Brad, that was part of the crack down in Washington state too. New batch of State Patrol graduated and the put them out doing speed enforcement.
Do you know if BC is tough on the DOT helmet thing? Rog
Since DOT is a US standard technically the little sticker on the back of a helmet doesn't count for much up this way. However, when you go in to buy a helmet in Canada they advertise them as "DOT approved" so.........

But to answer your question the answer is no, BC is genrally not tough on what helmets riders wear as long as you are wearing one. A lot of my friends wear beanies, I've gone through police road blocks wearing one and no problem.
I believe the law here in BC for helmets states something like "....will have a hard outer shell with a soft inner lining...." or something to that effect. Back ten or fifteen years ago (about the time our good neighbours to the south in Washington State went from no helmet to mandatory helmets) there was a crack down on helmets. Guys starting riding around with salad bowls with a towel inside held on by a bungee cord. It meet the definition of a helmet (and was handy if you were camping as it was one less cooking utensil to pack) and resulted in a few pictures in the newspaper, a few court cases and the issue went away.
I think it was Leo that had mentioned in another thread that as long as it looks like more than a saucer that normally had a tea cup sitting in it you'll be fine.