Passenger who apparently hit Vancouver bus driver won't see criminal charges

Think I’ll weigh in here as I’m the one who interviewed Anne Drennan, since there are a lot of comments speculating about who has authority to lay the charges and why it’s not going ahead,

Drennan told me they aren’t going forward because the driver clearly told them he didn’t want criminal charges laid against her.

I said that in Canada, as she knows, it’s up to the Crown, not the victim or even the police to decide whether or not to go ahead with charges. Police recommend charges to the Crown but it’s not their final decision either.

She said, and I put this in the story: “The Crown’s not going to proceed in a situation like this, when we’re talking about a slap on the arm, if the victim doesn’t believe he was in any kind of risk of injury and doesn’t want to proceed.”

Of course the Crown could change their mind if they want to, but as of now it’s not happening.

Hope this answers your questions.

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