Update:
Vancouver City Councillor Pete Fry has put forth a motion for the Union of BC Municipalities to recommend to the province that our wrongful death laws be modernized so as to provide a foundation of “worth” under the law for everyone in the province of BC.
View the UBCM Motion to Modernize Wrongful Death Laws
A foundation of “worth” or “value” of human life would allow for access to justice, accountability to wrongdoers, and for us to prevent future wrongful deaths in the first place through financial deterrence.
BC is still presently the last of all provinces where only people who meet the discriminatory criteria of having both an income and dependents have worth under the law.
This especially affects vulnerable groups such as children, seniors, the disabled, and populations such as our first nations disproportionately.
This will be a huge leap forward for enshrining human rights and legislative protections for the citizens of BC.
The Process
Step 1
The motion starts off at the local city council level
Step 2
When passed at the local council level, it is then escalated to the Lower Mainland Local Government Association
Step 3
When passed at the LMLGA, it is then taken to the Union of BC Municipalities Conference, and when passed there the recommendation is made to the province!
This will be an amazing coordinated grass roots effort across the province in education and awareness. It will greatly support the much needed “political will” to move this forward.