Tribune Weekend Advisor Friday, February 19, 2016
www.wltribune.com A3
LOCAL NEWS
Court upholds Gentles’ acquittal a blood alcohol level above the legal limit causing death and bodily harm. His acquittal followed a lengthy and emotional trial which saw dozens of young witnesses, police and experts take the stand to recount the tragic evening when the 20-year-old nursing student was killed. Gentles was charged after the truck he was driving struck the two
Monica Lamb-Yorski Staff Writer Three Supreme Court judges have upheld the controversial acquittal of Martin William Michael Gentles in causing the death of Rayel MacDonald and injury to Alysha Mullet four years ago. Crown appealed Gentles’ acquittal of impaired driving causing death and bodily harm and driving with
women while they were crossing Carson Drive in Williams Lake at 2 a.m., while walking home with friends from a rodeo dance at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex on April 22, 2012. The appeal was heard at the Court of Appeal in Vancouver on Jan. 25, 2016. In her written ruling, endorsed by the other two judges, Honourable Madam Justice Eliza-
beth Bennett said there is no question Gentles was impaired, but the finding in the original trial that one and a half seconds was insufficient time to avoid the accident means the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the impairment was a contributing cause to the death and injuries resulting from it. “Although this conclusion could have been articulated more clear-
ly, the finding is that the victims walked out in front of Mr. Gentles, and the result was an unavoidable accident,” Bennett stated. After the trial, held in Williams Lake, Gentles was convicted of impaired driving and leaving the scene. He received an eightmonth conditional sentence, one year probation, a one-year driving prohibition and a $1,500 fine.
Taseko seeks damages from government The company’s claim, filed in BC Supreme Court last week, surrounds the federal government’s Feb. 25, 2014 decision to block the multi-billion dollar gold-copper deposit project. “In the lawsuit we outline how the Government of Canada and its agents engaged in a pattern of deliberate and unlawful conduct and they will have to answer for that conduct,” Battison said. “The government owes us, and
Monica Lamb-Yorski Staff Writer Taseko Mines Limited is taking the federal government to court seeking damages related to the rejection of the New Prosperity Mine proposal. “People need to take action to protect themselves from their own government and these are such circumstances,” Brian Battison, vicepresident of corporate affairs for Taseko, told the Tribune.
anyone else that comes before them in a tribunal or quasi-judicial process, a duty of fairness.” Legal procedural fairness was not delivered in the environmental assessment process, he added. “In the lawsuit we say they acted in excess of the powers granted to them under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 and acted with knowledge of the unlawfulness of the conduct.” When asked if Taseko
still plans to pursue the New Prosperity Mine project, Battison did not hesitate to say “yes.” “Our ambition has always been to build the project and that remains so,” he said. “It’s an asset that belongs to our shareholders and we have a 25-year mining lease and continue to seek the opportunity to develop it.” Tl’etinqox Chief and Tribal Chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government Joe Alphonse said the latest
court action did not come as a surprise. “TML’s recent losing streak in court combined with declining mineral prices has left the company grabbing for any hope of survival,” Alphonse said. “ If I were a shareholder I would be suing Battison and CEO Russell Hallbauer for their lack of respect for proper process and reckless ignorance towards the environment and First Nations where they conduct business.”
Fentanyl overdoses concern frontline youth worker Continued From Page A1 According to a recent study, street fentanyl can be anywhere from 400 to 6,000 times stronger than prescription morphine and is suspected to be responsible in 30 per cent of the increases in overdose deaths. “We are seeing so many deaths (across Canada) from fentanyl lately. Many people who die do not even know that they are using fentanyl. It can be mixed into heroine, cocaine, marijuana, and disguised as OxyContin — educate yourself and your family,” the BGCWL posted on their Facebook page this week. Davis, who is a frontline youth worker, said the stories of fentanyl overdose and deaths are hitting too close to home. “I have been told by youth in our community that members of their peer groups are using and actively seeking
Jordan Davis fentanyl for recreational use.” Davis said users can die from taking even the smallest amount of fentanyl, or become severely brain damaged. “That’s the reality of this drug,” she said, noting users are enticed by the lower cost while drug dealers are using it to cut other, more expensive drugs. “I don’t think people realize how dangerous it is,” she said. “It’s scary and if you look at the rising statistics, I think we’re just going to see more and more of this.”
LOOKING FOR
FINANCIAL
NEAR
You just fo
At Raymond James, we are committed
long-term client relationships. We offe
You found the right home. Now find the right mortgage. Whether you are purchasing a new home for the first time, taking out equity from your home for investment or pleasure, or your current mortgage is simply up for renewal. It’s important that you are making an educated buying decision with professional unbiased advice.
#2-25 4th Ave. Williams Lake On your team!
Diane Buchanan Mortgage Expert
250.302.2276
diane@cmexp.com www.dianebuchanan.ca
AN APPLE A DAY...
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) does save lives. For CPR to be effective, press one hand on top of the other in the centre of the patient’s chest and push down about 2 inches, which forces the blood through the body, before releasing then compressing again. For best effect, there should be 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Do you know how to do CPR? You could save a life. Drug researchers are using tissue chip technology to weed out ineffective and toxic drugs before human trials begin. These tissue chips are designed to emulate body organs in structure and function. These chips can be connected to each other so the effects of a new drug can be seen on the whole “body” before subjecting humans to the testing. It promises to speed up research and save time and money. In the U.S., a poisoning by prescription and non-prescription drugs sends a child to the hospital every ten minutes. The most serious poisonings are caused by the opioids (morphine, codeine, oxycontin etc) and drugs for diabetes. Grandparents are to be particularly careful since they don’t have children around their homes continuously. Store your medications out of the reach of children. Want to make your own laxative? Mix together 2 cups of All-Bran® cereal, 2 cups of apple sauce and 1 cup of 100% prune juice. A couple of tablespoonsful once or twice a day will aid regularity. Knowledgeable, approachable, dependable... our pharmacists are all this and more. We’d be happy to fill your next prescription.
These comments are brought to you by: “Dedicated to providing fast, courteous & informative prescription service”
366 Yorston St. 250-398-8177
comprehensive ranges of i LOOKING most FOR A FINANCIAL ADVISOR Look no further. C NEAR YOU? You just found one. At Raymond James, we are committed to personalized service and building long-term client relationships. We offer individual solutions from one of the most Mike Austin comprehensive Financial Advisor ranges of investment services anywhere.
David Hall
Financial Advis
Look no further. Contact us today.
Raymond James Ltd. Raymond James Ltd., Member-Can
180C N 3rd Avenue Williams Lake, BC V2G 2A4 Tel: 250.398.2222 Fax: 250.398.7329 Cell: 250.267.2211 Toll-free: 1.800.398.5811 mike.austin@raymondjames.ca
Raymond James Ltd., Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund.