The fight for a fair wrongful death law has generated considerable media attention in British Columbia. All major news sources, including CBC, CTV, Global, CKNW, the Vancouver Sun, and the Province have reported on the campaign, as well as local media throughout the province.
This news archive provides a history of the campaign. It demonstrates the need for a wrongful death law in BC that is just and equal—that is accessible to all British Columbians.
You are cordially invited to attend the 2nd Annual Mothers for Justice Memorial Walk on May 13th, 2023, 1PM PST at McBride Park, 3350 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Supreme Court of Canada set the punitive damages criteria/limit in Canada in the precedent-setting case of Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co.
The initial case was heard in the Ontario Supreme Court, and Whiten was awarded one million dollars in punitive damages. Pilot Insurance appealed the case to the Ontario Court of Appeal, in which the punitive damages award was reduced to $100,000. Whiten then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, in which the SCC restored the initial one million dollars in punitive damages awarded.
Kelly Ashton was 62 when she died in Prince George hospice on Dec. 1. Her official cause of death was natural causes, but her son Jason Keller and daughter Santaya Garnot are alleging their mother’s death was wrongful.
2024 Election – David Eby & the BC NDP have failed to keep their promise to modernize BC’s wrongful death laws within their 2020-2024 mandate of government.
John Rustad and the Conservative Party of BC have committed to modernize if elected.