Courtesy: Shelly James

By Randi-Marie Adams

A Families fight part 2: “It’s too late for our daughter, we are fighting for other families now”

Feb 19, 2021 | 3:09 PM

The continuation of a story we brought you yesterday. A story of a mother who lost her daughter to wrongful death and because of an outdated law was unable to file a civil suit against the wrongdoers. Here is part two, of the local family standing up to B.C. lawmakers.

“It’s all for my girl, you know trying to make the change right, this law is not right”

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Those are the words of a mother, who lost her daughter Chelsea James in 2016 after she fell out of the door of a party bus limousine.

According to Shelly, the family wanted to sue, but couldn’t because the Family compensation act is 175 years old and doesn’t cover those who are single with no dependents. every other province and the Yukon have modernized this law…. so why… has B.C. not stepped up.

” If she would have been married and had kids, there would have been recourse but because she didn’t, there was no recourse or accountability of her death at all.”

The James family joined those behind the BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society’s who are calling for modernizing the laws. President Micheal-James Pennie of “in their name” says we need to implement meaningful legislation to protect all members of our society.

“People need to imagine the fact that their loved one could be wrongfully killed, and that they would have no access to justice or accountability, they actually need to imagine that fact and they need to not ignore it. ”

Shelly took part in a PSA featuring families who lost loved ones to a wrongful act. part of a campaign to overhaul the province’s Family Compensation Act.

” With this PSA what we are trying to do is to bring awareness to people in every province, you know it affects everybody, and to say hey, this is wrong. We need some accountability, let us have our time in court.”

CKPG reached out to our local MLA Mike Morris regarding this law he says this:

” We’re waiting for the attorney general, who has committed to having a look at it, during this term in office, for the NDP government. So, we are waiting to see what they present before the house.”

CKPG reached out to Attorney General David Eby but received no response by the time this story broadcasted. To find out more you can go to the “in their name”website. Pennie also encourages you to write to your local MLA to raise your concerns.