PRESS RELEASE - Lawyers with Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association have filed three complaints against the Vancouver Police Department’s excessive use of force, targeting, and surveillance of Palestine protests.

MEDIA ADVISORY When: Monday October 16, 2023 at 8:30 AM Where: 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver, BC - Smithe Street entrance Who: Our Homes Can’t Wait (OHCW) members, Pivot Legal Society (PIVOT), and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA)

PRESS RELEASE - Challenging Canada’s prohibition on drug possession. Application filed last week at BC Provincial Court by Sarah Runyon (Marion & Runyon Criminal Lawyers) and Caitlin Shane (Pivot Legal Society). Stay tuned as the case proceeds.

PRESS RELEASE - This morning, 24 months after Jared Lowndes was killed by the Campbell River RCMP, the family of Jared Lowndes filed a lawsuit with the support of Vancouver lawyer Neil Chantler (Chantler & Company).

PRESS RELEASE - Nearly 8 years after the death of Myles Gray during a brutal and violent encounter with multiple Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers the Vancouver Police Board is set to receive a report based on Jury Recommendations.

MEDIA ADVISORY When: Monday, April 17, 8:00 AM Where: Burnaby Coroners’ Court, 4720 Kingsway, Burnaby BC - Meet at the entrance to Metrotower II at Metrotown [ https://goo.gl/maps/nNhvavQ33RtiVo226 ] - Livestream by Pivot Legal Society [ https://www.instagram.com/pivotlegal/ ] Who: Support rally for the family of Myles Gray & their supporters, to mark the beginning of the Inquest into the VPD killing of Myles Thomas Gray [ https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/life-events/death/coroners-service/inquest-schedule-jury-findings-verdicts/inquestlivestream ]

PRESS RELEASE - Pivot's position paper, Involuntary Treatment: Criminalization by another name, comes amid government movement toward the expansion of involuntary treatment in BC, including by Premier David Eby and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside. Recent rumblings from municipal, provincial, and national politicians indicate that the latest call to expand involuntary treatment directly targets people who use drugs. Involuntary treatment - for any community - is a harmful and degrading intervention at odds with healing, wellness, and best practices in drug policy and mental health care. In the context of the drug toxicity crisis, this expansion could be deadly.

MEDIA ADVISORY - On Thursday, December 1, Laura Holland and her family, as well as the BC Civil Liberties Association, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and Pivot Legal Society, held a press conference in response to the final decision of the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) regarding the investigation of the police-involved killing of Jared Lowndes.

PRESS RELEASE - Residents of the Hastings Street tent city (represented by the law firm Arvay Finlay LLP) sought a Judicial Review of the Fire Order issued by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services in late July 2022. The review of this Fire Order and the City of Vancouver’s enforcement actions highlight the gross disparities that people who rely on public space face as they seek shelter in the community now known as the Hastings Tent City.

MEDIA ADVISORY - #StopTheSweeps Denounces the Forced Decampment of Hastings Tent City and City/Police Campaign of Terror in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside