On Jan. 15, 28-year-old Kellie Verwey died in a car crash just outside Portage La Prairie. Police say she was travelling west on Highway 26 when the driver of a pickup truck veered over the centre line, which caused an eastbound vehicle to collide with Kellie’s car. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
“Our family has lost the spark, the centre of our universe,” says her mother, Meechelle Best.
Her family describes her as a pillar of her community. She worked as the tourism coordinator for the city of Portage La Prairie, was on the local curling committee, and owned an event bar business with her fiancé that was a staple at local events and weddings.
She loved hockey and snowmobiling, dreamed of growing the business and being her own boss, helped care for her grandparents, and was planning a wedding.
“She was so excited,” says Meechelle. “Excited for the wedding; we had the wedding dress. She was excited to be a mom.”
The driver of the pickup truck, 24-year-old James Hilton, had a warrant out for his arrest at the time. Police say after the crash, he fled the scene, was picked up by a motorist and dropped off at a gas station, where he then caught a cab.
He was arrested in Headingley soon after and charged with dangerous driving causing death, driving while impaired, and failing to stop at the scene of the accident.
Meechelle says when she and her husband and Kellie’s fiancé arrived at the scene of the crash, the first thing officers told her was that they had someone in custody.
“Right away, I knew that meant she had been killed. And that was one of my first hardest moments. Because it wasn’t an accident. It was a preventable incident.”
Court records show Hilton pled guilty to a possession charge in 2023. Last September, he was arrested for trespassing and possessing break and enter instruments. In the month before the crash, he had been released on bail repeatedly after breaching his conditions multiple times.
Kellie’s family says that shouldn’t have happened, and they’re pushing for bail reform in her memory.
“Repeat offenders being released to repeat again – there’s got to be a line in the sand drawn so that can’t happen,” says Darren Macdonald, Kellie’s uncle.
“We’re not talking about people who make mistakes and are willing to take action and make restitution,” adds Meechelle. “We’re talking about repeat offenders who are not ready to make that change.”
They support tightening the conditions for bail and expanding “reverse onus” to more offenders, which would require them to make a strong case for why they should get bail.
Portage La Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox, who knew Kellie personally, has also taken up the issue in her name. She wrote a letter to provincial Justice Minister Matt Wiebe, and wants to see whichever party is elected at the federal level take strong action.
“We know that our resources as a municipality are being eaten up by dealing with the same people over and over and over again,” says Knox.
She says she believes in people’s ability to reform with the help of mental health and addictions supports, but believes providing access sometimes isn’t enough, and leaders should consider mandatory treatment for drug offenses.
“Citizens have lost trust in our justice system across the country. We talk about Canada being prosperous, but we can’t be prosperous if we’re not safe.”
On March 10th — Kellie’s birthday — the Manitoba legislature unanimously passed a motion to “take immediate and decisive action” to enhance bail enforcement in the province. The family was in attendance for the vote and called the support “touching”.
The country’s premiers, led by Kinew, also penned a joint letter to the federal government, asking for stricter bail and sentencing laws.
On the campaign trail, Pierre Poilievre mentioned Kellie and the crash at a rally in Winnipeg on Saturday. He promised to pass a law to make repeat offenders ineligible for bail, and create more mandatory life sentences for serious crimes.
Before the campaign began, Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie started a petition to repeal bill C-75 and tighten bail criteria in response to the crash.
In a statement to Global News, the Liberal party said leader Mark Carney would work to “strengthen our laws to keep violent criminals in prison, address the root causes of crime and violence such as mental health and addiction, and get assault weapons off our streets.”
Kellie’s family hopes whoever is elected will make it a priority — and say that’s what Kellie would want, too.
“It’s a big sacrifice that we’ve had to manage, all of our family,” says Ron Best, Kellie’s stepfather. “And we just hope that nobody else has to do the same, particularly under the same pretenses.”