A consortium of Canadian media organizations is challenging a publication ban on evidence presented in a hearing to determine whether the man accused of killing 11 people at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival is fit to stand trial.
The accused, 46-year-old Adam Kai-Ji Lo, appeared in court by video on Tuesday wearing a blue sweatshirt. He faces 11 counts of second-degree murder after an SUV rammed through a crowd at the Filipino community festival in April, marking the deadliest vehicle attack in Canadian history.
The publication ban, supported by both prosecutors and defence, prevents the reporting of evidence from the British Columbia provincial court hearing until either the ban is lifted or a future criminal trial concludes. Lawyer Daniel Coles, representing the media consortium that includes The Canadian Press, argued that the ban undermines the open-court principle and restricts the public’s right to information in a case of profound national interest. “A proper publication ban — one that can withstand Charter scrutiny — is done with a scalpel and not a hatchet,” Coles said, adding that coverage helps fill the gap for members of the public who cannot attend court proceedings.
Coles noted that much about the accused is already public knowledge, including his past mental health-related interactions with police and his troubled family history. He suggested that withholding fitness hearing evidence until after a trial—which has no set date—means the information will fade from public attention and diminish transparency.
Defence lawyer Mark Swartz countered that the ban is essential to protecting Lo’s right to a fair trial. He argued that the limited details already public are “bare bones” and warned that reporting inadmissible evidence from the fitness hearing could unfairly prejudice a future jury. Crown lawyer Michaela Donnelly agreed, noting that admissibility rules differ between a fitness hearing and a criminal trial. She emphasized that the ban is temporary, not permanent, and ensures fairness in the judicial process.
The court also heard that forensic psychiatrists Dr. Robert Lacroix and Dr. Rakesh Lamba have already testified at the hearing, though the substance of their evidence remains under the ban. The fitness hearing is set to continue on Friday, with the debate over publication restrictions still unresolved.