Thursday, June 4, 2026
ADVT 
National

Additional charges laid after Masonic hall fires

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Apr, 2021 11:58 PM
  • Additional charges laid after Masonic hall fires

Police say five more charges have been approved against a man accused of setting fire to three Masonic halls in Metro Vancouver last week.

Police say 42-year-old Benjamin Kohlman was charged Tuesday with two counts of arson and three counts of break and enter to commit arson after fires in Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Police arrested Kohlman in nearby Burnaby within a few hours of the fires.

He was charged the following day with one count of arson in relation to the fire in Vancouver, as well as one count of assaulting a police officer.

All three fires were allegedly set in the span of an hour last Tuesday.

The first call came in at around 6:45 a.m. about a fire at the Lynn Valley Lodge in North Vancouver, while a second fire reported minutes later severely damaged a Masonic centre located four kilometres away.

Fire officials said the third fire at a Masonic hall in east Vancouver was reported around 7:30 a.m. and caused little damage.

MORE National ARTICLES

Man sentenced to life for Indigenous woman's death

Man sentenced to life for Indigenous woman's death
Michael William Okemow, 40, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2015 beating death of Crystal Andrews, 22, at God's Lake First Nation, a Swampy Cree and Metis community located about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

Man sentenced to life for Indigenous woman's death

Ethics watchdog bites ex-ambassador to U.S.

Ethics watchdog bites ex-ambassador to U.S.
David MacNaughton was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s point man in Washington for 3 1/2 years before he left one year ago.

Ethics watchdog bites ex-ambassador to U.S.

Damaged cars being removed from derail site: CN

Damaged cars being removed from derail site: CN
The CP freight train was hauling potash, a non-hazardous, potassium-rich type of salt, when the cars left the bridge, dumping some of the material into a nearby creek.

Damaged cars being removed from derail site: CN

WATCH: Canada-US Border Closure Extended Till November | BC State of Emergency To Stay

WATCH: Canada-US Border Closure Extended Till November | BC State of Emergency To Stay
The US Canada border closure remains in place and at the eleventh hour US backs down on aluminum tariff dispute with Canada.

WATCH: Canada-US Border Closure Extended Till November | BC State of Emergency To Stay

Study hints antibody drug may cut COVID-19 hospitalizations

Study hints antibody drug may cut COVID-19 hospitalizations
The company said it would talk with regulators about possible next steps but that it was too soon to speculate on whether these interim results might lead to any action to allow early use.

Study hints antibody drug may cut COVID-19 hospitalizations

Lobster protests: N.S. MP demands action

Lobster protests: N.S. MP demands action
On Tuesday, hundreds of non-Indigenous commercial fishermen staged protests at two wharfs in southwestern Nova Scotia, alleging illegal fishing in St. Marys Bay.

Lobster protests: N.S. MP demands action