25.58°C Vancouver

Feb 8, 2021 9:07 PM -

Federal Court orders B.C. prison to return PlayStation game card to inmate

Share On

An inmate serving time for first-degree murder has won a Federal Court battle that orders prison officials to return the memory card to his portable video game.

Patrick Fischer asked the court to rule after the memory card for his PlayStation One game was confiscated in 2018 as he was transferred from maximum security to a medium-security prison in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.

In the ruling, Justice Russel Zinn says not only did correction officials fail to "consider the facts surrounding Mr. Fischer’s possession and use of the memory card," they also failed to consider the "impact" of the decision on the prisoner.

Security officers with the Correctional Service of Canada ruled the card was a removable or portable mass storage device, which inmates are not allowed to possess.

Fischer, who's currently serving a life term for the 1999 murder of 16-year-old Darci Drefko of Merritt, B.C., argued the decision was unreasonable and misinterpreted prison policies.

Zinn ordered the card returned, finding not only had Fischer owned it and the PlayStation since 2002, while in maximum security custody, he had also received permission to replace it when the first card wore out.

"The only reasonable finding is that it was therefore an "authorized item" in (Fischer's) possession," Zinn says in the decision released Monday.

The ruling also finds corrections officials wrongly interpreted two key provisions of a directive regarding the type of property each inmate may possess and the risk each item poses.

"Under either or both provisions, (Fischer) ought to have been permitted to retain (the card) unless it was a safety risk," Zinn says.

Latest news

b-c-minister-bowinn-ma-tells-of-frightening-incident-at-her-constituency-office
BCJun 27, 2025

B.C. minister Bowinn Ma tells of 'frightening' incident at her constituency office

British Columbia's Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says there was a "frightening" security incident at her constituency office in North Vancouver early Friday. Ma says in a statement that all meetings and appointments at the office have been cancelled for the day. Her statement says that thankfully, nobody was injured, and she appreciates the concern expressed by community members. Ma doesn't describe the incident and says due to an active police investigation, she won't be able to provide more details about what happened. She says she wants to thank the officers who responded to the inciden
trump-terminating-trade-talks-with-canada-over-digital-tax
WorldJun 27, 2025

Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital tax

U-S President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada. The sudden termination is over Canada's plan to go ahead with its digital services tax on big U-S tech companies that do business here. The tax is set to take effect Monday but would be retroactive for the past three years, leaving U-S companies with atwo-billion-dollar U-S bill due at the end of the month. Trump says Washington will notify Canada about new tariff rates within the next week.
surrey-sikh-games-canada-2025-begin-at-tamanawis-park
BCJun 27, 2025

Surrey: Sikh Games Canada 2025 begin at Tamanawis Park

The Sikh Games Canada in Surrey began yesterday, June 26th. During the first days games, some interesting field hockey competition was witnessed in the under-10 category. Although the senior teams had also taken to the field this morning. The event, which started on Thursday, has not only the competition of different categories of field hockey as its main attraction, but also soccer, wrestling, volleyball, Gatka event, cultural performances etc. are also attracting people.Organizers say that this event, which started as a field hockey tournament in 2008, has now become one of the largest multi
canada-may-cut-student-visas-further
CanadaJun 27, 2025

Canada may cut student visas further

The Canadian government may cut student visas further. Immigration Minister Lina Diab is set to launch a consultation on immigration targets this summer, with a focus on student visas. This comes after the federal government last year announced a cap on study permits and a gradual reduction in the number of student visas. A spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says the government expects schools to only accept students they can support by providing housing and other services. Meanwhile, the main opposition Conservatives are already in favor of this cut, with the pa
big-trade-deal-to-be-signed-soon-between-washington-and-new-delhi-trump
WorldJun 27, 2025

Big trade deal to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi: Trump

US President Donald Trump says that a big trade deal is going to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi. He said this at the White House. Trump said that recently America has signed a trade deal with China and now a big trade deal is going to be signed with India as well. He said that everyone wants to deal with us. Trump said that we will have a very big deal with India. The President also said that the White House will not make a deal with every country. Trump said that to some we are just going to send a letter saying thank you very much, you will have to pay 25 to 45 percent t

Related News