Mike de Jong Addresses Wrongful Death Law Reform in BC
As I’ve previously discussed, if a person dies through the carelessness of others in British Columbia claims for damages by surviving family members must be brought under the BC Family Compensation Act. This outdated law has been the subject of much criticism due to its restrictions for survivors claims. You can find an in-depth analysis on this topic here.
Recently BC Liberal leadership candidate Mike de Jong gave the following invitation:
I took this opportunity to ask Mike the following two questions:
Mike was kind enough to answer my first question on this recent video he uploaded to YouTube:
My question is addressed 1:13 into the clip. For the sake of convenience here is Mike’s answer transcribed:
“That’s a good question because I think our laws in BC have fallen a little out of step with what’s happened in other jurisdictions and my belief is that if an accident occurs and someone loses a loved one they should be entitled to the same type of compensation as is available to the families elsewhere in Canada and that is not presently the case in British Columbia and I think it’s time we updated our laws in that respect. It’s really about fairness for BC families. Thanks for the question”
Maybe Mike will tackle my second question on his next episode of Open Mike Mailbag. Given Mike’s views on wrongful death laws I’m optimistic he is not a tort ‘reformer‘ (for those unfamiliar with the phrase, tort reform generally refers to limiting the rights of those injured through the carelessness of others to the beneift of insurance company profits) but a clear stance is always appreciated. Thanks Mike.