Thursday, June 18, 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

From Pepper Spray To Profiling: A Look At How Protests Have Been Policed In Canada

"You have one opportunity to move up that road and clear it off or you will be arrested," he told protesters at the 1997 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Vancouver.    

From Pepper Spray To Profiling: A Look At How Protests Have Been Policed In Canada

Taliban-U.S. Deal A Step To Fragile Peace, Says Ex-Afghan Envoy To Canada

Taliban-U.S. Deal A Step To Fragile Peace, Says Ex-Afghan Envoy To Canada
OTTAWA - Omar Samad calls the agreement reached this past weekend between the United States and the Taliban a "peace opportunity," not an actual deal.    

Taliban-U.S. Deal A Step To Fragile Peace, Says Ex-Afghan Envoy To Canada

MacKay In The Lead But Nearly Half Of Tories Undecided On Leadership: Poll

MacKay In The Lead But Nearly Half Of Tories Undecided On Leadership: Poll
OTTAWA - A high number of undecided voters in the ongoing Conservative leadership race suggests there's room for others to catch up to, and potentially beat, front-runner Peter MacKay, says the vice-president of the Leger polling firm.

MacKay In The Lead But Nearly Half Of Tories Undecided On Leadership: Poll

Teen Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault Charges In St. Mike's Case

TORONTO - A teen pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two students with a broom at a prestigious Toronto high school as his trial got underway Wednesday.

Teen Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault Charges In St. Mike's Case

Suspect Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Quebec Girl Appears In Court

Suspect Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Quebec Girl Appears In Court
ST-JEROME, Que. - The suspect charged with first-degree murder in the violent death of a 13-year-old Quebec girl appeared in court briefly Wednesday, his feet and hands shackled

Suspect Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Quebec Girl Appears In Court

Women With Transvaginal Mesh Implants To Share $21.5 Million In Settlement

Women With Transvaginal Mesh Implants To Share $21.5 Million In Settlement
TORONTO - A group of Canadian women who suffered ill-effects from implantation of a medical device called transvaginal mesh will receive a total of $21.5 million in compensation under a proposed class-action settlement, court records show.

Women With Transvaginal Mesh Implants To Share $21.5 Million In Settlement