Grant De Patie was working at a gas station in suburban Maple Ridge in 2005 when he tried to stop a gas-and-dash and paid for it with his life.
The driver, who was trying to take off without paying for his gas, ran Mr. De Patie down, dragging him several kilometres to a horrific death.
Today, the efforts of Mr. De Patie's parents and others to ensure his death wasn't in vain will pay off when anyone buying gas in British Columbia has to pay before they pump.
Grant's Law, as it's become known, isn't technically a law, but amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations that tighten up the guidelines for workers at gas stations, retail outlets and convenience stores.
"You have to lobby for the things that you want and that's what we did," Grant's father Doug said yesterday.
He and his wife Corinne met with Labour Minister Olga Ilich shortly after their son's death. "She said, 'Yes, we're willing to do something here. Let's bring in Grant's Law and move forward.' " Mr. De Patie and Scott McCloy of WorkSafeBC say there has been surprisingly little pushback. "We've had to work our way through public opinion and gaining support through the community and gas station owners," Mr. De Patie said. "Everybody who came forward for the most part said, 'We want Grant's Law and we want it 24 hours a day across the province.' " The prevalence of gas-and-dash incidents is difficult to determine. But Ted Stoner, vice-president of the Canadian Petroleum Producers Institute, said it happens all too often.
"Unfortunately, it's prevalent throughout Canada," said Mr. Stoner, who speaks for an organization that represents about 40 per cent of the retail gas stations in Canada.
He said most oil companies are reluctant to share data about gas-and-dash incidents because they're afraid it might encourage others to try it.
While pay-before-you-pump is standard practice in many U.S. regions - where many gas stations resemble fortresses with attendants behind bars - B.C. is the only province in Canada to enact the guidelines.
Mr. De Patie's own estimate of gas stealing was based on data he got from Surrey RCMP, which he extrapolated for the province. He estimates that it occurs more than 20,000 times a year in British Columbia.
Mr. McCloy said a survey was conducted two years ago of 366 gas stations. "We found virtually none of the gas stations fully complying with the regulations [in effect then]" he said.
What they found was that individual gas stations were taking the overall plans of their oil company "but there was a lack of site-specific kinds of training, lack of supervision."
Mr. McCloy said the industry has been "very supportive" of the new regulations because it will protect workers and provide an economic benefit. "We've heard losses of individual retailers of $2,000 to $10,000 a year," he said.
While Grant's Law is getting most of the attention, the regulations also apply to those small convenience stores where one person often works alone late at night, or all night.
The regulations will require those stores to have two people working between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., or if the store owner wants only one person working, barriers or locked doors must be installed to protect the worker.
There will be grace period of nine months for convenience stores and one month for gas outlets. The pay-before-you pump rule will apply 24 hours a day.
Mr. De Patie hopes the new regulations will ensure no one has to endure the pain he and his wife felt. He said Grant's employer had asked Grant to record the licence plate numbers of gas-and-dashers.
"The last thing Grant was seen doing was getting a pen and a piece of paper and going outside to get the licence plate number. He was hit 60 feet from the pumps and his injuries tend to suggest he was hit from behind."
Grant was run down by a 17-year-old. The young man received a nine-year sentence that was reduced to seven on appeal. He will be eligible to apply for day parole soon.
"He's going to have plenty of opportunities to apply for parole, and we'll be there," Mr. De Patie father said.