On August 25, 2025, Shawnigan Lake R.C.M.P. were called to a fatal collision involving 12-year-old Xavier Rasul-Jankovics, who had been rollerblading on the road. He was struck and killed by a passing 17-year-old driver travelling at high speed. After striking Xavier, the driver collided with a utility pole, injuring both occupants of the car. This is the start of the story that resulted in the creation of Xavier's Law.
The Road Where Xavier Was Killed Will Be Closed
One year after Xavier's death, the provincial government announced that public access to Poplar Road, a gravel road connecting to Hillbank Road near Cobble Hill, will be closed. Xavier was killed on Hillbank Road on August 25, 2025 while rollerblading with his family.
The closure is expected to take effect in September 2026. The road closure is a separate response to the circumstances surrounding Xavier's death. Xavier's Law takes a different approach, addressing specified dangerous driving behaviours on public roads.
Xavier's Law Passes Second Reading
Private Member's Bill M226-2025, introduced by M.L.A. Dana Lajeunesse, passed second reading in the B.C. Legislature on February 23, 2026 by a vote of 78 to 7. It has now been referred to the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Bills for further consideration.
The bill would authorize a peace officer to prohibit a driver from driving for 30 days when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a driver has committed one of the reckless acts defined in the legislation. It would also require police to report these incidents to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
The bill does not currently provide a driver with an appeal process for the 30-day prohibition. Questions about procedural fairness and the overlap with existing Motor Vehicle Act provisions were raised during second-reading debate and will be among the issues the committee may consider.
What is a Reckless Act?
The bill identifies the following behaviours as reckless acts:
- Doing a wheelie
- Spinning the vehicle's tires
- Doing doughnuts
- Driving in the oncoming lane longer than needed to pass
- Driving with a person in the trunk
- Not being in the driver's seat while driving
- Driving 40 km/h or more over the limit where the zone is less than 80 km/h
- Driving 50 km/h or more over the limit where the zone is 80 km/h or more
- Driving faster than 150 km/h
- Preventing another driver from passing
- Brake checking another vehicle
- Playing chicken
- Making a left hand turn at an intersection by trying to beat oncoming traffic at a new green light
Vehicle Impoundment
Drivers who drive while prohibited under Xavier's Law will also be subject to the vehicle impoundment laws.
The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
Xavier's Law would require the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles to consider the circumstances of any prohibition issued under this law. A further prohibition under section 93 of the Motor Vehicle Act might be warranted.
What Happens Next?
Passing second reading does not make Xavier's Law part of British Columbia law. The bill has been referred to the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Bills, which will examine it and report back to the Legislative Assembly. The bill could still be amended or defeated before it becomes law.
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Comments
There is laws already in place that cover everything Xavier's law is aimed at.
What really bothers me is you are bringing in a law that says you are guilty before even being tried. It also give excessive power to the police and Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
I also look back at just after the graduated licencing system was brought in to a kid probably 17 that lost his licence over playing his car radio too loud while sitting in a park with a bunch of friends. And this is what happens when individuals are given excessive power.
So you have a boy that was possibly speeding. Was there anything that may have distracted his attention? Where there any other laws that were being broken?
Was there any objects possibly jutting out onto the roadway that may have distracted the driver? Were the boys rollerblading on the left facing traffic? I'm sure rollerblading is the same as walking. Section 182 (2) of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act. "If there is no sidewalk, a pedestrian using a highway must use only the extreme left side of the roadway or the shoulder of the highway, facing traffic approaching from the opposite direction".
This is a tragic accident that has affected more than one family. To the best of my knowledge as of November 30, 2025 there have been no charges laid. Why is a law being proposed when the final facts are not known?
As I say I feel sorry for both families but lets quit pre-judging guilt.
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Whatever charges are laid in this case will not be Xavier's Law which was not the law when the 'accident' took place.
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Xavier's Law