B.C. releases safety report, including 6 recommendations, after Lapu-Lapu Day festival attack

A report on how to improve safety at public events in British Columbia, ordered after 11 people were tragically killed at a cultural event in April, was released by the provincial government on Wednesday. 

The report, which includes six recommendations, suggests ways to prevent attacks similar to the Vancouver Lapu-Lapu Day street festival tragedy, where a driver of a car rammed into a packed crowd. 

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The report’s committee was led by retired BC Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson. 

The six recommendations include: Risk assessments, clarify jurisdictional roles, establish a centralized training and support hub, boost local event delivery capacity, foster local collaboration, and promote learning through evaluation. 

During a press conference, B.C. Minister for Community Safety and Integrated Services Terry Yung,said the recommendations “make a lot of sense.” 

Yung said the province will have to work with partners to see how best to implement a centralized training hub in a tangible timeframe. 

The hub will provide standardized training programs for event organizers, municipal staff, and volunteers, guided by safety experts. 

The minister hopes that some of the recommendations can be implemented beginning this summer.  

“We’re hoping to do this as soon as we can, for future events this summer and in 2026,” Yung emphasized. 

“It is never too soon to have effective plans and safer events for the public to attend.” 

According to Yung, there are over 2,000 public events every year in the City of Vancouver alone. 

The report recognizes that one of the most pressing concerns raised during the committee’s consultations was the threat of vehicles, whether intentionally or accidentally, entering pedestrian spaces. 

Report’s event safety plan template will help communities and municipalities

Yung praised the report’s risk assessment recommendations and the provided event safety plan template. With the use of risk assessments, event organizers “can actually take concrete steps to ensure that those events are going to be safer,” Yung explained. 

With the report’s recommendation on clarifying jurisdictional roles, Yung explained this provides the tools and expertise to help communities and municipalities across the province coordinate, especially when it includes more than one.  

“Depending on how large the scope of the event is, [the jurisdiction] can include more than one municipality,” he added. 

The “guidelines can actually help each individual event, to make sure how best to work on that planning,” Yung said. 

The report notes that barricades could be used against that threat, as they serve multiple purposes, from providing physical security and shielding against hazards to managing crowd flow. 

However, their effective use requires careful planning. Organizers must consider various issues such as barrier layout, round conditions, and weather, the report explains. 

With a caveat, the minister agrees about the overall effectiveness that barriers provide for public events. 

“With 2,000 events in one city alone, sometimes simultaneously, it comes down to resources, cost, disruption, and — I keep going back to this point — the risk assessment and the event planning template, because it has to be specific,” Yung explained. 

“It depends on what you’re planning: If I am planning a book sale, I probably don’t have to put up barriers.” 

The minister assures, however, that the provincial government will not leave event organizers alone. 

“We’re going to do everything we can to support the event organizers,” said Minister Yung. 

“That’s why we consulted with extensive event organizers across the board to look at what their needs are going to be. And we’re going to find a way to make sure that any gaps are going to be filled.” 

Vancouver left out of report compilation: mayor

But Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the sizeable report left out Vancouver.

“The City of Toronto was consulted on this file, they consulted with five individuals, I believe, on this file, but no meaningful consultations with the City of Vancouver. It’s a little bizarre,” Sim said on Wednesday.

The report stressed that predicting violence in public spaces, especially among those with mental health issues, is highly challenging due to complex variables and a lack of prior assessment.

But Sim says that’s a key detail that was missed by the province.

“Our jurisdiction isn’t health care, so even if we had the resources, which we don’t … we’re not allowed to do it, so we’re relying on the province,” Sim said.

When asked if the recommendations had been implemented for the Lapu-Lapu Day street festival, Minister Yung said, “I can’t speculate what could have been, but what we can do in the future is to make us all safer.” 

With files from Mike Lloyd and Joe Sadowski.