Brandon was born on February 19, 1981, in North Vancouver, British Columbia to me, Carol Langhjelm, and to his father, Shawn Gardner. On the day Brandon was born, I became aware that he was born with a birth defect that ultimately affected his entire life and had a part in formulating his world view. Early on, it was clear that Brandon had something special, despite his physical limitations. He was extremely bright. I remember him picking up a book in a doctor’s office before he had ever been taught the alphabet, whereupon he began to read the book to me. I was astonished.
As Brandon grew, he continued to show unusual interests for someone so young. Often, I would find him sitting in front of the TV watching the parliament channel. And over dinner he would want to discuss world events as they were unfolding. Most of all, Brandon was an enormously proud Canadian. In fact, he drew many pictures of the parliament building or political commentators.
In elementary school and into secondary school, he was often debating with other students or standing his ground with educators. This was often to the chagrin of those who came up against him. Yet Brandon was always humble in his manner even amid disagreements. In grade five, a teacher came up against Brandon and had a firsthand experience with Brandon’s ability to stand his ground. The teacher wanted Brandon to partake in a school lesson that buffeted up against his own emerging world views and he refused to do so. This is of note, since Brandon was later involved in a British Columbia Court of Appeal case that was directly on point with what he was expected to partake in. Brandon found being forced to partake in something in a school setting that ran counter to his own views to be unjust.
Parental rights, personal autonomy, freedom of conscience, individual rights, and freedom of expression were beginning to be molded in Brandon’s thought process as he experienced various injustices throughout the school system. And some of those injustices were attached to his disability. Despite Brandon’s disability he never sought out or adhered to being entitled to special interests as a result. In fact, he shunned the very notion. He never wanted to have his disability define who he was in anyone’s estimation of him.
But as a mother, I was painfully aware that his disability did skew the first impression of Brandon in the eyes of others. I knew that finding his place in the world was going to be a very steep uphill climb. Indeed, this fact manifested itself when Brandon ran to represent the students of grade eleven at his secondary school. The cornerstone of his campaign was to fight for students who were struggling and were looking to simply gain fifteen minutes a week of after school time to get a little extra assistance from the educator – Brandon being one of the students who wanted the extra time. From my recollection, an emergency meeting was called by union members to quash such the effort.
After secondary school, Brandon attended Simon Fraser University and entered the political science program. While there, he joined the BC Young Liberal (BCYL) political club and became the vice president and ultimately the president. The BCYL at the time was the largest political club in western Canada.
There, he made lifelong friends and went on to partake in writing ten percent of the policies that were passed at the BC Liberal convention held in Penticton in 2002. Amid Brandon working on his political science degree, we moved to Abbotsford, BC, where he switched his educational pursuits from political science to history at the prompting of his professor, Barbara Messamore. Barbara – being one of the leading constitutional experts in Canada – saw something in Brandon. Brandon ended up graduating at the top of the History department and won the top essay for his paper on senate reform. Professor Messamore at the time had approached Brandon to co-author a book with her, but Brandon was moving on to law school and had to turn his mind to his pursuit of becoming a lawyer.
His aptitude for such a decision had already shown itself when Brandon become a finalist for the province-wide contest of the Barry Sullivan Law Cup award when he was in grade twelve. Brandon argued his case before a panel in the BC Supreme courthouse in Vancouver. Brandon’s speech and legal argument was on what has become known as the “APEC AFFAIR” as well as “Peppergate” where it was believed that civil liberties were suspended for political means. Brandon went on to law school at UBC. Once he graduated, he then moved on to an articling position at the Department of Justice in Vancouver where he worked in various areas such as extradition, aboriginal law and prosecution services.
In 2018, Brandon met Marty Moore of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) while attending a legal conference in New Westminster. After meeting Marty, Brandon lent a hand via pro bono work for the JCCF which was later parlayed into fulltime employment. Working for the JCCF was a very good fit for Brandon. As a person with a disability, he could work at his own pace from home. Because he had the latitude to go at his own pace with the JCCF, Brandon’s skillset and brilliance emerged. By all accounts the JCCF recognized Brandon’s great giftings in the area of law, and while there, Brandon was always treated with great respect. For this, I am very grateful.
Brandon argued his first case before the BC Supreme Court and won on the basis of freedom of expression for the Redeemed Christian Church of God in New Westminster, BC. While the case is being appealed by the City of New Westminster, the implication of this win is significant. While Brandon is no longer here to be the one to argue the case at the appeal stage, there is great likelihood that it will ultimately result in being argued before the Supreme Court of Canada. In addition, Brandon was prepped to argue his first BC Court of Appeal case on October 7 and 8 of this year, also regarding religious freedoms in Servatius v School District 70 (Alberni), but it wasn’t to be. The baton will now be passed to a colleague to carry the case forward to the BC Court of Appeal. With respect, this case will also likely find its way into the Supreme Court of Canada down the road.
Brandon also played a significant role in the Beaudoin et al v British Columbia and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry case that was heard before Chief Justice Chistopher E. Hinkson this year, where Brandon has already been instrumental in the next stage of this case by heavily partaking in the initial drafting of the foundational arguments that will be no doubt be employed for an appeal. While Brandon will no longer be able to continue to participate in the ultimate outcome in any of these cases, I take solace that my son will have played a significant part as they weave their way through the court system.
As a mother, I am heart-broken that my son’s life has been cut short. Brandon had great dreams and aspirations. In all things he strove for excellence. Brandon was a humble human being with an unmovable conviction and strength of spirit. He marched to the beat of his own drum. While polite, almost to a fault at times, he never wavered in what he believed. He was tenacious and often worked through great pain and physical suffering. Once he had a goal set in his mind, he would doggedly pursue it without fail.
And finally, my son was sweet, silly, a lover of hockey and football. Sports after politics and history was his next great passion. He also loved to travel. With each new city we would visit, it was a must without question that we check out the sports arenas. That was my son.
My dearest Brandon, I will miss you with all my heart, every single day.
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.8.18