Photo: Wayne Moore
Robert Riley Saunders is remorseful for his actions and should not spend any time behind bars.
That was the recommendation of defence lawyer Brian Fitzpatrick during the second day of his sentencing hearing.
Saunders, decked out in a light blue golf shirt and dark blue slacks appeared to be bored and disinterested during his lawyers summation before Supreme Court Justice Steve Wilson.
Saunders, a former social worker with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, pleaded guilty in September of last year of defrauding the ministry of more than $460,000.
He had been charged with multiple counts of fraud over $5,000, breach of trust, and forging a university degree, which he used to obtain a job at the MCFD back in 1996.
In his summation to the court, Fitzpatrick suggested no jail time for his client. Instead, he suggested a conditional two years house arrest and three years probation.
He suggested the court consider the impact on Saunders’ family.
“Both of his children as I understand it essentially disassociated themselves from him,” Fitzpatrick said.
“That’s a great… I guess I would call it a great loss he’s had to deal with separate from the public humiliation.”
He also touched on the the mental toll the ordeal has had on Saunders, saying on three separate occasions his client attempted to take his own life.
He called Saunders remorseful, saying he has been volunteering his time with numerous agencies in Calgary including the food bank.
During his morning submission, Fitzpatrick cited several cases of fraud where those involved were not handed jail time.
Some involved fraud against banks and other financial institutions, prompting Justice Wilson to suggest the defence was comparing the ministry to a financial institution.
“Here, the victims are youth in care subject to permanent orders,” stated Justice Wilson.
“In order to get to that position, not only have they been apprehended… a final order is required. Not only did their parents not look after them, there’s nobody else who can.
“It’s hard to imagine a more vulnerable group than children in care subject to a permanent order.”
During her summation on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Heather Magnin recommended a prison term of six to eight years for Saunders.
Justice Wilson is expected to reserve sentencing to a later date.
Rob Gibson – Jun 24, 2022 / 1:45 pm | Story: 372913
Photo: Beck Wilson
Emergency crews are on scene of a truck fire at the intersection of Ethel and Fuller Streets in Kelowna Friday afternoon.
An eyewitness told Castanet she saw the vehicle going down Ethel toward Clement Avenue and it was running rough.
“It was one of my neighbours, said Beck Wilson. “He was just trying to drive home and his vehicle was sort of breaking down, and it was kind of tilting back and forth and he was trying to make it turn to make it home. He was literally two seconds from his house.”
Wilson said she ran over to try and help when the driver told her to get away because the truck was on fire.
“’No, no, get away, get away, it’s on fire.’ Flames just engulfed the front end and all underneath was all flames.”
The Kelowna Fire Department has doused the flames and the truck is in the process of being towed from the scene. Traffic on Ethel Street was impacted but the street remains open.
After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, Team Kelowna is excited for the International Children’s Games in England.
The team was presented with their jerseys at a ceremony in Stuart Park on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s been three years since we’ve had this opportunity,” said the chair of Kelowna’s International Games committee Lance Macdonald.
“We came close a couple of times only to have the games cancelled, which breaks the athletes’ hearts because they age out and they don’t get to go to the next games … so we’re very excited this group is going to have this opportunity presented to them.”
Nearly 10 different sports will be played at the games with team Kelowna being one of 80 teams competing for gold in basketball, swimming and rock climbing.
IGC Basketball Coach Jason McCarthy says the international tournament is so much more than just a competition. “The goal is for the kids to have an opportunity to exchange our culture with the various cultures of the world, obviously to compete and to, as they say in ICG, play fair and make a friend.”
Kian Story, a boys basketball player, says he’s excited to meet other kids from all around the world, but that his team is also focused on the task at hand — proudly representing Kelowna.
“Obviously we’re not just going there to play basketball, we’re going there to explore England and I’m really excited for that too … We’re just going there to win, that’s all there is to it.”
The 2022 International Children’s Games kicks off in England on August 11 and will conclude on August 18. Kelowna hosted the event in 2011.
Photo: Contributed
Members of the Kelowna business community will get a chance to fire questions at the leader of B.C.’s official opposition next week.
Kevin Falcon will give his first major public address since his election as MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena when he serves as the guest speaker at a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday. His presentation is called “The Future of British Columbia and the Okanagan,” and he will also address his Liberal party’s plans for the rest of 2022.
The event will be held on Monday (June 27) from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Kelowna’s Coast Capri Hotel.
Those in attendance will be able to ask questions of Falcon via Sli.do, and he will answer as many as time permits following his presentation.
More information can be found here.
Rob Gibson – Jun 24, 2022 / 11:04 am | Story: 372897
Rob Gibson
Emergency crews had to respond to a car that caught fire at the intersection of Ellis St. and Harvey Ave. in downtown Kelowna in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Eyewitness Ahmed Al Masud tells Castanet he heard a loud explosion and when he arrived at the intersection, the vehicle was on fire and emergency crews had just arrived on the scene.
“I heard an explosion but I did not see any other vehicles,” Masud says.
The RCMP tells Castanet the vehicle caught fire after a young driver/owner was “stunting,” including spinning tires and doing doughnuts.
“The driver was issued several violation tickets under the Motor Vehicle Act and I guess (he) will need to explain to ICBC why his car is now a write-off,” says RCMP spokesperson Const. Mike Della-Paolera.
The initial report indicated a pedestrian was struck at the intersection, however, “when police identified the person they completely denied they had been hit and there were no injuries. The ‘friends’ of the driver were uncooperative with police during this investigation,” states Cst. Della-Paolera.
Photo: YLW
A new art exhibition has opened at the Kelowna International Airport.
The inaugural art installation spans almost 40-feet long and 8-feet tall.
It is titled Kate and Molly by Lake Country-based artist Wanda Lock.
The work was selected by the Kelowna Art Gallery, who will be organizing and curating the art space.
“We’re absolutely thrilled with the opportunities this new dedicated exhibition space provides,” says Nataley Nagy, executive director at the Kelowna Art Gallery. “Plus, it’s hard to miss.”
Lock’s mixed media paintings are front and center, located above the airline check-in area, greeting travelers as they enter the airport.
Lock says she has woven literary and cultural references into the atmospheric paintings.
The work’s title, Kate and Molly, references a soliloquy involving Molly Bloom — a fictional character from James Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses — and singer and songwriter Kate Bush’s 1989 song, The Sensual World.
Lock began her formal training in the arts at Okanagan College, before attending Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver.
Since graduating in 1992, Lock’s art has been shown in many solo and group exhibitions, including three times at the Kelowna Art Gallery.
Wanda Lock: Kate and Molly can be seen until June 2023.
Photo: YLW
Photo: Contributed
The Kelowna Music School Choir performing at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
Past and present students and instructors with the Kelowna Community Music School are putting on a show to help raise money for a new home.
Last December, KCMS sold the house on DeHart Avenue that had been used for music lessons for more than 30 years.
The music school has leased back the space for the time being, but that agreement expires in July 2024, so the clock is ticking to find a new location.
“Time is moving fast. We’re very aware of that,” said Lucy Benwell, KCMS executive director. “It’s already June, so in the blink of an eye since selling the building it’s passing by.”
The school is hosting a showcase concert on Saturday, June 25 to kick start fundraising for a new facility.
“We do have the proceeds of the sale of the building. Until we’ve done the first phase with the architects, which is the stakeholder consultant work, pre-design, we really can’t be accurate about the construction budget. But an estimated $5 million has been suggested,” said Benwell.
She adds that a site has not been chosen, but they are consulting with commercial realtors.
Saturday’s concert at St. Michael’s Cathedral will feature collaborations involving students, instructors and alumni of the Kelowna Community Music School. The music will span from the 17th Century to 2022, with performances of Handel to Imagine Dragons.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Photo: Contributed
The Kelowna Community Music School sold it’s current home on DeHart Avenue in December, 2021.
Photo: Amy Soranno / Facebook
Amy Soranno speaks to media
A four-week jury trial looms for an Okanagan animal rights activist, who is among three charged for the occupation of a Fraser Valley hog farm in 2019.
Kelowna resident Amy Soranno, known locally for leading protests against Ribfest and factory farms, will face trial Monday in Abbotsford alongside two co-accused.
Soranno, Roy Sasano and Nick Schafer face a combined 14 charges for break and enter and mischief in connection to an April 2019 occupation of Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford. The Crown is also alleging similar offences in February and March 2019 at the farm.
The activists claim they occupied Excelsior Hog Farms in an attempt to expose the poor treatment of livestock. Prior to the occupation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a hidden-camera video, allegedly filmed at the farm, showing sickly pigs in cramped conditions.
The SPCA, however, was unable to verify the video and did not proceed with charges against the farm.
A fourth man, Geoff Regier, was also previously charged on the same indictment but those charges were dropped last month. The Crown dropped additional counts against the remaining three accused on Thursday, but are ready to proceed on some counts.
The defendants have been referring to the case as the “Excelsior 4” and say they will be using the trial to bring attention to the horrors of factory farming and shortcomings of the BCSPCA’s animal cruelty investigations. The BCSPCA, as a private charity, is in the unique position of being the province’s sole organization that investigates animal cruelty.
In an email to Castanet, Soranno says it feels “bittersweet” to get their day in court.
“The animals will never get this opportunity, however, our case will reveal malfeasance by the Abbotsford police and the BC SPCA, and show how the system is biased against animals and activists,” she said.
“While we face serious charges for revealing animal abuse, facilities like Excelsior Hog Farm are allowed to carry on with business without any punishment, even when caught committing brutal and criminal animal cruelty.”
She said they hope their case encourages people to stop supporting factory farming and adopt a plant-based diet. “During trial, the inner workings of animal agriculture, and the systems that aid in concealing animal suffering, will be brought in front of a jury and media.”
Soranno says the defendants have experienced an “incredible” outpouring of support over the past three years. Nearly $80,000 has been fundraised for their defence.
“Our lawyers have also been preparing for this moment, which comes at a steep cost. We are grateful that the team of lawyers are charging a discounted rate, but our bill will still end up in the six digits,” she said, adding that cost “is nothing compared to what farmed animals endure.”
Soranno is also facing prosecution in Ontario after being pre-emptively arrested last year in advance of an action at a turkey farm.
“The fact that we face charges for simply aiming to reveal what happens to animals inside farms, demonstrates how secretive the animal agriculture industry is—they know transparency will lead to consumers choosing plant-based options instead,” she said.
“The cases in BC and Ontario show that the police and industry are working diligently together to criminalize animal rights activists and hide systemic animal cruelty.”
The “Excelsior 4” trial opens Monday morning at 10 a.m.
Photo: Facebook
It has been 11 days since Chelsea Cardno, 31, was last seen.
Cardno went missing June 14, when she took her dog J.J. for a walk on the Mission Greenway.
That same day the City of Kelowna declared a local state of emergency due to flooding along the creek.
Cardno’s vehicle was found parked at the north end of Pasadena Road near the creek, but there has been no sign of her or the dog.
Central Okanagan Search and Rescue manager Duane Tresnich says his team will resume its search of the creek on Saturday morning.
“We have called in some swift water crews from around the region. I have heard back from three of the teams so far, I am waiting on answers from another two,” Tresnich said.
COSAR will be strictly targeting Mission Creek.
“We have done quite an extensive searching of the lake so I don’t think we need to look at it at this point in time. However, we can look at it again if there is more material that gets down there or something that we missed.”
Tresnich says the swift water team will be using their own rafts and kayaks.
COSAR will be using a tool called the AquaEye around bridges and tight areas.
“It is a handheld device that basically once you go in the water it shoots radar, which you can program it to look for the size of an object that you are specifically looking for,” Tresnich said.
COSAR says the creek’s lower water level will be advantageous.
“It will help us because there are a lot of entrapments and trees and debris that fall into the lake and they usually get swept into the shores of the creek. With the water decreasing, it may give us a better chance to go in and examine those.”
Tresnich says if Saturday’s search is unsuccessful, crews will meet again to reassess.
“The RCMP and ourselves will sit down we will look at all the data that we have gathered and all the information that they have and we will determine what our next steps will be.”
While the allegations leveled against Robert Riley Saunders in 2018 may have come as a shock to many in the Okanagan, it came as no surprise to many Indigenous people who’d been complaining about him for years.
Saunders is in court this week for his sentencing hearing, after he pleaded guilty last year to defrauding the Ministry of Children and Family Development of more than $460,000 over seven years, while he worked as a guardianship social worker for MCFD’s Kelowna Indigenous Integrated Family Service and Guardianship Team.
Jennifer Lewis, wellness manager with the Okanagan Nation Alliance, was one of dozens of people who demonstrated outside the Kelowna courthouse Thursday, calling for justice for the Indigenous youth who were deprived of the support they needed under Saunders’ care. She said she’s worked with Saunders and the local MCFD office for years, advocating for Indigenous youth in ministry care.
“He’s been well known in our communities for being aggressive and arrogant and ignorant and uncaring and disrespectful; that he was not a good person to work with,” Lewis said “It’s been a long-standing concern and complaint of many community partners about his behaviour that went unresolved.
“We said this guy is not really great to work with, this guy is arrogant, this guy is resistant, this guy isn’t working for the best interest of our children, but nobody investigated back then. And all of these crimes occurred after community members, after colleagues, after children and youth and their families would say things, nobody investigated, nobody stopped because our voices are always marginalized … That’s what these young people have faced and suffered with and struggled with in their most vulnerable state.”
During sentencing submissions Thursday, Crown prosecutor Heather Magnin noted Saunders specifically targeted vulnerable Indigenous youth, as he figured they would be less likely to speak up.
“The youth Mr. Saunders chose to victimize are part of a profoundly marginalized and vulnerable group – Indigenous children who have been removed from their families by the state,” Magnin said.
She asked Justice Steven Wilson to take “judicial notice” in his sentencing of the “historical context” in Canada of the state removing Indigenous children from their homes and mistreating them.
Magnin said Thursday the Crown is seeking a total sentence of six to eight years for Saunders. Lewis says that’s not long enough.
“I think that it’s not enough … the impact on the lives of all of those young people is worth a lot more,” she said.
“It continues to show that the lives of our people don’t matter as much and that’s really upsetting and it falls in line with how Canada’s treated our people since contact.
“What is Canada going to do about that? What is B.C., what are Canadian citizens and British Columbians going to do about that? Because we’ve said enough, Indigenous people, we say it repeatedly day after day after day. Nothing has changed.”
While many may be shocked by how Saunders was able to carry out his fraudulent scheme for close to seven years, depriving vulnerable Indigenous youth whose care he was entrusted with, Lewis says it’ll come as no surprise to Indigenous people.
“Canadians are going to be shocked: ‘Oh this guy did that?’ Ask an Indigenous person how shocked we are. We’re not shocked, we’re just enraged.”
Saunders’ sentencing hearing continues Friday with submissions from Saunders’ defence counsel. Justice Steven Wilson is expected to reserve his ultimate decision on sentencing to a later date.
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