drugs have always been probably the No. 1 cause of violence in prison," he said, and also inmate debt that resulted from the trade. "With drones and technology, you have every single gang all vying for that power and they all have drugs coming in."

Nora Demnati, a prison law practitioner in Quebec, is the president of the Canadian Prison Law Association. She said the B.C. Supreme Court's contempt finding in the case of Cody Haevischer stirred up "disappointment" in prison law circles.

"Judges tend to not recognize how real it is," Demnati said, adding that the unique circumstances of an inmate under duress cannot be reconciled with a "strict application of the law."

"It's naive to believe that prisoners are perfectly protected in prison because things happen very quickly in prison.

"A lack evidence of the immediate fear or the temporality of the fear or of the threat to him, those are things that cannot be explained as the law wants them to be explained in terms of the rules of evidence."

Demnati said she's had "countless" clients who have been attacked in prison on "mere suspicion" of violating the inmate code, and those who have reported their fears to authorities have had their concerns dismissed.

She said courts should stop considering violence committed in prison an "aggravating factor" when sentencing people who have little choice. Instead, she called for greater recognition from the justice system and the correctional service of the complex underlying factors — unresolved trauma, mental health issues and addiction.

"As long as they refuse to see that and address it on a purely punitive and (through) a security lens, violence in prison will prevail because they're not addressing the core reason why people engage in violent behaviour in the first place," she said. "But other than that, I don't know. I'm not too much of an optimist when it comes to changing the system."

Repeated threats shut down some schools in Coquitlam, B.C.

Threats shut down schools

Photo: The Canadian Press

An RCMP collar tab pin is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

A Coquitlam, B.C., mother says her 16-year-old daughter sent her an alarming text Wednesday that the girl's school room window had been covered by paper and students were sitting on the floor because of a police lockdown.

Sharon Perry says the same school, Centennial Secondary, was locked down a week before and again on Thursday in a situation that is "beyond scary" for her family.

Mounties in the Metro Vancouver city say two additional threats were received against schools in the city on Thursday, a day after eight schools in Coquitlam and the neighbouring city of Port Coquitlam had been placed on a police hold and secure.

RCMP Insp. Todd Balaban says the threats were delivered by phone, and investigators are working "tirelessly" to gather evidence to advance the investigation.

Perry says she felt helpless after reading her daughter's first message last week that told of barricading the room they were in, coverings on the windows and hiding under desks.

Balaban says rumours about the threats have been circulating on social media, which aren't helpful to their investigation, however Perry says they are getting little clear information from the school district.

The district says in a statement that media should contact Coquitlam RCMP for further information as it has "nothing more to share."

Police in Port Moody said Wednesday they were investigating a similar threat that occurred at an elementary school, which was briefly placed on a hold and secure.

Balaban says police believe there is a connection between the Coquitlam and Port Moody threats.