JUSTICE WATCH: Judge Diana Vandor gives time served to woman caught with 20 kilograms of meth bound for New Zealand
The Crown sought eight years. The B.C. judge imposed two years after considering the offender’s background, rehabilitation and separation from her young daughter.
A Maori woman caught at Vancouver International Airport with roughly 20 kilograms of methamphetamine in her luggage has received a two-year sentence amounting to time served. Judge Diana Vandor credited the woman’s pre-sentence custody and ordered no further jail time.
The woman was intercepted in February 2025 while attempting to fly to Auckland, New Zealand. The Crown sought eight years in prison. Vandor described six years as the low end of the usual range for an offence of this kind, but concluded that the woman’s circumstances justified a substantially shorter sentence.
The court considered an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment describing the Māori-Tongan woman’s childhood neglect, exposure to drug use, family instability and disconnection from her Māori heritage. Vandor also considered her cooperation with police, progress in custody and acceptance into a rehabilitation program in New Zealand for mothers with young children.
Her daughter remained in New Zealand during her imprisonment.
Vandor found that a lengthy Canadian prison term would prolong their separation and risk losing the rehabilitation placement. The judge also removed the woman’s name and identifying details about her daughter from the published decision.
National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak first highlighted the ruling and criticized both the sentence and the decision to withhold the offender’s name.
Sheila Gunn Reid
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Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-09-24 23:22:54 -0400And one more reason Alberta must separate and elect judges. Canada can’t be saved. And I bet if this woman was white, she’d be in prison for a long time and too bad about her child. Like I’ve said before, race has its privilege.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-09-24 15:32:24 -0400Yet one more reason why we need an elected judiciary.
