Michael was brought to the cause of The BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society due to the experience of a family tragedy that permitted a wrongdoer to escape accountability under British Columbia’s perverse and antiquated wrongful death laws. Michael navigated the process of the Patient Care Quality Office, Patient Care Quality Review Boards, and BC Office of the Ombudsperson and overall was extremely dissatisfied with both the government’s investigative process as well as their inability to hold the wrongful parties accountable. As a self-represented litigant, he sued the wrongdoer in Provincial Court and later escalated the matter to the Supreme Court. While litigation was ongoing, Michael’s family member passed away. Only on their deathbed did Michael come to learn that under BC’s wrongful death laws, the pain and suffering damages that his family member endured while alive would no longer be recoverable. The death inevitably became a windfall for the wrongdoer to escape accountability under these perverse and antiquated laws. The concept of someone’s life having no value under the law left Michael with a burning sense of injustice, and he felt strongly that BC’s legislative framework originating from 1846 shouldn’t continue to permit others to be forced to endure similar preventable circumstances.
Michael joined The BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society in 2015, first as a member, later as Vice President, and since 2018, he has served in the Society’s leadership role as President. On behalf of the Society, Michael has worked with and provided support to nearly 60 families, recruited, hired and individually trained over 50 volunteers and work placements with disabilities, has given over 30 media interviews as a subject matter expert, met with over 50 Members of the Legislative Assembly, presented to the BC New Democratic Party and BC United Caucuses, and has been previously introduced by the Attorney General in Question Period at the Legislature. He is tirelessly dedicated to pursuing provincial wrongful death legislative reform. Michael strives to see a province that respects the life, liberty, and dignity of all individuals fairly under the law, ensuring access to justice and a safer province through legislated protections for both current and future generations.
Aside from his dedication to the Society, Michael has operated a Technology Business Development & Investment Firm for nearly two decades, and has been involved in Filmmaking passion projects since 2012. In 2008, he travelled with the BC Premier and Cabinet to open the BC Pavilion in Tiananmen Square prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and presented at the Beijing International Business & Technology Summits. He was a member of the 2009 Ascent for Alzheimer’s Team that raised over a quarter million in a matter of a few months through individual donations for the Alzheimer Society of BC, which culminated in the summiting of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. In 2010, he advised on the Premier’s Technology Council. Michael has also been both interviewed and featured on television and in numerous publications, some of which include Global, CTV, CBC, CKNW, CKPG, Sun News UK, BC Tech Magazine, Business in Vancouver, Make it Business Magazine, Techvibes, Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight, City TV, Business TV, North Shore News, Peace Arch News, The Squamish Chief, Tuff City Radio, and The Tyee.
In Michael’s free time, he enjoys martial arts, weightlifting, ice hockey, and studying the Austrian school of economics. You can connect with him personally on Linkedin.