Supreme Court refuses to hear Hells Angels appeal against B.C.

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Members of the Hells Angels lost their last legal recourse after the Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal (File photo)

Radio-Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal by the Hells Angels against British Columbia, ending a years-long legal battle.

The biker gang was challenging a provincial Court of Appeal decision that approved the application of the Civil Forfeiture Act to homes and properties used by the group as haunts.

A first house was foreclosed in 2007 in Nanaimo, followed by two properties, one in Kelowna and one in Vancouver, in 2012. That's when the biker group launched in 2013 a counterclaim against the Crown to challenge the legality of seizing their property.

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The house, located at 3598 Georgia Street East in Vancouver, is known to have been used for criminal purposes.

The Crown alleged the Kelowna and Vancouver properties were linked to extortion, assault and even murder.

According to a neighbor of the property in Vancouver, who wishes to remain anonymous, the presence of the Hells Angels in his residential neighborhood was not felt on a daily basis.

One day someone told me that he had seen my neighbors' house on the news and that's how I found out, he says.

They were very quiet, they even gave out candy on Halloween!

A quote from Voisin (anonymous) from the old Hells Angels hangout

Unlike criminal court, civil forfeitures require less compelling evidence than property that has been used for criminal purposes.

Established in 2006, the Civil Forfeiture Act aims to ensure that people cannot profit from illegal activities or use property in a way that could harm another person.

In 2020, the British Columbia Supreme Court issued a decision that allowed the Hells Angels to keep the properties.

However, in February this year, the Provincial Court of Appeal overturned this decision. She believed that the law could apply to the markers since it was reasonable to believe that they would be used for criminal activities.

At least In April, Hells Angels lawyers filed a challenge to the entire law with the Supreme Court of Canada and it was this request that was refused this month.

For the province's Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, this is proof that the tools we use to fight organized crime are constitutional.

You will not profit from the crime you committed in British Columbia.

A quote from Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General

Earlier this year, British Columbia amended its Civil Forfeiture Act to allow for seizure proceeds of crime more easily.

Decrees relating to unexplained wealth will allow him to demand explanations on the origin of the income which financed the purchase of luxury products , if there is suspicion of illegal activities.

According to the report by Benoit Ferradini.