THURSDAY June 6, 2013 Vol. 28 • No. 46 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
COMOX VALLEY Your community. Your newspaper.
COLUMN
SPORTS
Local Irish singer Mary Murphy bemoans with considerable humour her current problem singing and speaking. page A25
Cody Parker didn’t just break the Great Northwest Athletic Conference javelin record — he shattered it. page B7
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Court awards million dollars
Bad driver might be the worst
Widow appeals successfully after husband killed in plane crash
Record Staff
Black Creek’s Michael Telford will again test his abilities behind the wheel — or lack thereof — on a reunion season of Canada’s Worst Driver. According to Telford’s friend Eric Kozak, Telford has already signed a nondisclosure agreement with Discovery Channel so he cannot comment. Kozak nominated Telford for season two’s title and rode in the vehicle with Telford six years ago during filming for the TV show. “He was a terrible driver — and still is,” said Kozak, who adds the nominator rides along in the vehicle and “holds on for dear life.” Kozak notes eight drivers are chosen for the show and taken to a driver rehabilitation centre. There, they work to improve their driving skills in an attempt to graduate from the rehabilitation centre, and avoid the title of Canada’s Worst Driver. He notes Telford was one of the final three worst drivers during season two. “He almost got the title. The woman who got the title … wouldn’t wear her glasses and while driving through the streets of Toronto on the final driving test, (she) just couldn’t do it anymore and basically broke down in tears.” According to the television show’s Facebook page, season nine — which Tel... see DRIVER’S ■ A2
SECOND
Erin Haluschak Record Staff
THE GREAT OUTDOORS Facepainting, hayrides, archery, fishing, highland dancing, folk music and much more were part of the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association’s annual Outdoor Show. The June 1 and 2 event attracted an estimated 3,600 to the fish and game clubhouse facilities. PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
Midwife appealing ruling Renee Andor Record Staff
A Comox Valley midwife whose application for privileges at St. Joseph’s General Hospital was recently rejected is not giving up without a fight. Katie McNiven Gladman
is a registered midwife practising in the Comox Valley via Plum Midwifery. She recently applied for long-term locum privileges at St. Joseph’s — which are designed to provide relief to medical professionals like physicians, dentists or midwives who have active
privileges at a hospital. After St. Joseph’s rejected her application, she decided to appeal to the Hospital Appeal Board of B.C. Because of her appeal, McNiven Gladman says she cannot legally comment on the matter. But a group ... see HOSPITAL ■ A6
A Comox Valley woman is entitled to a $1-million settlement from a life insurance company following her husband’s death, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in an appeal decision Tuesday. Debra McLean originally sought to recover $1-million benefit provided by a common carrier accidental death benefit rider under a policy issued by Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company. Her husband, Mark, a log-barge loader for Seaspan International, was killed Aug. 3, 2008, when a chartered Pacific Coastal Airlines aircraft in which he was travelling from Port Hardy to Chamiss Bay crashed en route, killing everyone on board. The insurance company refused payment on the basis the rider did not provide coverage for accidental death occurring during charter flights. McLean brought the company to trial seeking a declaration that she was entitled to accidental death benefit under the policy. On Jan. 31, 2012, a Supreme Court judge ruled against her. The trial judge noted the
policy states the common carrier referred to by the rider must be available to carry any passengers, no matter who they may be. As the passengers on the Pacific Coastal Flight were selected by and paid for by Seaspan, and the company directed the time of departure and destination of the flight, the aircraft was indeed chartered and no member of the public at large had access to the flight, he added in his reasons for judgment. Because it did not fit within the definition of ‘common carrier,’ under the accidental death benefit rider, the judge concluded McLean was not entitled to the million-dollar benefit under the rider. In her appeal in front of a three-member panel, McLean said the rider does not distinguish between public and chartered passenger flights, but between passengers travelling on commercial flights and those travelling on private aircraft. She also argued the rider is ambiguous as to coverage for charter flight, and should be interpreted in a manner consistent with the reasonable expectations of her husband, who routinely flew on charter flights in connection with his employment. In her reasons for judgment for the appeal, Madam Justice Neilson noted the words used to define a com... see RULING ■ A2
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