Latest news with #VancouverIsland
CTV News
13 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
B.C. woman sues after father's brain found years after his death, cremation
A B.C. woman says she needed up having her father cremated without his brain, after the vital organ was allegedly mishandled after his death. A Victoria, B.C., woman is taking legal action after her father's brain was found sitting in a hospital fridge over two years after he died. Mandy Large is suing the B.C. Coroners Service and the Vancouver Island Health Authority for negligence and for breaching their duties of care. Her father, Philip Peter Billy, was 55 when he died in Nanaimo on Feb. 27, 2022. His brain was removed for examination during an autopsy and was never put back, Large said. 'They were cleaning out a fridge at Royal Jubilee Hospital and they found my dad's brain in a jar,' she told CTV News Vancouver Island. In an email chain Large shared with CTV News, a coroner confirms her claim. 'When (Billy's brain) was received by Royal Jubilee Hospital it was misplaced in a fridge and not returned to the body. It was found now while the fridge was being cleaned out,' coroner Emily Lefler wrote to Large on Oct. 1, 2024. The coroner's service and the health authority said they cannot comment while the matter is before the court. In April 2022, the notice of civil claim says Billy's body was moved from Nanaimo to Victoria, where Large said he was to be cremated. Billy's brain remained at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, and Large said she doesn't know why. A month later, the coroner's service said the brain and body had been reunited, according to the notice of claim. 'But it didn't happen,' Large said, though she didn't know that at the time, so she went ahead with cremating her father. 'My dad being cremated without his brain, it just meant that he was… in the spirit world without a brain,' said Large, who is First Nations. Her email exchange with Lefler suggests a miscommunication led to the alleged mishandling of the brain. 'Royal Jubilee staff were the ones that misplaced the brain and told us it was with the body when it was not,' the coroner wrote. Large describes her father as a gentle giant with a soft voice and a good soul, despite enduring residential school and having a hard life. 'I found some peace in my dad passing away – for him – because he no longer had to struggle,' she said. 'My dad didn't get to die with dignity… He was wronged even after his passing by these systems that are put in place.' She hopes the lawsuit ensures other families don't suffer in the same way. 'What happened to my dad greatly affected me emotionally and mentally and it still affects me today,' she said. His brain has been cremated and reunited with the rest of his remains, she said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Vancouver Island wildlife facility celebrates 60,000th patient
A young fawn who was reunited with its mother marks one particularly memorable patient for Wild ARC wildlife assistant Ashley Currie. When a barn swallow nestling arrived at Vancouver Island wildlife facility Wild ARC earlier this month it caused quite the stir, not because it was a particularly notable or rare addition, but because it marked the facility's 60,000th patient to ever be admitted. Wild ARC opened in the August of 1997 to celebrate the B.C. SPCA's Victoria Center, and in that very first year it admitted only 291 patients. Now, the facility welcomes approximately 2,000 to 3,000 animals each year. The record-keeping at the facility, explains the organisation's wildlife assistant Ashley Currie, is a meticulous process, 'We actually treat each animal, or each patient, as an individual. They're all associated with a case number,' she says. A waddling of rescued ducklings, for example, would each be given a letter after their joint patient number to ensure all the siblings are linked. Sometimes, for duckling groups especially, the alphabet winds up being utilised as far down as the letter I. In the 28 years since its grand opening, Wild ARC has treated 180 different species. 'On average, we see about 140 species every year and 70 per cent of those are bird species,' says Currie, noting how Victoria is a landmark on the migratory map of so many avian species, which brings about a diversity locally that is far richer than other areas in B.C. He other 30 per cent Are typically mammals mammals, bar the 'occasional reptile or amphibian,' she says. Earlier this season the facility welcomed a brown pelican, a particularly rare visitor for the area, and it went down in the books as one of the Wild ARC's most notable rescues - of which there have been a few. Currie has been with the organization since 2016, and in her first year she cared for a critter that she still reflects fondly on now. It was a beaver kit, she says, that had come from the South Peace region of Northern B.C. after being separated from her family during a flash flood. 'We received special permission from the ministry to transfer her to Wild ARC, and she stayed in our specialized pool pen facility for two years until she was finally ready for release back close to where she was found,' she says. Part of Currie's job at that time had been to help source branches of various sizes to aid the baby beaver in making a sturdy lodge in her enclosure. The lodge was crafted so well, one of the wildlife rehabilitators could actually stand and jump on it. The beaver kit had been a 'pretty special patient,' one of a few that have left a legacy long after they have been released into the wild, says Currie. Wild Arc on Vancouver Island celebrates 60,000th patient Avian species makes up 70 per cent of the creatures brought in for care at the facility. She notes another: A deer fawn who was brought in with a concussion after it had been hit by a car while crossing the road with its mom. After a few days of care, a Wild ARC wildlife rehabilitator returned to the area and was able to locate the correct doe and reunite the two. 'We used some methods to call her out, and then the little fawn ran up and the mom nuzzled her and let her feed right away, and off they ran,' she recalls. Like the brown pelican, other patients that have been particularly memorable have been creatures rare or endangered. Over the winter a marbled murrelet, a small seabird known for its secretive and solitary nesting habits, was treated and successfully released. A fledgling American kestrel welcomed last year marked the first raptor of its kind the facility was able to raise and successfully release. Despite the unique and endearing nature of some patients, Currie assures there are no soft spots formed and no bending when it comes to the rules. 'We don't name them on purpose so that we don't form attachments or humanize them in the way, like our pets that are domesticated and respond positively when we use their name or talk to and interact with them,' she says. 'With wildlife, they very much do see us as a predator, and we want to respect that and make sure that we can return them back to the wild in a way that they can to succeed and live a natural life.' Around 80 per cent of the animals that come into the care of Wild ARC are admitted because of human interactions or conflicts and often, says Currie, 'they're not in great shape.' Being hit by a car, colliding with a window, or being injured by a prowling dog or cat are the top reasons wildlife is brought in. 'Finding ways to coexist with wildlife is really important, and we have a lot of tips on our website of how people can do that.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Man calling himself 'climate change messiah' charged after plane hijacking which saw fighter jets scrambled
A Canadian man who called himself the messiah of climate change allegedly hijacked a small plane at the Vancouver airport. Shaheer Cassim, 39, has been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the Tuesday incident, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He seized control of a Cessna at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor and then flew the aircraft about 40 miles. 'We have an incident right above our airspace here — a hijacked 172,' an official said in a recording of air traffic control reported by the Vancouver Sun. The hijacking caused the North American Aerospace Defense Command to scramble F-15 fighter jets before the plane safely landed. Footage showed several police vehicles and armed officers surrounding the small white plane on the runway in Vancouver. 'Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace,' said Sgt. Tammy Lobb. A man with the same name and who resembles Cassim posted on social media that he was a 'messenger of Allah' and a 'Messiah' sent to save humanity from climate change. He seized control of a Cessna at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor then flew about 40 miles He said 'the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.' Cassim's last post warned about 'abrupt runaway global warming' that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years. Cassim also said in the post that he is 'Sam Carana,' who runs the 'Arctic News' blog that describes itself as a place where contributors 'all share a deep concern about the way climate change is unfolding in the Arctic and the threat that this poses for the world at large.' His Facebook profile said he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island. The airline's former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, told the Associated Press that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent. Lars said Cassim left the airline after getting 'bored' and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end. Diana said she was 'very surprised' to hear of Cassim's charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was 'like a kid.' Lars said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs. 'He never spoke religion with us,' Diana said. 'I'm really surprised that he would´ve done something like this.' In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming. British Columbia Premier David Eby said the hijacking was a 'bizarre moment,' and the fact that it ended without a more significant disruption at the airport is a 'testament' to the skill of responders who talked the suspect down.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
‘David and Goliath battle': Family of Charleigh Pollock celebrates continued treatment
Vancouver Island News 'David and Goliath battle': Family of Charleigh Pollock celebrates continued treatment The family of 10-year-old Charleigh Pollock is celebrating the B.C. governments about-face on funding treatment for the girl's Batten disease.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Vancouver Islanders call for better access and environmental oversight of private forest lands
A survey by a private forest management company on Vancouver Island shows thousands of outdoor enthusiasts want better access to forest land — but an alliance of wilderness advocates is also raising concerns about environmental accountability. Mosaic Forest Management, which oversees roughly 550,000 hectares of privately owned forest land between Victoria, Sooke and Campbell River, reports that the survey received over 7,600 responses and the feedback was clear: open the gates. According to Mosaic's website, the company has over 20 gates on the Island that it can open and close to control recreational use — including those controlling access to popular hikes like Century Sam in Comox and Mount Arrowsmith near Port Alberni, and front-country camping sites like Nanaimo Lakes. Access to the areas is often limited to weekends between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic's manager of forest protection, says the company would like to enhance recreational access, but gate closures are often necessary for safety and to prevent wildfires. "It's a working forest. There are a lot of high-risk hazards, especially hauling on the roads, which would probably be the biggest risk with traffic," he said. Among those calling for better access: Jenn Holland, who currently chairs an alliance of almost 30 grassroots groups on the Island called the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance. "There's gates everywhere and people can't get to beloved waterfalls or lakes or camping sites that they used to be able to access," she said. Holland says the issue goes beyond recreation. "We can't get in there, and we can't see what they're doing back there. We can't see if there's been a landslide. We can't see if a water course has been logged. We can't see that they've logged an entire watershed," she said. "It's not just access for recreation, but it's access for accountability that's missing." WATCH | Hikers call for greater access to the Island's backcountry: Issue goes beyond the gates, say conservationists Holland says that while hiking access is something that the public can easily grasp, she's focused on bigger issues, like conservation, private forest landowners and the province, that go beyond Mosaic's control of the gates. Dave Weaver, a retired forestry worker who now volunteers with the Beaufort Watershed Stewards, one of the groups that make up the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance, says he takes issue with the Private Managed Forest Land Program, which was established in 2003 under the Private Managed Forest Land Act. According to the province's website, the program works by setting out management objectives for forest landowners, who in turn develop management strategies most appropriate for their land. Weaver says the act sets a low bar for forestry practices, especially in comparison to regulations for public forest lands, which have more restrictions on harvesting and clearcuts, and greater requirements for public accountability. "We need to have these difficult conversations very soon, with all the parties involved — with the provincial government, with the landowners," he said. WATCH: Vancouver Island groups call for forestry reform on private land: In 2019, the province undertook a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Act, where Weaver says extensive feedback was collected from the public, local government and First Nations. The province published its findings, which show there was a recurring theme of concern about the sustainability of forestry practices and the effects on things like watersheds on privately managed forest land — but Weaver claims no tangible change ever came from the review. In an emailed statement, the Ministry of Forests said it's working to modernize the act following the 2019 review, and that "many of the issues raised during the review are being addressed through the government's work to make sure forestry supports ecosystem values." But Weaver says he believes even that review would be out of date by today's standards and is joined by the alliance in calling on the province to undertake a new review. In a statement, Mosaic said it would be willing to work with community partners toward a sustainable strategy. "Mosaic supports enhanced collaboration between private forest landowners, First Nations, the Province, and communities to ensure responsible forest management plays a key role in BC's economic, reconciliation and climate strategies," said Karen Brandt, the senior vice president of public affairs and partnerships at Mosaic Forest Management.
