Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Roland Seguin Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 Author: Roland Seguin JUDGES PROTECTING PERSONAL RIGHTS Dear Editor, There are times when lawyers and judges should be held in higher esteem, especially when they are protecting our precious, hard-fought freedoms. Thankfully, a judge of the BC Court of Appeals had the wisdom to put the brakes on the continual erosion of our rights and freedoms [Courts protect grow operators, May 28 Opinion, Langley Advance]. Private property rights are the fundamental cornerstone of any free society. Instinctively, it appeared to be Big Brother intrusion: the grow-op search/seizures by bureaucrats (without court ordered warrants) on private property were in violation of our basic rights and freedoms. If our freedoms prevent the police from entering private property to search or seize (without a warrant), how can one rationalize that it is OK for a group of zealous municipal employees (self-directed bureaucrats) to do so under the bylaw enforcement of a Public Safety Inspection Team (PSIT)? Call it "safety" and it excuses all other rights and freedoms? Unreasonable pretences for search and seizure? Consider especially because the suspicion of wrongdoing is entirely based on consumption of (more-than-one's-share-of) electricity, which in itself is not a crime. The higher-than-normal consumption of electricity is then projected to suspicion of horticultural growing activities of possible illicit products, i.e. marijuana. BC Hydro used to refuse to release their meter-reading records to the local governments, as a privacy matter between them and their customers. Then things changed. Due to prodding from some municipalities, BC Hydro made the electric meter readings available to local government, and then the PSIT search/seizure spread via fire departments throughout B.C. Prior to BC Hydro's change of practice and the established PSIT search/seizures, there was much less meter-bypassing and theft of power. Most grow-ops didn't have to worry about high meter readings; they simply paid BC Hydro for the power they used. BC Hydro and the police dealt with any resulting problems. After the PSIT search/seisures, the growers resorted to disguising their consumption, bypassing meters to avoid detection and being raided. The move of local government jumping in with the PSIT search/seizures transferred all the enforcement cost to us local taxpayers. Also, now BC Hydro wasn't being paid for a good part of its electricity. Grow-ops avoid paying, but we taxpayers are covering it with higher utility rates. Any enforcement, should be structured and done under the jurisdiction of BC Hydro and the RCMP (with appropriate search warrants). The Township should make its resources, (fire department and others) available in a limited manner to assist, but only on an individual basis at the RCMP or BC Hydro's request. The fire department should be at arm's length and perform its normal role and function. We have to stop growing the bureaucracy by being so willing to take on responsibilities of other jurisdictions, as other levels of government are only too happy to download them on us. We spent all those tax dollars with the PSIT, violated peoples rights, and achieved questionable results. Langley City has never had a PSIT and there does not appear to be any greater problems because of it. It's no secret that certain horticulture is buoying up our economy, and we should be at least legitimate in how we regulate/enforce it. Also, pot use and pot growing are becoming less demonized and more recognized medicinally throughout North America. Canada now licenses some medicinal marijuana growers. Many U.S. states also license medicinal pot use and growing. Roland Seguin, Fernridge - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake