Ian Mulgrew: B.C. needs a robust pot plan, not a wait-and-see attitude
In the wake of the Liberal tsunami, Premier Christy Clark sounded far from enthusiastic about prime minister-to-be Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize pot. “It’s a federal issue and we will work with the government in whatever moves they make on this front,” she said with nary a grin.

In the wake of the Liberal tsunami, Premier Christy Clark sounded far from enthusiastic about prime minister-to-be Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize pot.

“It’s a federal issue and we will work with the government in whatever moves they make on this front,” she said with nary a grin.

“It’s a criminal code provision, the criminal code is a federal responsibility, so if and when they make changes, we will work with them to make sure that changes can be effective in B.C.”

No Big Lebowski jokes, no giggle about being a Bob Marley fan; instead, in the spirit of the outgoing prime minister, Clark sounded like a pinched school mistress.

Amending the criminal code, as she well knows, is only one facet of legalization — how cannabis should be regulated and sold, in what forms and by whom, along with related issues such as advertising rules, would still have to be determined.

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Ian Mulgrew: B.C. court rejects suggestion government can’t be trusted in child abuse case
The chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court, Christopher Hinkson, has slammed lawyers involved in a high-profile Ministry of Children and Families controversy for “unwarranted hyperbole.” In a stinging rebuke, the chief justice refused to interfere with a government-ordered review of ministry polici…

The chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court, Christopher Hinkson, has slammed lawyers involved in a high-profile Ministry of Children and Families controversy for “unwarranted hyperbole.”

In a stinging rebuke, the chief justice refused to interfere with a government-ordered review of ministry policies and practices out of respect for “the separate functions of the three branches of government.”

He scolded lawyers for a mother known only as J.P. whose four children were seized by ministry workers, who then gave the father an opportunity to abuse them.

“While (B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker) has been quite critical of certain ministry employees and agents, I regard the assertion that the entire government cannot be trusted as unwarranted hyperbole,” the chief justice wrote in a ruling published Wednesday. “Counsel for the (mother and children) conceded that the contention lacked any evidentiary foundation. This scandalous submission should not have been advanced.”

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Detective in Ivan Henry case has difficulty recalling events
Retired detective William Harkema, 72 and infirm, hobbled into B.C. Supreme Court on two ski-pole canes intent on testifying against an old nemesis.

Retired detective William Harkema, 72 and infirm, hobbled into B.C. Supreme Court on two ski-pole canes intent on testifying against an old nemesis.

Yet the Vancouver Police Dept. officer most responsible for putting Ivan Henry behind bars for a series of 1980s sexual assaults had little memory of events 33 years ago and downplayed his role.

He insisted he was the “co-lead” investigator, not the “lead” as numerous documents identify him.

Although Henry was not in court Monday, with the city presenting its case, there was tension in the room.

Two conflicting, adversarial stories have clashed during the last two months of proceedings: Henry’s plea for compensation for an ordeal of wrongful conviction and 27 years imprisonment versus the city’s insistence that notwithstanding a 2010 acquittal ordered by the B.C. Court of Appeal, he is not innocent.

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