In this article, Pat Shannon, our Staff Lawyer, explains how survivors of domestic abuse face the risk of retraumatization and even conflicting judgments due to the lack of an integrated court system in BC. thestar.com/vancouver/2019/0… via @torontostar

The @bcndp left 2 years of majority gov on the table, in part because of a caucus, cabinet and party that refused to stand up to a sinking leader and start the process of finding a new one. Instead, he drove the party off a cliff. My latest in @BIVnews: biv.com/news/commentary/rob-…

Spice Girls star Mel B says she earned more than £80 million but left her marriage with $936 in a bank account. She was then ordered to pay her ex-husband $15,000 a month in spousal support. In the video below, she describes how her husband abused her during their marriage. She was married to Stephen Belafonte for 10 years. She says the abuse was financial as well as physical and emotional, allegations he has repeatedly denied. Leaving the marriage did not end their financial ties. She still faced legal bills and payments to the man she said had abused her. Even the Spice Girls reunion tour did not give her enough to buy a home. She said the earnings went toward legal fees and payments to her ex-husband. During the pandemic, she moved into her mother’s home in Leeds with her children. Her mother thought leaving meant she would be fine, but Mel says she had to rebuild both her finances and her confidence. By 2024, she had bought a home again, something she once thought might never happen. Should a woman ever have to pay alimony to the man she says abused her?

Wow cbc.ca/news/world/edward-dub…

Happening now: Surrey Mayor elect Doug McCallum opens the @Conservative_BC rally in Newton. “we changed Surrey, let’s now change BC.” Newton has been held by the @bcndp since 2005, but this time it’s shaping up to be one of the closest in its history. Former Surrey mayors Dianne Watts & Linda Hepner also sharing the stage. #bcpoli