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POLITICS
Fed NDP leader set to announce heâll run in Burnaby
Outgoing MP Kennedy Stewart has submitted his resignation Lauren Boothby
lboothby@burnabynow.com
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is scheduled to be in Burnaby today and expected to announce his intention to run in the Burnaby South riding to replace outgoing MP Kennedy Stewart, a source close to Singhâs campaign has confirmed. Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart told the NOW he submitted his resignation to Parliament Aug. 1. It will come into effect Sept. 14, the last day candidates can be nominated for the 2018 municipal elections. Stewartâs departure could trigger a byelection. His resignation has not yet been officially accepted, and the federal government may not decide to call for a byelection before the 2019 federal election. Singh was elected leader of the federal NDP last year but does not have a seat in Parliament. Stewart said last week he didnât have all the details on todayâs announcement, but that it could be a bigger event than Singhâs previous Burnaby visit. âI do know he had a really, really warm reception when he visited a couple of weeks ago, and heâs been talking to a lot of people in the community,â he told the NOW. âI think a lot of people, including myself, would like to see him run in a byelection. So weâll see what heâs got to say on the 8th.â Singh will be making an announcement at noon outside a film studio at 5784 Byrne Rd.
PLOTTING STRATEGY: The Western Canada Dodgeball Championships were held at SFU on Saturday and Sunday, featuring teams from Victoria to Winnipeg. See the full story on page 29. PHOTO ROB KRUYT
Manâs quest to change law succeeds Chris Campbell
ccampbell@burnabynow.com
For more than a decade, Burnabyâs George Sojka has been trying to honour the memory of his dead sister by petitioning the government to change the law when it comes to obtaining a warrant to get a blood sample. He finally got his wish. But it wasnât easy. Sojka needed the help of outgoing Burnaby South MP Kennedy Stewart to get the law changed, and it took more than 10 years and involved petitioning two different federal governments. On June 21, Helenâs Law â added as part of the larger Bill C-46 â received royal assent, extending the timeframe to obtain a warrant to get a blood sample from four to eight hours.
Sojka was relieved that the sible because the warrant to obchanges were finally passed. tain a blood sample was faulty. It âHer life, her death is now not was granted 13 minutes after the all in vain or pointless,â Sojka told Criminal Codeâs four-hour deadthe NOW in an email. line. (In order for invesâShe deserved to have tigators to get a blood something positive from sample, a warrant must out of this tragedy.This be obtained within four long-overdue amendhours after an accident ment is âthe positive outoccurs.) come.ââ Sojka has since been Sojkaâs sister, Burnaadvocating to get the byâs Helen Francis, died warrant deadline extendin a car accident on Feb. ed. 28, 2005, after the car Stewart presented Helshe was in crashed near enâs Law in the House Helen Francis Killed in 2005 Houston, B.C. Helen of Commons a number worked as a local nurse of times, but it had nevand left two young children beer passed. hind. Then, in 2017, federal Minister The driver, an ex-boyfriend, of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould was allegedly impaired at the time. notified Sojka that his amendment The courts, however, deemed the had been grouped in with Bill incriminating evidence inadmisC-46, a host of Criminal Code
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amendments related to impaired driving. (Bill C-46 will also allow police to take a roadside breath sample without evidence that the driver is under the influence.) âI took on this long, drawn-out and challenging mission inspired by (former federal NDP Leader) Jack Laytonâs words as spoken in his final speech, âDonât let them tell you that it canât be done,ââ Sojka said. Sojka gave heartfelt credit to Stewart, who has resigned as an MP to run for mayor of Vancouver, and his constituency staff for pushing for the change. âWithout you all,â Sojka wrote, âmy road to this finish line may have taken much longer if not been impossible to achieve.Thank you Mr. Stewart for having a vision of what was to be done.â -With files fromTerezaVerenca
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