BC education · criminal-record checks · source-check · 2026-08-28

VCC sex-offender hiring story: Canada Proud Reel, CTV report and B.C. criminal-record-check rules

A Canada Proud Instagram Reel asks how a person with a history of sexual violence against minors could work with young people in B.C. education settings. The core story traces to a CTV Vancouver report naming John Walter Sam, Vancouver Community College and Burnaby School District workshops. The verified public-interest question is not online rage — it is whether the institutions can show the vetting records, supervision rules and policy changes.

Original Instagram ReelCTV articleSource noteClaim table

What is confirmed from the source trail

• The Reel was posted by Canada Proud / wearecanadaproud with the caption “How did nobody vet this person?”
• The Reel is a repost/clip of CTV coverage labelled “CTV News, August 26, 2026.”
• CTV’s article headline is: “‘Sexual predator’ who abused children still got job at B.C. post-secondary school.”
• CTV reports John Walter Sam worked at Vancouver Community College as elder-in-residence beginning in February 2020 and worked there for years.
• CTV reports Sam led drumming workshops for teens in the Burnaby School District after his long-term supervision order expired in 2017.
• The Burnaby School District told CTV that Sam was never alone with students and that guest presenters must be directly supervised or otherwise required to have a criminal-record check.

Why this is a B.C. records story

B.C.’s official criminal-record-check page says a criminal record check is for employees or volunteers of registered organizations who work with children or vulnerable adults, and that the Criminal Records Review Act applies to some organizations that must screen people working with those groups. The Act states that employers must ensure people hired for work involving children or vulnerable adults undergo a criminal-record check or verification.

This leaves concrete records questions for VCC, Burnaby School District and provincial regulators: Was a check required? Was one completed? Was the role treated as supervised guest presentation, contract delivery, elder-in-residence work, or something else? What changed after staff raised concerns?

Key transcript excerpt from the captured Reel

[0.00 --> 5.28] We begin tonight with questions about how a man with a lengthy history of sexual violence [5.28 --> 10.96] against young girls could get hired to work with young people. Administrators at Vancouver [10.96 --> 16.08] Community College on the Burnaby School District are under fire tonight. After whistleblowers [16.08 --> 18.56] came forward with their concerns. [18.56 --> 24.40] CTV's Ben Milger joins us live now from outside the VCC Broadway campus. [24.40 --> 25.60] Ben, what have you learned? [25.60 --> 33.68] Mejong the man's rap sheet includes close to two dozen convictions, including for sex crimes [33.68 --> 38.64] against children, the youngest victim, just seven years old at the time of the attack. [38.64 --> 43.28] He would go on to lead workshops for indigenous youth in the Burnaby School District, [43.28 --> 49.20] and once hired here at VCC, his office just two floors away from the daycare, [49.20 --> 53.52] a warning to our viewers. Some of the details we are about to share are graphic. [56.48 --> 58.32] And I want to ask you to pray. ... [111.20 --> 118.40] In White Horse in 2002, he pleaded guilty to touching a person under 14 for a sexual purpose, [118.40 --> 120.96] the victim, a 10-year-old girl. [120.96 --> 127.52] In reasons for sentencing, a Yukon judge describes Sam as a sexual predator who victimizes [127.52 --> 133.68] vulnerable children. He's also being convicted of rape and sexual assault with a weapon, [133.68 --> 140.88] both against minor victims. In one case, he held a knife to a teen's throat during a sexual assault. [140.88 --> 145.12] The judge in the 2002 case declared him a long-term offender, [145.12 --> 150.24] meaning a mandatory 10 years of supervision even after serving his sentence. [150.24 --> 152.08] We reach Sam by phone. [163.76 --> 168.64] Actuarial measurements assess you as a moderate high risk for general sexual [168.64 --> 175.04] reoffending and a high risk to reoffend sexually against pre-pubescent and adolescent females. [175.04 --> 180.80] Reads a 2015 report from the parole board of Canada. Sam's long-term supervision order [180.80 --> 187.68] expired in 2017. A year later, he was leading drumming workshops at Burnaby High Schools. [187.68 --> 192.00] The Burnaby School District says Sam was never alone with students. [192.00 --> 196.72] For the protection of students, guest presenters in the Burnaby School District must always be [196.72 --> 202.48] under direct supervision of staff, or they are otherwise required to have a criminal record check. [202.48 --> 204.08] The district said in a statement, [204.08 --> 210.16] we reached out to VCC with an extensive list of questions about how Sam was vetted before being [210.16 --> 216.64] hired and whether there have been any changes to the hiring process. This contractor is no longer [216.64 --> 223.76] doing any contract delivery for VCC, is all the college had to say in a brief emailed statement. [226.16 --> 231.12] The staff members who reached out to us said they did so for two reasons. They were seeking [231.12 --> 236.96] accountability and assurances that steps have been taken to prevent anyone else with a violent [236.96 --> 242.96] criminal history or a sexually violent criminal history from getting a job at the school in the [242.96 --> 248.88] future. The college's 11-word response to our inquiries provides neither. [248.88 --> 259.68] Mi-jung? Yeah, not a lot of transparency from the school there. Thank you, Ben.

Claim table

Records wanted

Source package

Preserved source files: captured Instagram MP4, metadata, caption, thumbnail, generated transcript, frame sheet, CTV article/video captures, B.C. criminal-record-check page, Criminal Records Review Act and claim table.

Captured Reel videoTranscriptFrame sheetB.C. Act capture