4 months of De Facto event
Sept. 13 backyard gathering in Victoria. Plus: 318 days of delays. Shooting inquest results. School board allegations. Income rule changes. Shelter bed shortfall.
4 months of De Facto
We launched on International Workers' Day back in May with our series on immigration enforcement in the Lower Mainland.
We’re so grateful for the support we've received, and we’re now just short of bringing in $500 every month. To help us reach that milestone you can donate here.
Thank you all for helping us do this investigative work, which is often slow and time-consuming.
To celebrate the birth of De Facto — and to thank you for supporting us in so many ways — we're inviting our subscribers and supporters to celebrate this media milestone with us.
Our first in-person gathering will be in Victoria on Sunday, Sept. 13 — 2-4 p.m (but don't worry — we'll host another one in Vancouver soon!).
Please contact us to RSVP for event details, so we can make sure there are enough snacks and drinks!
318 days of police delays
This chart shows how just the extra time Vancouver police took to send a handful of documents has added up to almost a year:
At De Facto, we want to not only bring you our findings but also show you our process as much as possible.
Last week, Dustin Godfrey detailed the time and work they put into showing that senior officers received emails that Vancouver police claimed did not exist.
How we disproved the VPD’s claims
The emails surfaced as part of sealed evidence in a trial, so Dustin had to go to court to be allowed to publish those documents — or even to submit a complaint about the VPD’s refusal to provide or admit to them.
On May 29, a special hearing of the judge, Crown and defence lawyers in the case met to hear Dustin’s request. And despite police counsel’s counter-arguments, De Facto prevailed.
Here are some other things we wrote and did in August:
Mike fought wildfires
In last Tuesday’s photo-essay, Mike Graeme showed what it was like to be deployed to burning areas this summer — BC’s 4th-worst wildfire season on record.
We joined Unrigged
Unrigged is a coalition of local, regional, and national independent media outlets, including The Breach, Ricochet, The Grind, Maisonneuve, Press Progress, and 30+ more.
Born in response to the suppression of Canadian news by social media companies after Ottawa’s passage of Bill C-12, its national newswire rounds up the latest independent and alternative reporting and analysis from across the country.
These outlets debuted alongside us in this round of additions:
David covered daily sweeps in Oppenheimer Park
A park resident invited him to observe how park rangers take tents and other possessions every morning. David also broke down a recent court case about similar bylaw seizures in Victoria.
Drug Data Decoded
Brishti covered International Overdose Awareness Day
Later this week, we’ll have her story on the memorial events held in BC to honour thousands killed by the unregulated drug supply and criminalization policies.
Ex Facto
Stories we’re reading about policing, homelessness, drug policy, legal rights, and other subjects we cover.
Inquest into RCMP killing of Julian Jones makes 4 recommendations
The mandatory Coroner's inquest into Tofino RCMP’s 2021 shooting of a Tla-o-qui-aht man has concluded with non-binding recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
For RCMP:
- Require body cameras
- Require less-lethal energy weapons (Tasers)
- Establish an Indigenous liaison to work with Tofino RCMP
For BC Emergency Health Services:
- Contract local water taxis to be available 24/7, since paramedics were left waiting an hour on the dock to get out to remote Opitsaht.
Tribal council and family say recommendations are underwhelming
Jones’s sister told CBC that it’s disappointing that the jury’s calls for change are not binding.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council president Judith Sayers wanted stronger recommendations that give more detail and establish protocols and training. She also said the inquest should have happened sooner, and should have compelled the shooter to testify (under current rules, he did not have to because he retired and no longer lives in BC).
The night of the shooting
The jury heard:
- RCMP had been called out with reports that a woman had been assaulted and was being held by 2 men
- Officers had been there before and knew Jones, who had a substantial criminal record and an upbringing partly in foster care
- Jones’s brother was immediately arrested
- Within minutes, Jones was shot with a Taser and then a gun
The second officer present at the scene told the jury he had thought Jones was holding knives, but they turned out to be metal files.
Victoria school board staff on leave; board alleges some may have been paid for supporting police
The elected board was reinstated this spring, after being fired in early 2025 by the province for its resistance to putting police liaisons in schools. The board now says that, during its suspension, there may have been “financial benefits” given to “one or more individuals” who opposed its stance.
The statement says the board also found out various safeguards of “fiscal responsibility, accountability, and student safety” had been “rescinded or altered in our absence, with no rationale provided to us.” The district superintendent and some other senior staff are now on leave.
That leadership team said its members are on medical leave of their own accord, and are not aware of any “improper communications” or “financial benefits or transactions.”
The board had sued the province over the firings, and was restored after details emerged that the education ministry failed to disclose text messages between a Victoria police deputy and senior ministry staff.
A single ministry-appointed trustee ran SD61 in the interim, making changes such as a ward system for this fall's election, which will prevent the full current board from returning.
The board ended the police liaison program in 2023 — citing its lack of parameters and oversight, and concerns about discrimination and student’s sense of safety — after a community consultation.
VicPD had already stopped participating in 2018 after a budget dispute, but wanted to resume in 2024 and contacted the province about the board's reluctance. In late 2024, the ministry made the board submit multiple safety plans in what the board’s chair argued was a “set-up” to force the return of the liaison program.
Family wants review of Victoria bylaw officers throwing out possessions
A mother who regularly gives items to her unhoused daughter says city workers’ daily sweeps are taking them faster than she can provide them. She told CHEK officers are not following their policies on progressively escalating enforcement or making items retrievable by their owners. Her daughter says she’s had a wedding ring and even a friends’ ashes confiscated.
The city told CHEK it inventories everything, but wouldn’t explain why it doesn’t provide a list of the items to people who come to get them.
Nova Scotia changes its enhanced income assistance rules to exclude tent residents
The province's highest court had ruled that the late Bradley Lowe was eligible for the $974/month rate, not $380, on the basis that he had a proven disability and “owns [his] accommodation” — a tent in downtown Halifax. The province has now changed that language to rule out tents and vehicles. [Canadian Press / CTV]
More news:
- Comox Valley will need 70+ more winter shelter beds, report finds, because a new 2027 facility will be offset by 2 closures. [CBC]
- Surrey ex-Mountie gets 18 months for disclosing police database info to “criminal associates of his.” [Surrey Now Leader]
- BC updates post-secondary overdose prevention guidelines after rollout of 1,600 nasal naloxone kits. [Release]
- New Ontario rules deny social assistance to temporary workers, international students, and any immigrants without legal status. [Release]
- Manitoba calls inquests into 3 men’s deaths in custody in late 2024 and 2025. [CBC]
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