News

As seen on CJDC TV by Michael Popove, 9th May 2024.

DAWSON CREEK — The MLA for Peace River South has introduced “Logan’s Law,’ a private member’s bill named in memory of Logan Power.

The bill is aimed at reforming the Family Compensation Act in British Columbia to provide justice for families of victims killed by the careless or intentional acts of others.

The bill is inspired by the heart-wrenching story of Logan Power, a young man from Dawson Creek whose promising life was tragically cut short in 2016 by a drunk driver.

Power was a grade-12 honours student at Dawson Creek secondary school. He was well-liked by his classmates and was preparing for a career in power engineering in the oilfield.

“We were totally robbed. He was my only son.said Terry Power, Logan’s father.

Despite the family’s profound loss, Logan’s family received no compensation, simply because Logan did not meet the narrow economic criteria recognized under the discriminatory existing law.

‘Under the BC Family Compensation Act, the lives of children, seniors, those with disabilities, and those without dependents are considered worthless when they are killed,” said Mike Bernier. “Logan’s Law will ensure all families, like the Powers, receive the justice they deserve by expanding the eligibility for claims of wrongful deaths.”

If passed, ‘Logan’s Law’ will expand eligibility for claims and adjust compensation levels to align more closely with the realities of wrongful deaths.

This includes allowing parents, siblings, or dependents to claim compensation in the event of a wrongful death. This compensation will help families cover medical expenses, funeral costs, and travel and accommodation costs incurred while caring for the injured person before their death.

It also aims to align British Columbia with other provinces, which have already updated their laws to address the consequences of wrongful deaths more comprehensively.

“in my work to support this much-needed reform to the Family Compensation Act, I’ve met with many families about the challenges with our outdated wrongful death laws,” said Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver-Langara and Shadow Minister for Attorney General, and Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation, “Grieving families should not be denied justice and compensation in the event of a wrongful death.”

The bill proposes vital changes consistent with the recommendations by the Ministry of Attorney General in 2010, addressing critical gaps in the current system.

Terry Power was shocked to learn his family is not entitled to pain and suffering costs after his son Logan was killed by an alleged drunk driver. Dawson Creek Mirror photo by Jonny Wakefield.

About the BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society

‘In Their Name’ is the campaign of ‘The BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society’ – a BC registered non-profit organization comprised of volunteer families who have lost a loved one to wrongful death in BC and were denied access to justice. In response to the biggest human rights issue facing the province today, our goal is to modernize British Columbia’s antiquated wrongful death legislation, which predates confederation (1846). Under current legislation, the value of a human life is measured only by the deceased’s future lost income, so long as they had dependents.

As a result of the province’s antiquated law, access to justice has been denied to the families of the wrongfully killed who do not meet this discriminatory criteria. This has affected especially vulnerable groups, namely children, seniors, the disabled, and anyone without dependents when they are killed by the negligent or intentional acts of another.

BC is presently the last of all the provinces, yet to have undertaken this critical legislative modernization to allow for dignity, value, and protections for all its citizens under the law.

When it’s ‘free’ to kill in BC, wrongdoers are not held accountable. This lack of general deterrence holds the province back in terms of incentivizing innovation of safety measures and protocols to prevent wrongful deaths in the first place.

Here’s How You Can Get Involved…

The Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, is responsible for the modernization of BC’s wrongful death laws. Our Society provided David Eby with the drafted ‘Wrongful Death Accountability Act’ when he was acting as the Attorney General for British Columbia for 6 years between 2017-2022. The new Attorney General, Niki Sharma, also shares responsibility as she is the Minister responsible for the ‘Family Compensation Act’ – the current guiding piece of legislation that the civil courts must follow in cases of wrongful death. Minister Sharma receives feedback from the regional ‘Members of the Legislative Assembly’ (MLAs) and follows orders from the Premier, David Eby, who is ultimately responsible for modernization.

Reform is presently at a standstill, as the BC NDP government does not presently view access to justice for the surviving family members of the wrongfully killed as a priority in this province. This is despite the fact that the families behind our Society have been fighting for modernization for over two decades. And despite the fact that all other provinces, including the Yukon, have already modernized in most cases long ago.

The only way to move this forward is by creating massive public awareness and outcry for legislative modernization. Only under the scrutiny of the public and the media will our politicians be forced to take this necessary, and long overdue action.

How many more people will need to die from the same preventable wrongful actions before our politicians will do their job?

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