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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What Canada can learn from Australia on adequately protecting citizens at live events
In April 2025, a man drove an SUV through a crowd of people attending a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more. In response, the British Columbia government immediately commissioned an inquiry to examine the systemic causes of the incident and whether any lessons could be learned from the tragedy. Read more: The commission came up with six recommendations based on gaps in the current municipal application and approval system for public events across the province. One key recommendation was that all public events should be required to complete a risk assessment. This isn't currently happening across the province. The absence of such analysis poses a risk for public safety. Another recommendation was the creation of local knowledge capacity to support event organizers, particularly for small and rural events, where the expertise to conduct a basic security risk assessment is lacking. Forseeable tragedy As I argued in August 2022, the live events industry lacks the same level of professionalism as other occupations. Many of these small event organizers are amateurs who lack the resources to properly deal with the security risks involved in holding their events. Read more: These factors, combined with emerging security risks, meant that the tragedy at the Lapu Lapu festival could be considered a foreseeable event given the risk realities associated with modern mass gatherings. The inquiry report highlighted how B.C. is lagging behind other international jurisdictions in terms of legislative pro-activeness in securing public events. This policy deficiency is actually a Canada-wide problem; the country is woefully behind other western nations when it comes to securing public events. My doctoral thesis examined this very issue when I compared the regulation and application process to host public events in Canada and Australia's largest cities. Australia vs. Canada Firstly, it's important to note that Canada is a less safe country in terms of security than Australia, all things considered equal. Canada's porous border with the United States means more illegal firearms are entering the country, resulting in more gun violence than in Australia, where there are more restrictive gun ownership laws. The Lapu Lapu attack was not investigated as an act of terrorism, but in a related concern, Canada's intelligence-gathering and national security laws place it at a counter-terrorism disadvantage compared to Australia. Relatively speaking, research suggests Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms hinders its security services from being able to detect and investigate terrorism-related offences given the greater importance placed on individual rights compared to Australia, where there is no such Charter equivalent. Australia also has pro-active foreign intelligence collection capabilities to aid in its counter-terrorism efforts, while Canada's CSIS agency only has domestic capabilities. That essentially requires it to import intelligence from its allies. Given these facts, it would seem plausible that Canada would be at greater risk for security threats at public events — including terrorist attacks, active shooters, etc. — than Australia. When I compared the data between both countries in my research, it suggested Australia has more public event regulation than Canada. It was quantitatively shown that Australian officials require risk assessments and other proactive measures from event organizers, including for risk mitigation, while Canadian officials are mostly concerned with reactive security response plans — in other words, determining how organizers would respond to attacks after they occurred. An analysis of event application documents in both countries reveal that Australian municipalities disproportionately emphasize 'risk management' in approving events compared to Canadian municipalities. Three ways the B.C. report falls short The B.C. report missed out on examining several important elements. Firstly, it did not take a holistic, deep dive into just how vulnerable public events are to myriad security threats — like active shooters, crowd crushing and terrorist attacks — but instead focused solely on the hostile vehicle threat. It also failed to consider the urgency of governments to adopt policy changes in the face of emerging threats on public spaces, like drone attacks. Secondly, the report made no mention of the need for law enforcement to develop stronger ties to share intelligence with event organizers as a proactive measure to protect mass gathering events from violence. The Hamas attacks at a music festival in Israel in October 2023 highlight the worst outcome of such failures. Read more: Lastly, there was no call for action or recommendation for the federal government to play a greater role in providing guidance to the industry and lower levels of government. National security is a federal issue as well as the regulation of airspace for drones. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the national government provides guidance on protecting public spaces. There is no such policy leadership in Canada. The B.C. findings show Canadian authorities have a lot of work to do to make public events safer for Canadians. With the FIFA World Cup coming to Canada next year, Canadian governments still have time to implement corrective actions to ensure soccer fans stay safe. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organisation bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Sean Spence, Royal Military College of Canada Read more: Calls to designate the Bishnoi gang a terrorist group shine a spotlight on Canada's security laws B.C.'s mental health law is on trial — and so is our commitment to human rights Vancouver SUV attack exposes crowd management falldowns and casts a pall on Canada's election Sean Spence provides security consulting services within the hospitality industry.
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
Hearings underway to determine Lapu Lapu Day attack suspect's fitness to stand trial
The man accused of killing 11 people and injuring dozens more by driving an SUV into a crowded Vancouver Filipino street festival in April is in court on Wednesday for a fitness hearing. The hearing will see a judge determine whether Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, is mentally fit to stand trial. The details of evidence presented and what is said in court are subject to a publication ban. 'There is still a lot of grief, anger and confusion as to what happened that day, a lot of people are also looking for justice and are looking for updates on this case,' Filipino BC spokesperson Crystal Laderas said outside the Vancouver Provincial Court. 'I believe the community is looking for answers, and at least to be able to follow these proceedings closely, but we do want to respect the court process.' Story continues below advertisement In the wake of the April 26 attack at Vancouver's Filipino Lapu Lapu Day festival, Lo was initially charged with eight counts of second-degree murder. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Prosecutors approved three more counts this week, bringing the total number of charges to 11. 2:00 40 days since Lapu Lapu festival tragedy Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said it will be up to Crown prosecutors to decide whether Lo will face additional charges. 'We trust that with these additional second-degree murder charges, that will bring some degree of accountability and answers to the community, to families that have been grieving, their loved ones that have been seriously injured or killed in one of the horrific mass murder events in Canadian history,' Addison said. 'Certainly there were other people who were injured, other people quite seriously. And we'll leave that with Crown counsel to do their charge assessment to undertake their process to determine what charges are most appropriate.' Story continues below advertisement On June 26, Vancouver police said six people who had been injured in the incident remained in hospital. Laderas said her organization is in court Wednesday to keep tabs on the case, but also to provide support for victims of the attack, many of whom could be retraumatized by the court process. 'A lot of people have put in a lot of personal work on recovery, people have moved from hospital beds to rehabilitation centres, they have gone through counselling, physiotherapy to recover from this. And sometimes when court proceedings come up it brings them right back to April 26.' The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to release a ruling dealing with fitness to stand trial on Friday, and as a result, Lo's hearing is being split into two parts. The court is expected to hear evidence on Wednesday and Thursday and then pause, with lawyers expected to make arguments after the Supreme Court ruling comes down, in order to accommodate any potential changes to the law.
Canada News.Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
What Canada can learn from Australia on adequately protecting citizens at live events
Share article Copy article link Print article In April 2025, a man drove an SUV through a crowd of people attending a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more. In response, the British Columbia government immediately commissioned an inquiry to examine the systemic causes of the incident and whether any lessons could be learned from the tragedy. The commission came up with six recommendations based on gaps in the current municipal application and approval system for public events across the province. One key recommendation was that all public events should be required to complete a risk assessment. This isn't currently happening across the province. The absence of such analysis poses a risk for public safety. Another recommendation was the creation of local knowledge capacity to support event organizers, particularly for small and rural events, where the expertise to conduct a basic security risk assessment is lacking. As I argued in August 2022, the live events industry lacks the same level of professionalism as other occupations. Many of these small event organizers are amateurs who lack the resources to properly deal with the security risks involved in holding their events. These factors, combined with emerging security risks, meant that the tragedy at the Lapu Lapu festival could be considered a foreseeable event given the risk realities associated with modern mass gatherings. The inquiry report highlighted how B.C. is lagging behind other international jurisdictions in terms of legislative pro-activeness in securing public events. This policy deficiency is actually a Canada-wide problem; the country is woefully behind other western nations when it comes to securing public events. My doctoral thesis examined this very issue when I compared the regulation and application process to host public events in Canada and Australia's largest cities. Firstly, it's important to note that Canada is a less safe country in terms of security than Australia, all things considered equal. Canada's porous border with the United States means more illegal firearms are entering the country, resulting in more gun violence than in Australia, where there are more restrictive gun ownership laws. The Lapu Lapu attack was not investigated as an act of terrorism, but in a related concern, Canada's intelligence-gathering and national security laws place it at a counter-terrorism disadvantage compared to Australia. Relatively speaking, research suggests Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms hinders its security services from being able to detect and investigate terrorism-related offences given the greater importance placed on individual rights compared to Australia, where there is no such Charter equivalent. Australia also has pro-active foreign intelligence collection capabilities to aid in its counter-terrorism efforts, while Canada's CSIS agency only has domestic capabilities. That essentially requires it to import intelligence from its allies. Given these facts, it would seem plausible that Canada would be at greater risk for security threats at public events - including terrorist attacks, active shooters, etc. - than Australia. When I compared the data between both countries in my research, it suggested Australia has more public event regulation than Canada. It was quantitatively shown that Australian officials require risk assessments and other proactive measures from event organizers, including for risk mitigation, while Canadian officials are mostly concerned with reactive security response plans - in other words, determining how organizers would respond to attacks after they occurred. An analysis of event application documents in both countries reveal that Australian municipalities disproportionately emphasize "risk management" in approving events compared to Canadian municipalities. The B.C. report missed out on examining several important elements. Firstly, it did not take a holistic, deep dive into just how vulnerable public events are to myriad security threats - like active shooters, crowd crushing and terrorist attacks - but instead focused solely on the hostile vehicle threat. It also failed to consider the urgency of governments to adopt policy changes in the face of emerging threats on public spaces, like drone attacks. Secondly, the report made no mention of the need for law enforcement to develop stronger ties to share intelligence with event organizers as a proactive measure to protect mass gathering events from violence. The Hamas attacks at a music festival in Israel in October 2023 highlight the worst outcome of such failures. Lastly, there was no call for action or recommendation for the federal government to play a greater role in providing guidance to the industry and lower levels of government. National security is a federal issue as well as the regulation of airspace for drones. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the national government provides guidance on protecting public spaces. There is no such policy leadership in Canada.
The Province
3 days ago
- The Province
Three more murder charges laid in Vancouver festival attack, police say
Police say the number of charges against Adam Kai-Ji Low has been increased from eight to 11 Published Jul 22, 2025 • Last updated 12 minutes ago • 2 minute read Vancouver police with a drone on the scene where at least twelve people were killed by a speeding vehicle on Fraser St during Lapu Lapu Day celebrations in Vancouver April 27, 2025. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / 10107854A The man accused of plowing a vehicle through a crowd at a Vancouver street festival faces more charges of second-degree murder. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Police say the number of charges against Adam Kai-Ji Lo, 30, has been increased from eight to 11, matching the number of people who died in the attack at the Lapu Lapu festival on April 26. Dozens more people were injured at the festival, which was a celebration of Filipino culture. Lo is due in court again Wednesday, with a judge set to decide if he is mentally fit to stand trial. RJ Aquino with Filipino BC, the group that organized the festival, said the additional charges do 'provide some answers' for the families of the victims, but they are still a 'long way from justice.' 'We are still a day away from the mental health hearing, and it could be weeks or months before a judge's decision on whether this proceeds to a criminal trial can happen,' said Aquino in an interview on Tuesday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We're really focused on how the community is feeling and how we collectively want to seek justice for their loved ones and the community and our community members.' Vancouver police say in a statement that the additional charges were approved by the BC Prosecution Service after a review of evidence submitted by homicide investigators. The festival attack prompted a security review for other public events held across the province. A review conducted by former B.C. Supreme Court judge Christopher Hinkson released earlier this month recommends that all public events, regardless of size, should be supported by a risk assessment. It said that a provincial events hub should be developed to share information and advice for those organizing events. Hinkson was appointed by Premier David Eby in the days after the attack to conduct the assessment. Police said after the vehicle attack that the department did not recommend higher security for the Lapu Lapu event because it was deemed low-risk. Read More Vancouver Canucks Sports Crime Vancouver Canucks Sports
Global News
3 days ago
- Global News
Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day attack suspect now facing 11 murder charges
The man accused of killing 11 people by driving a vehicle into a crowded Vancouver street festival in April is facing more criminal charges. Vancouver police said Tuesday that prosecutors had approved three additional second-degree murder charges against Kai-Ji Adam Lo, bringing the total count to 11. 'The additional charges were approved by the BC Prosecution Service following a review of evidence submitted by Vancouver Police Homicide investigators,' police said in a media release. 2:00 40 days since Lapu Lapu festival tragedy Lo, 30, made a brief court appearance earlier this month to face charges in the April 26 tragedy that left dozens of other people with serious injuries. As of June 26, six people remained in hospital. Story continues below advertisement Lo is set to face a two-day hearing on his fitness to stand trial on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Investigators have previously said that Lo had extensive mental health interactions with police before the April incident. Vancouver police confirmed he had been in contact with police in a neighbouring municipality the day before the vehicle attack, but the interaction was not criminal in nature and 'did not rise to the level where mental health intervention was required.' Lo remains in custody.
