Law and justice

B.C.'s police complaint commissioner has ordered a review into how an officer was disciplined for misconduct, saying it didn't fit the seriousness of allegations that he made inappropriate sexual advances. A police car with flashing lights is shown in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matt Rourke

Watchdog wants review of B.C. police officer’s penalty for sexual advances

Officer reduced in rank, complaints commissioner checking to see if punishment fit misconduct

B.C.'s police complaint commissioner has ordered a review into how an officer was disciplined for misconduct, saying it didn't fit the seriousness of allegations that he made inappropriate sexual advances. A police car with flashing lights is shown in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matt Rourke
Deborah Burns, daughter of Earl Burns Sr., who was killed during the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, speaks to the media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask. on Thursday, January 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone

Answers starting to come as Saskatchewan stabbing inquest enters week 2

Myles Sanderson killed 11 and injured 17 on James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon

Deborah Burns, daughter of Earl Burns Sr., who was killed during the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, speaks to the media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask. on Thursday, January 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone
Darryl Burns, right, whose sister Gloria Burns was killed during the the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, and Stewart Head, whose brother was also killed, speaks to media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Father of killer’s partner among those killed in Saskatchewan massacre

Mother of Myles Sanderson’s children testifies about years of emotional and physical abuse

Darryl Burns, right, whose sister Gloria Burns was killed during the the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, and Stewart Head, whose brother was also killed, speaks to media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
Forensic genealogy is still in the research and development phase, and while its value is clear for solving crime, the ethics debate has a long way to go, says an expert in the field. DNA data is displayed at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Forensic genealogy feeding B.C. murder arrest still up for ethics debate

Ibrahim Ali convicted of killing teen largely due to emerging field of evidence gathering

Forensic genealogy is still in the research and development phase, and while its value is clear for solving crime, the ethics debate has a long way to go, says an expert in the field. DNA data is displayed at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Darryl Burns, right, whose sister Gloria Burns was killed during the the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, and Stewart Head, whose brother was also killed, speaks to media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Families horrified as James Smith Cree stabbing rampage testimony continues

Inquest probes Myles Sanderson spress that left 11 people dead and injured 17 others in Saskatchewan

Darryl Burns, right, whose sister Gloria Burns was killed during the the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., mass stabbings in 2022, and Stewart Head, whose brother was also killed, speaks to media at the public coroner’s inquest in Melfort, Sask., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
Undercover police investigating the murder of a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia disguised themselves as tea marketers to secretly collect the DNA of about 150 Kurdish community members, court recordings reveal. DNA testing is preformed at a lab in New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bebeto Matthews

Premier supportive of police secretly taking DNA to solve B.C. teen’s murder

Ibrahim Ali was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the 2017 killing

Undercover police investigating the murder of a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia disguised themselves as tea marketers to secretly collect the DNA of about 150 Kurdish community members, court recordings reveal. DNA testing is preformed at a lab in New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bebeto Matthews
Undercover police investigating the murder of a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia disguised themselves as tea marketers to secretly collect the DNA of about 150 Kurdish community members, court recordings reveal. DNA testing is preformed at a lab in New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bebeto Matthews

Tea-tasting sting led to B.C. murder conviction, charges of rights violations

Police secretly collected DNA from Kurdish community members in bid to find teen’s killer

Undercover police investigating the murder of a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia disguised themselves as tea marketers to secretly collect the DNA of about 150 Kurdish community members, court recordings reveal. DNA testing is preformed at a lab in New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bebeto Matthews
Meta is offering to settle a class-action lawsuit over the use of some images in Facebook advertising for $51 million. The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France on June 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Thibault Camus

Meta put $51M on the table to settle B.C. Facebook advertising suit

Canadians from 4 provinces sued over firm using their names and photos without permission

Meta is offering to settle a class-action lawsuit over the use of some images in Facebook advertising for $51 million. The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France on June 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Thibault Camus
Novelist and former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway has won a years-long battle to have his defamation lawsuit proceed against a woman who says her raped her, which Galloway denies. People walk past large letters spelling out UBC at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Nov. 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. writer can proceed with defamation suit against sex assault accuser

Court rules lawsuit can proceed in case of former UBC professor Steven Galloway

Novelist and former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway has won a years-long battle to have his defamation lawsuit proceed against a woman who says her raped her, which Galloway denies. People walk past large letters spelling out UBC at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Nov. 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Photographs of those killed during the mass stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon in 2022 are on display as Saskatchewan RCMP provide a preliminary timeline presentation of the events during a media event in Melfort, Sask., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

First Nation wants probe in Saskatchewan mass killer’s release made public

Myles Sanderson responsible for mass stabbing on and around James Smith Cree Nation land

Photographs of those killed during the mass stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon in 2022 are on display as Saskatchewan RCMP provide a preliminary timeline presentation of the events during a media event in Melfort, Sask., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
A third proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed over salmonella-tainted cantaloupes that have sickened people across Canada. Cantaloupe halves are displayed for sale at a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Conlon

B.C. cantaloupe salmonella class-action lawsuit added to growing list

Law firm Slater Vecchio says it has filed suit against Mexican grower and 2 U.S. food companies

A third proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed over salmonella-tainted cantaloupes that have sickened people across Canada. Cantaloupe halves are displayed for sale at a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Conlon
The remnants of a newly built home that was burned down and is under investigation of arson in Edmonton on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Police in at least three provinces are now dealing with investigations of extortion schemes with the common thread of targeting business owners in the South Asian community. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.

Extortion threats plague south Asian communities in B.C. and across Canada

Multi-jurisdictional investigation in B.C., similar extortion schemes in Ontario and Alberta

The remnants of a newly built home that was burned down and is under investigation of arson in Edmonton on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Police in at least three provinces are now dealing with investigations of extortion schemes with the common thread of targeting business owners in the South Asian community. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
FILE - Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a sexual assault victim, speaks in New York, July 2, 2020. Social media is abuzz with news that a judge is about to release a list of “clients,” or “associates” or maybe “co-conspirators,” of Jeffrey Epstein, the jet-setting financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While some previously sealed court records are indeed being made public, the great majority of the people whose names appear in those documents are not accused of any wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Unsealed records offer new detail on old Epstein sex abuse allegations

Much-hyped court-ordered release largely consisted of already public material

FILE - Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a sexual assault victim, speaks in New York, July 2, 2020. Social media is abuzz with news that a judge is about to release a list of “clients,” or “associates” or maybe “co-conspirators,” of Jeffrey Epstein, the jet-setting financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While some previously sealed court records are indeed being made public, the great majority of the people whose names appear in those documents are not accused of any wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
An Ontario woman who says she was sickened with a salmonella infection after eating cantaloupe is the lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action lawsuit against three companies linked to outbreaks across the country. Cantaloupe halves are displayed for sale at a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Conlon

Salmonella-tainted cantaloupes spark class-action lawsuit proposals

Suits filed in Quebec and Manitoba, pending in B.C. in wake of of illness and death

An Ontario woman who says she was sickened with a salmonella infection after eating cantaloupe is the lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action lawsuit against three companies linked to outbreaks across the country. Cantaloupe halves are displayed for sale at a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Conlon
Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Wilson says a recent court decision placing a temporary injunction on a law to restrict drug use in some public places takes away police enforcement tools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. police chiefs disappointed with public drug use court ruling

Temporary injunction until March 31, pending a constitutional challenge of new law

Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Wilson says a recent court decision placing a temporary injunction on a law to restrict drug use in some public places takes away police enforcement tools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the case of a British Columbia woman whose conviction in the drowning death of a toddler was quashed earlier this year. The Supreme Court of Canada is seen, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Supreme Court to hear acquittal case for B.C. babysitter in toddler death

Tammy Bouvette wants acquittal finding rather than stay of proceedings ordered by appeal court

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the case of a British Columbia woman whose conviction in the drowning death of a toddler was quashed earlier this year. The Supreme Court of Canada is seen, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
FILE - Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic, from left, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain pose after receiving the award for best alternative video for “In Bloom” at the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 2, 1993, in Universal City, Calif. A federal appeals court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old infant on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group was dismissed last year but a the court in California revived it on Thursday and sent it back to a lower court. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Nirvana naked baby album cover lawsuit revived by U.S. court

Lawsuit alleges Spencer Elden has suffered ‘permanent harm’ from photo taken when he was a baby

FILE - Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic, from left, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain pose after receiving the award for best alternative video for “In Bloom” at the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 2, 1993, in Universal City, Calif. A federal appeals court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old infant on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group was dismissed last year but a the court in California revived it on Thursday and sent it back to a lower court. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
A court in Amsterdam sentenced Aydin Coban Thursday to six years in prison. Coban is shown in this handout photo from the time of his arrest by Dutch police, entered into an exhibit at his trial in British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DUTCH POLICE

Amanda Todd’s mom praises Dutch court for imposing max sentence on tormentor

‘Keeping that man off the streets, off the internet for 17 years in total is a good thing’

A court in Amsterdam sentenced Aydin Coban Thursday to six years in prison. Coban is shown in this handout photo from the time of his arrest by Dutch police, entered into an exhibit at his trial in British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DUTCH POLICE
Premier David Eby is photographed during a year-end interview from his office at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, December 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. sextortion victim’s dad inspires Eby to target online predators

B.C. premier says changes in the new year will honour memory of Carson Cleland, 12

Premier David Eby is photographed during a year-end interview from his office at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, December 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Carol Todd holds a photo of her late teenage daughter Amanda Todd, who died by suicide in 2012, and the necklace she was wearing in the school photo, outside B.C. Supreme Court after sentencing for the Dutch man who was accused of extorting and harassing her daughter, in New Westminster, B.C., on Friday, October 14, 2022. Todd said she had kept the necklace and “A” pendant stored away since her death and took it out for the first time in a decade to wear it to the sentencing. A British Columbia judge has sentenced Aydin Coban to 13 years in prison for tormenting Amanda Todd before she died by suicide. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Amanda Todd tormenter’s sentence cut to 6 years by Dutch court

Aydin Coban had been sentenced to 13 years in B.C. for cyberbullying young teen

Carol Todd holds a photo of her late teenage daughter Amanda Todd, who died by suicide in 2012, and the necklace she was wearing in the school photo, outside B.C. Supreme Court after sentencing for the Dutch man who was accused of extorting and harassing her daughter, in New Westminster, B.C., on Friday, October 14, 2022. Todd said she had kept the necklace and “A” pendant stored away since her death and took it out for the first time in a decade to wear it to the sentencing. A British Columbia judge has sentenced Aydin Coban to 13 years in prison for tormenting Amanda Todd before she died by suicide. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck