Pubdate: Thu, 07 May 2015 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Keith Fraser Page: 12 WARRANTLESS GROW-OP SEARCHES SHOULD BE MADE CLASS-ACTION SUIT, COURT HEARS Lawyers for a Coquitlam man argued Wednesday that a case in which 457 homeowners were subjected to warrantless searches as part of a city program to crack down on marijuana grow-ops should be certified as a class-action lawsuit. In March 2008, Nicola Monaco's home in the 300-block Seaforth Crescent had its power shut off and his tenant was forced to move out after the premises was inspected without a search warrant by a city team that included uniformed RCMP officers. The team claimed that there were signs of a grow-op but Monaco, a licensed electrician, denied the charges and said he was familiar with indications of grow ops and had found no such signs in the home prior to the city's inspection. Luciana Brasil, a lawyer for Monaco, told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Patrice Abrioux that there were common issues among the 457 premises that were targeted for warrantless searches between 2007 and 2013, when the city program was scrapped. She said the presence of police during the city searches lent an "aura of criminality" and amounted to a "significant stigma" to those targeted. Under the program, B.C. Hydro provided the city with information on power usage in homes and the city targeted premises where it was deemed that there was an overconsumption of power. Lawyers for the city are expected to begin submissions Thursday. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom