Pubdate: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP QUESTIONS APPLICATIONS TO SEIZE TWO HOMES Two recent instances of authorities trying to seize properties even though the owners have not been convicted of anything are highlighting problems with civil forfeiture legislation, says the BC Civil Liberties Association. One case involves a $3-million West Vancouver home owned by a woman charged with -- but not convicted of -- human trafficking. The other involves the home of a Vancouver Island man who was acquitted of growing marijuana because police violated his constitutional rights. Civil liberties association policy director Micheal Vonn said the forfeiture applications appear to go beyond the intention of civil forfeiture legislation. When the B. C. government introduced the legislation in 2006, the intent was to go after the assets of gangsters and criminals, Vonn said. She pointed out the Crown can apply in the criminal courts for forfeiture of a home once a person is convicted, but said the province is trying to seize homes before a conviction, or even when a person is acquitted. Applications for forfeiture are made in civil court before a B. C. Supreme Court judge. The civil forfeiture proceeding requires a lower standard of proof -- on the balance of probabilities -- rather than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. Vonn said the BCCLA has received complaints from people facing civil forfeiture proceedings, including a person who had his vehicle seized for impaired driving. In the West Vancouver case, the director of civil forfeiture filed an application to seize the home of Mumtaz Ladha, allegedly because it was used as an " instrument of unlawful activity." Vonn said the application raises questions about whether the seizure is proportionate to the alleged crime and its relationship to the house, especially since the homeowner has been charged but not convicted. " It really highlights the unfairness of the end-run around the criminal process," Vonn said. According to the notice of claim that is part of the application to seize the Ladha family home at 1455 Bramwell Rd. in West Vancouver, Ladha originally hired the victim of the alleged trafficking to work as a " servant" at her family home and hair salon in Tanzania. In early 2008, she allegedly promised the woman a job at a salon in Vancouver for $200 a month. But when the woman arrived in August of that year, she was made to work 18 to 22 hours per day cooking, cleaning, landscaping, washing vehicles, providing daily massages and washing undergarments by hand, police said. The civil claim says she was never paid for her services and her passport was taken. In the Vancouver Island case, Christopher Shoquist still faces having his home seized under the Civil Forfeiture Act even though he was acquitted of growing marijuana. The judge found the police search warrant used to seize 396 pot plants was based on wrong information. The RCMP obtained a search warrant to search Shoquist's rural property at 1051 Koskimo Rd., Qualicum Beach. Officers stood behind what they believed was a neighbour's fence to observe an outbuilding that was suspected to contain a growing operation. Police later learned, after the search warrant was executed, that they were on Shoquist's property. A judge threw out the search warrant last year after finding police violated Shoquist's constitutional rights, then acquitted Shoquist. Shoquist applied to have the forfeiture application stayed, arguing it was an abuse of process. In a ruling released this week, B. C. Supreme Court Justice Dean Wilson dismissed Shoquist's application, finding that while the police made a mistake, they did not act in bad faith. This means the matter will proceed to a hearing where a judge must determine whether the house should be forfeited. Vonn also questioned whether all the funds from the civil forfeiture office are going to fund crime prevention programs and compensate crime victims. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General said the civil forfeiture program has resulted in about $20 million in proceeds, including a record $5.3 million last year. The funds go into a special account used to fund the civil forfeiture office. The ministry said almost $2.4 million has been used to compensate victims and fund crime prevention and remediation programs in local communities, including $250,000 this year to help fund the government's " domestic violence plan." Last year, about $90,000 was used to compensate 37 victims of stock fraud and about $225,000 was used in 2008-09 to fund community-based organizations to assist crime victims. The total operating cost for the office for 2009-10 was $2.3 million and $2.5 million for 2010-11. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.