Maple Ridge police shooting case to test B.C. law excluding siblings from wrongful death claims

A Maple Ridge police shooting case could reshape B.C.’s wrongful death laws, after a judge allowed a first-of-its-kind Charter challenge.

In a decision released on April 20, Justice Bruce Elwood refused to dismiss the case brought by Yin Yin Hla Din and Min Aung against the Crown and four Ridge Meadows RCMP officers over the death of their brother, Kyaw Naing Din, despite ruling they did not qualify as claimants under B.C.’s Family Compensation Act (FCA).

Elwood found there are unresolved legal issues that must go to trial, including whether the legislation’s exclusion of siblings violates equality rights, allowing the case to proceed on narrow but potentially significant legal grounds.

“Dismissing the plaintiffs’ remaining FCA claims as a nullity on this basis would be more than a ‘harsh result’ on the facts of this case. It would be an injustice,” Elwood said. “There are genuine issues for trial including a modern, non-discriminatory interpretation of ‘parents’ which would include adult siblings.”

Maple Ridge shooting

The lawsuit arises from the August 2019 death of Kyaw, who was shot by police inside the family’s Maple Ridge home after his sister called 911 seeking help during a mental health episode.

Kyaw, who had schizophrenia, had stopped taking his medication and was experiencing confusion. His sister told dispatchers he had made a verbal threat earlier but was not violent, and asked for assistance transporting him to hospital.

When RCMP officers and paramedics arrived, Din repeatedly told them her brother was calm, seated in his room, and would likely comply once other family members arrived. She asked officers to wait and said she would call again if needed.

Instead, the four officers and two paramedics entered the home and approached Kyaw’s bedroom. The court heard that officers did not announce themselves before entering. One officer deployed a taser, and police then shot Kyaw three times, killing him.

Caregiving relationship central

The siblings argue they effectively acted as Kyaw’s parents for more than 20 years, providing daily medical, financial and emotional care due to his inability to live independently.

They say his death left them with both emotional trauma and financial loss, including the loss of his monthly contributions toward rent and household expenses.

Elwood said the current wording of the FCA does not recognize siblings – even those in a caregiving role – as eligible claimants.

He relied on an earlier B.C. Supreme Court ruling involving one of the same plaintiffs, which found that “siblings who provide care and support … are not ‘parents’ within the meaning of the FCA.”

That conclusion, the judge said, is binding at the trial court level.

Despite that finding, the judge refused to strike the claim, pointing to two unresolved issues that require a full hearing: whether excluding siblings from the FCA violates Charter equality rights; and whether the plaintiffs could recover damages if that exclusion is found unconstitutional.

Elwood noted the constitutional question has not been settled in B.C. and would benefit from a more complete evidentiary record.

“The plaintiffs’ challenge … appears to be one of first impression,” he said. “It is not an abuse of process for them to try.”

The siblings also pointed to other legal jurisdictions, such as Ontario, where wrongful death legislation allows siblings to claim damages, as well as a 2024 bill introduced in the B.C. legislature that proposed expanding eligibility to include siblings.

The decision also highlights a longstanding limitation in B.C. law: damages under the FCA are restricted to financial losses and do not include compensation for grief, emotional suffering or loss of companionship.

While the siblings’ evidence of financial loss was minimal – described by the defence as a “bare assertion” – the judge found it was still sufficient to survive a summary dismissal application.

He noted their claim that Kyaw contributed disability income toward household expenses was “plausible,” even if difficult to prove at trial.

Multiple lawsuits and procedural issues

The case has also been complicated by earlier litigation.

One of the plaintiffs previously filed a separate malpractice lawsuit against a doctor and the Fraser Health Authority, alleging treatment decisions contributed to Kyaw’s death. That case was dismissed in 2024, in part because the court found she lacked standing under the FCA.

The defendants in the current case argued that earlier ruling should end the matter entirely, or that the existence of multiple lawsuits barred the claim under provisions of the FCA limiting actions to one action per death.

Justice Elwood rejected those arguments, finding the earlier case involved different defendants and legal issues, and that dismissing the current claim would be unjust.

The ruling means the case will proceed, but only within strict limits.

Unless the plaintiffs succeed in their Charter challenge and obtain a legal remedy allowing them to qualify as claimants, their compensation claim under the FCA cannot ultimately succeed.

The decision keeps alive both the civil allegations of police misconduct and a larger constitutional question that could have implications beyond Maple Ridge.

No costs were awarded.