NANCY AND GORDON Lee lost their daughter Laura, 17, to a terrible car crash in June, 1999. They hope the provincial govern-
ment will learn from their experiences and maybe make some policy changes. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN

- . By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN
WHEN Terrace’s Gordon and Nancy Lee were
invited to participate in a study involving sur-

: ‘-Viving family members of people killed in the
commission of a crime, they couldn’t get in-
. -volved fast enough.

“We said, ‘you bet,” says Nancy Lee.
The Lees’ 17-year-old daughter Laura, was
killed in a tragic 1999 car crash when the ve-

—hicle.she and her Belgian exchange student
boyfriend were travelling in was hit by Aaron
~ Dougias, a drunk teenager behind the wheel of

a stolen vehicle.

“- "Po be able to say what we feel, to say

what-our experiences are and hopefully have

“someone listen,” Nancy Lee says is why they
took: part.

- ‘They saw. the study, called No End to the
Pain, as a way to tell decision makers how the

legal system, support agencies and legislation

might be improved based on their experiences.
“The study was paid for jointly by the federal

. and2B.C. governments just prior to the provin-
_ @ial Liberals taking office. Its 70 participants
-. evaluated, a-,wide. range, of.agencies from the’ °

minated soon after being interviewed for the
study.

“Within a week or so of being interviewed
we were told - and you wonder if this is an ex-
ercise in futility,” says Nancy. “I think the
new government should not have touched
CVWS, of all things, until all of this was
done.”

The family consultations are the second
part of the three-phase study. The Lees wonder
if the report is being overlooked given that
there’s been little response to it by the provin-
cial government. The report was delivered to
Solicitor-General Rich Coleman more than
seven months aga.

His ministry communication officials say
the report was never intended to be released to:
the public. They say the ministry would be re-
miss in making any decisions before the third
phase is complete.

That third phase, where recommendations
might be“implemented, has not yet begun.

“There’s lots of room for improvement here

vas

police to coroners to Crown, courisél Witagbin- alintn- “There ‘ara: ‘80. ‘many recom-...

~. cies they. had-contact with after their loved
“one’s death,

“The nearly 150-page report urges the pro-
vince to take a long, hard look at how victims
are treated and implement change.

The report slams the elimination of Crown

 -Victim/Witness Services (CVWS), which was
axed by the B.C. Liberals in April 2002.

That program and its workers were like a

‘lifeline for the Lees as they went through com-

plex court proceedings. When graphic testim-

ony was to be given they were warned. When
- delays arose, the worker helped explain why.

“When we were really angry, which was

often, they were really good about letting us

vent,” ‘Nancy says.
’ Respondents had the most contact with

~CVWS over all the other 26 agencies evalua-

ted ~ 84.7 per cent. It was also the most highly
rated-in terms of its helpfulness.
’ The Lees iearned the service had been ter-

mendations let’s see them do:
something.”

but nobody wants to study it or do anything
about it,” says Gordon Lee.

The couple took part in the study hoping to
affect real change in a system they see as
being fundamentally flawed in many areas.

That includes what they, and others, see as
an imbalance of services available to the ac-
cused over the victims.

“Several families said it was highly stress-
ful to realize they, as taxpayers, were paying
for the defense lawyer (through legal aid)
while it seemed the Crown prosecuting the
case of the victim was both overworked and
underpaid,” the report says.

Families who want to attend court proceed-
ings in another cily or town have te buck up
for travel expenses, lodging and food in addi-

f a 1
fo) ee re Hoy if tend hit

Waiting tor results

tion to lost wages.

“There was a consensus among families
that government is hypocritical in extolling
victims’ rights but not providing sufficient
funding to support them,” says the report.

It also calls for tougher sentences on im-
paired drivers.

“We want to see much tougher sentences
for drinking drivers who cause death or injury,”
says Nancy.

She says Aaron Douglas is scheduled to be
released from jail September 2003 — just four
years after Laura’s death

The report recommends a review of the cri-
minal code to include more severe penalties,
such as a category for vehicular homicide, for
drunk drivers who kill someone while behind
the wheel.

It also calls for insurance settlements to re-
flect a fair assessment of loss.

The study shows families “were shocked to
find that compensation far loss of life was
shockingly low, particularly for children.”

The Lees were offered in the range of

.$20,000-by ICBC after Laura died.

They. sued Aaron. Douglas, and by default

“ICBC, and. Oct. 18, 2002 a.jury decided the’

Lees should be awarded $100,000. That deci-

‘sion is under appeal.

Any less than that, the Lees say, is a poor
reflection of the grief and loss families suffer
when they lose a loved one...

Nancy recalls a local person approaching

her and asking if she really thought her daugh-

ter was worth more than anyone else’s.

“Of course not,” says Nancy. “We just
think. anybody’s child is worth more than
$10,000 or $15,000."

They hope the jury’s decision will be up-
held in the court of appeal so it will set a pre-
cedent for other families in the future.

The Lees want the study to result in some
policy changes but that won’t happen until,
and, unless, the third phase of the report is
complete and it hasn’t yet begun.

“There are so many recommendations, let's
see them do something,” says Nancy.

Chief coroner wants S repor's ss

By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN
THE PROVINCE’S top coroner
says he wants ccroner’s reports
completed faster.

‘Chief coroner Terry Smith says
inquiries are taking too long and
he wants to see the majority of

“them completed and forwarded to

families within four and a half

"months.

:. After that time, if a report re-
‘mains unfinished, Smith says cor-
-oners will have to submit.a wril-

“ten investigative plan outlining

‘what information is outstanding,
swhere.it should come from and a

_ time estimate for completion.

-.That should be good news ta

7 people like Terrace’s Marlene and
: George McLean who are still
“waiting for the coroner’s report

‘about the death of their four-year-
old daughter Vicki, who died of

“‘virdl ‘encephalitis nearly eight
“months ago.

“They really are taking too

a long, ” Marlene McLean said.

Vicki died at Mills Memorial

“Hospital July 1, 2002 after repea-
. ted ‘visits to the emergency room
“. inthe previous days.

“McLean said she was turned

: away from the hospital the first
‘time she brought Vicki in June 29,

2002; She thinks if Vicki had

a ‘blood: work done or if she had

been treated ‘on that visit she may

: : not have died.

“Pm hoping that it would an-

"swe some questions about what

‘happened and could it have been

ie “prevented,” she says of the out-
-~. slanding coroner’s teport. “I know
it ‘could have been prevented.”

A coroner’s job is to outline the
facts surrounding a sudden death,
not to find fault. Coroners may
make recommendations stemming
from their findings which may
help prevent a death under similar
circumstances in the future.

Smith says getting the inquiries
done faster is a priority, but some-
times delays are unavoidable.

Some cases involving a sudden .

death also have a criminal invest-
igation under way. While the
RCMP are investigating those
cases the coroner’s investigation
is pul on hold until the. police are
done.

Some cases also require spe-
cialized toxicology or pathology
tests to help pinpoint the cause of
death, and they sometimes take a
long time.

“When it comes to forensic pa-
thology we aie talking about an
extreme specialty area,” Smith
says.

He says the number of quali-
fied practitioners is low in B.C.

“There’s a lot of cases for a li-
mited number of qualified practi-
tioners,” he says.

“We are working closely with
the pathology community to en-
sure that within the constraints
they’re saddled with, the reports
are completed as quickly as they
are capable of.”

’ Another issue contributing to
lengthy completions is that most
coroners in B.C. werk on a part-
time, on-call fee for service basis.

‘That means niost coroners also

have other Jobs and responsibili-

ties.

° Ministry of Attorney General.
BC Coroners Service:

JupGEMeNT OF INQUIRY
Into THE DEATH OF

CORONER'S reports, called a judgement of inquiry, should be

completed in a more timely fashion.

With a pay rate of $20 an hour
those coroners are almost always
the lowest paid workers at the site
of any sudden death, Smith says.

He adds those people are viriu-
ally volunteering their time and
mostly because they feel a calling
to the job.

“J need to say that the people
out there doing the job are for the
most part doing an exceptional
job,” Smith says. -

“Having said that, I think we
can do better in terms cf timeli-
ness of completion.”

Smith spent the better part of
January travelling the province
telling coroners about the new po-
licy in terms of completing inquir-

‘tes faster.

- The McLeans aren’t the only
people in Terrace wailing for re-
sults of coroner’s inquities from
deaths which occurred more than

five months age.
.. Smith says he'd like those fa-

milies
to see
some
closure
by this
spring.

“a I t
would
be our
expec-
tation
hopeful-
ly, by
April 1,
w ¢
would
have
most a Terry Smith
backlog cleaned up and if not,
that we would have written time
completion estimates in place,”
Smith says.

“I think the important thing is
we make sure the death is not

overlooked. mo

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 5, 2003 - AS

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Myths are all right
Dear Sir:

In reference to the letter writer who wondered why
Centennial Christian School would pull Harry Potter
from its library shelves yet stage The Hobbit as a
school production, there’s a slight difference between
the two, It has to do with the world views of the
authors.

JR. Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit, used the saga
of myth to deal with the absolutes of good and evil. It
might surprise people to learn Tolkien led C.5. Lewis
to Christ. Both- of -Lewis’--books - on -Narnia -and
Tolkien's works on Middle Earth were influenced by
each author from a Christian perspective,

In Narnia, Asian the Lian symbolizes Jesus. In
Tolkien’s work Gandolf resurrects as did Christ, after
saving the Fellowship in the dark tunnels of Moria.

Aragorn, who becomes. King of Middle Earth at the
end of the Lord of the Rings, is named after a preat
Christian king of Europe.

Saruman, the evil wizard, is in the spirit of
Antichrist; and Sauron is the satanic overlord of the
rings.

3.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter does not have the
absolutes of Tolkien except that friendship, not
sorcery, is whal save us.

Harry Potter is about the importance of friendship,
as the solution to the evil tide rising around us. H.P.’s
magic is only special effects.

Should we ban the Wizard of Oz because it has a
witch and a wizard. in .it? Should Alice in
Wonderland, written by a minister of the Gospels, be
banned because it has talking animals?

Are children so stupid they can’t te!l fantasy from
reality? When was the last time you saw a-kid turn
someone into a toad?

Brian Gregg, Terrace, B.C,

Harried Potter
Dear Sir:

What a muddle poor Harry Potter has caused. You
would think he has cast a spell.on everyone. Or
maybe it was Gandolf. Whoever it was, he certainly
jinxed poor Debbie Kennedy (letter to the editor, Jan.
29).

In_ writing “Catholics, Jews, Muslims and
Christians” , She appears to believe that Catholics are
not Christians, which is not the first time I have come
across this particular Protestant hubris, though usually
it is slanderous rather than simply unknowing. What’s
her minister been telling her — or not telling her?

Moreover, she and everybody else spooked by the
wizardry of Harry Potter and The Hobbit — and Winnie

the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland and who knows

what else, too — have forgotten, if they ever knew at
all, that pointy black hats and brooms and cauldrons
that boil for trouble were banished from our collective

-psychosis by those same Christian churches in the

17th century.

If that information has not worked its way ‘into: the
setmons of:the preachers ‘around ‘here; thenthis town
has a greater problem than Skeena and Veniez, who
is something of a wizard himself, it seems, so maybe
the concern is appropriate but just misdirected.

When it comes to the magic that concerns

Kennedy and others, they might compare the Bible:

itself for incredible stories. A yabbering snake? A
burning bush that pontificates? Noah and all those
animals? And Jesus and those miracles!

Well, let’s just call it poetry. Divine, yes, but. it
was Aristotle who called reason divine; and Jesus
knew his Aristotle as well as his Torah.

It is reason that Harry Potter or whoever has
fiddled with here — a trickster at work somewhere, for
sure. Any parent or preacher who objects to these
books for kids needs education as much as they do.

David Heinimann,
Terrace, B.C.

Joy didn’t do it

In Hubert Beyer’s Jan. 22, 2003 column, “Cut the
Premier, some slack,” his comments about Joy
MacPhail were wrong.

While I have only met a few people who would
qualify as “paragons of virtue” and I don’t think much
in politics would qualify one for sainthood, it is worth
correcting that it was not Joy MacPhail who placed a
mechanical dancing penis from a novelty store on
Ted Nebbling’s desk.

Tt was two of his own Liberal colleagues, Linda
Reid and Bonnie McKinnon.

Beyer’s rather cheap shot at Joy MacPhail is
misguided. Since he refers to this incident in
justifying his opinion of her response on hearing of the
Premier’s arrest for drunk driving, it begs the
question about how many lives were risked by a
dancing mechanical penis. ,

Now compare this to the risk of lives in the
Fremier’s getting behind the wheel of a car when he’s
twice over the legal limit, according to the roadside
breathalyzer.

Gordon Campbell’s problem is just that he held
everyone else in the House to a standard that he
failed to live up to. Sitting across the ‘floor from him
the self-righteousness was often so evident in his rants
at others. So now whether he does what he demanded
of everyone else (resign) or not, says moré about his
integrity than anything else.

The other argument Hubert makes is that lots of
people have gotten behind the wheel of a car after a
few drinks and so why be so hard on the Prémier.

Hubert is probably correct but, this was not about
getting behind the wheel after just a few drinks.

The reports show he was hammered. There is a
difference.

Dear Sir:

Helmut’ Giesbrecht,
Terrace, B.C.

About the Mail Bag

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address Is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G

5R2, You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mall
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