Friday December 19, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
Opinion Editorial by Dana Lajeunesse, MLA (Juan de Fuca-Malahat)
This fall session in the legislature, I introduced a Private Members Bill, the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, better known as Xavier’s Law.
Earlier in the fall, a local family in my constituency lost their 12-year-old son, Xavier to a reckless driver. Soon thereafter Xavier’s family, the Rasul-Jankovics, made calls for change to legislation to prevent deaths and injuries like these from occurring in the future.
It was my privilege to meet with the Rasul-Jankovics family as their MLA, to hear their tragic story and to learn first-hand about the changes for which they were advocating, and the impact this would have.
Their story, like many other families in B.C. who have lost loved ones or who have been harmed by reckless driving, was truly heartbreaking to hear. This prompted me to bring forward a bill to address intentional reckless driving in B.C., and to address it before it senselessly costs more lives.
I was able to meet with the Rasul-Jankovics family again with my colleagues in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Attorney General, and from there, with the support of my colleagues I worked to bring forward a bill that would encapsulate the main points from the Rasul-Jankovics family to make meaningful change.
The bill I brought forward essentially does two things – gives police the ability to issue a 30-day driving prohibition for reckless driving, and additionally, it requires that every incident of reckless driving is reported to the superintendent of Motor Vehicles so that patterns of dangerous driving can be identified and addressed before further harm occurs.
In late November, I introduced the bill to the house for first reading. I was pleased to see keen media interest from across B.C. for this bill, including coverage right here from Island Social Trends, sharing important details about the bill, the family’s story, and the work still to come.
This February, the house will return for our Spring session, and Xavier’s law will be back up for continued debate, and it’s my hope that it will be passed into law. As debate started in December on the bill, I heard some criticism from commentators and opposition members, which I take to heart. I know we all care deeply about safety on our streets and in our communities, and I look forward to hearing constructive feedback from all interested parties to make sure we get the bill right, not only for Xavier’s family, but for all residents of B.C.
On some criticisms, I must correct facts – this bill is not unconstitutional. It is modelled after existing legislation in other Canadian jurisdictions which recognize that driving is a privilege and along with that privilege comes responsibility. These measures are not meant to be punitive, but rather preventative, to take high-risk drivers off the road, and not to punish people for accidents related to road conditions or other factors that are beyond the driver’s control.
Should the bill progress through second reading, it will go to committee stage and be open to consultation. I hope to hear from community members who are impacted by this issue and want to share their thoughts, as well as experts on the issues, stakeholders, and Ministry analysts. Once that process is complete, I believe we will have a bill that, if passed, will make a positive difference right away to make B.C.’s roadways safer for all.
===== RELATED:
SECTIONS: OPINION-EDITORIALS | SOUTH VANCOUVER ISLAND | 43rd PARLIAMENT of BC