PROVINCE SHOULD CREATE GROW-OP REGISTRY

Conservative John Tory Makes Comment To Real Estate Group As Another
Grow-Op Is Found In Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls - Curious neighbours gathered outside a north-end home
Wednesday, and watched with shock as police officers in protective
white jumpsuits removed bags and bags of marijuana from the residence.

"We had no idea," said one woman who did not wish to be identified.
"We never suspected a thing. You never heard anything going on over
there."

When police raided the luxury home on Northwood Drive, they discovered
more than 350 marijuana plants growing beneath massive lights in the
basement.

While the exterior of the corner lot home was tidy and decorated with
Christmas ornaments, inside was a maze of wires, ballasts and tubing.

The hydro meter had been bypassed in order to supply the huge amounts
of electricity required to power the lights while avoiding detection.

Niagara Regional Police say the drugs had an estimated street value of
more than $300,000.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor toured the neighborhood after the police
bust. His constituency office is only a few blocks away.

"I wanted to see first-hand the house, how they bypassed the hydro,
and to talk to neighbours to reassure them," he said.

The area is filled with high-end homes, many worth more than $300,000.
Craitor said it appears grow labs are being found in all areas of the
city.

"At one time, I probably would have been surprised to find a grow-op
in this kind of neighborhood. But I have come to learn that they can
be found anywhere, in any place, and that's the sad part," he said.

Craitor, who credits the Niagara Falls Fire Department for taking the
lead in trying to eradicate drug houses, would like to see the
province launch a co-ordinated effort to battle clandestine drug labs.

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory said Wednesday the
Liberals should move quickly to create a provincewide grow-op
registry. Tory made the call during a speech to the Ontario Real
Estate Association in Toronto.

"What about the families who live next to these operations?" Tory said.

"These are families, often with children, growing up right next door
to massive and dangerous criminal operations. These are innocent
people with serious concerns and merely taking the bad guys away does
nothing for them, their health worries or their fears for their homes
and their family's safety."

The Northwood residence also exposed neighbours to a potentially
dangerous situation, said Jim Jessop, fire prevention officer with the
Niagara Falls Fire Department.

A hydro bypass can result in a surge of electricity in the immediate
area surrounding a home, which poses the threat of electrical shock to
anyone who ventures too close.

The fire department has issued an unsafe-to-occupy order on the house.
The owner now has 30 days to comply with the building order or "the
city will exercise its options and examine all legal options," Jessop
said.

One option the fire department has exercised in recent weeks is to
demolish a former drug house.

Wednesday's raid was the second large drug seizure in less than two
weeks. Police raided a Julie Drive home Nov. 16 and found a
sophisticated grow lab filled with $561,000 in marijuana.