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By Anna McMillan Organizations that respond to intimate-partner violence say they’re feeling a renewed sense of hope that changes will be made to B.C.’s justice system to better protect women. Their optimism stems from a recent meeting between service providers, police leaders and provincial politicians, including the attorney general. “It was the first meeting of its kind that’s happened in a very long time, if there even is precedent for it,” said Victoria Women’s Transition House executive director Bahar Dehnadi. The meeting was born out of tragedy, following the death of Laura Gover, a respected business instructor and mother of two. The ...

by Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press Edwin Bergsson’s friend broke down the door of his recording studio in Victoria about five years ago, found him unconscious, and saved his life. “It’s incredible that I’m here today,” Bergsson said in an interview. He had overdosed after taking what he believed was crystal meth. But while he counts himself lucky to have escaped with his life, Bergsson suffered a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen. His Lyrics Studio folded after the overdose and he now works in a café operated by fellow brain injury survivors. Bergsson still struggles with his short-term ...

The Second Chance Cafe aims to help brain injury survivors rebuild their lives and get back into the workforce. The cafe, operated by the Cridge Centre for Family, offers an opportunity for survivors of brain injury to gain some employment readiness skills and get back into the work force in an accommodated and flexible and safe setting. “We know that a lot of time survivors, it’s a challenge to get back into the work force,” Tori Dach, The Cridge Centre for the Family manager of brain injury services, said.   “For some to get back to what they were doing, ...

Friends and advocates of a Saanich woman who was found killed in her home this month say B.C. and Canada’s court system failed to protect her. Hundreds gathered outside a Victoria courthouse Wednesday morning to speak up about the Jan. 5 death of 41-year-old researcher and mother of two, Dr. Laura Gover. Gover’s ex-husband, Muhammed Basar, has since been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in relation to her death. Kelsea McLaughlin says her friend had done everything right to protect herself and her kids. Gover had reported her fears about her ex to police, and she had a protection ...

Dozens of people gathered outside the Victoria courthouse on Wednesday morning to demand urgent action on intimate-partner violence in the wake of the death of a 41-year-old college instructor. Laura Gover, a mother of two, was found dead in her Saanich home on Jan. 5. Her ex-partner has been charged with second-degree murder in her death. Kelsea McLaughlin, a close friend of Gover, said the large turnout was fitting for her friend. “Laura was someone who would have come to a community rally like this in support of others, and so to see community show up for her — both ...

The killing of a Vancouver Island academic is spurring calls for action against gender-based violence. Saanich police said earlier this month that Muhammed Basar had been charged with murder in the killing of a person found dead at a home on Jan. 5, later identified by an online fundraiser as 41-year-old Laura Gover, an instructor at Vancouver Island University and Camosun College. The fundraiser said Gover had two daughters and was a “beloved mother, daughter, sister, friend and teacher.” It said her ex-husband had been charged with her murder. Basar’s case has been designated as a “K file” in the ...