Pubdate: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2006 Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Melissa Dunne, National Post Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) GROW-OP BUILDING PLAGUED BY MOULD Politicians Say Innocent Residents Should Be Compensated After the discovery of a huge marijuana grow operation in a North York high-rise, local politicians are asking that its tenants be compensated amid growing concerns about their health and safety in the building. Ontario Conservative leader John Tory and Councillor George Mammoliti knocked on doors and held an impromptu town hall meeting yesterday in the lobby of 2600 Jane St., where police on Thursday found millions of dollars' worth of marijuana being grown in 22 units of the building. They listened in the small lobby as some two dozen residents expressed fears for their health and safety. They shared stories of mould on their walls, strong smells, power being repeatedly shut off for hours - -- and their complaints going all but ignored. Karina Aguilar, who has lived in a three-bedroom unit in the building for two years, said her three children recently developed rashes. Her 11-year-old daughter and 14-month-old and five-year-old sons were put on antibiotics after her doctor told her the cause of the rashes was most likely mould in her apartment, she said. Toronto police say grow-ops use chemicals and soil that can lead to mould growth, which can cause respiratory problems. "I hardly ever saw management here. They were very, very rude to me when I called [to complain about the mould], Ms. Aguilar said. "They finally came and fixed it, ironically, [on] the same day the police [did] the raids." Mr. Tory called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to use the Victims' Justice Fund to help residents of the 13-storey apartment building. "[There is] a great sense of disappointment about [the] fact that ... all of us in government together haven't assured them more quickly that their apartments are healthy to stay in," Mr. Tory said. Mr. Mammoliti promised to put forth a resolution at city council asking Cando Property Management Ltd., which owns the 700-resident building, to offer some form of compensation to the residents, though he added that the city cannot force the management company to offer them anything. He said he did not know if management ever collected rent from the 22 units that were being used as grow-ops. The councillor also organized a community meeting on Saturday, with more than 120 people coming out to Domenico DiLuca Community Centre in North York to talk with city officials. The property managers were invited to the meeting but did not attend. Calls to Cando Property Management were not returned yesterday. This year, the Ontario Provincial Police has discovered about 450 indoor and outdoor grow operations with almost 140,000 plants. Mr. Mammoliti believes the Jane Street building was targeted because of its tenants. "People take advantage when a majority of people [in the building] can't speak English and are afraid to talk to authorities about their problems," he said. Mr. Tory added that stiffer sentences are needed for those found guilty of running grow-ops. Raids on five apartments on Thursday quickly expanded to more units when police suspected other apartments were being used as soil-based marijuana grow operations. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek