ROYAL CITY LAW TARGETING DRUG DEALERS CHALLENGED

The law banning convicted drug dealers from the downtown core is contested
by a civil liberties group.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is challenging a New Westminster bylaw
that bans convicted drug dealers from the city's downtown core.

Association executive-director John Westwood said Wednesday the law
reflects a "Wild West" mentality where police can simply run undesirables
out of town.

The bylaw, passed in mid-1998, creates a restricted zone around downtown
Columbia Street and the 12th Street corridor. Police can give a $100 ticket
to anyone in the zone who has been convicted in the last year of dealing
drugs.

However, Westwood said, New Westminster police have not been issuing
tickets, which delayed the association's challenge, filed in B.C. Supreme
Court on Tuesday.

"Initially we were waiting until someone was charged under the bylaw, but
the police were not charging," said Westwood. "They were giving people
warnings and ushering them out of the zone without actually charging them.
So there wasn't an opportunity to challenge this."

The association then tried to find a convicted drug dealer to join the
court action.

"Not surprisingly, they weren't popping out of the woodwork," Westwood
said. "At the end of the day it proved fruitless and we decided we couldn't
wait any longer and filed on our own."

The association will argue that New Westminster does not have the authority
under the Municipal Act to ban a class of people from a part of the city.
It will also argue that the restricted zone amounts to an attempt to pass
criminal law, which is beyond the powers of a city council.

The association's three lawyers, Bruce Elwood, John McAlpine and Richard
Peck, will also argue that the bylaw violates the Charter rights of persons
restricted from the zone.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of assembly and
association, the presumption of innocence and security of the person -- all
of which are violated by the bylaw, the association argues.

Westwood said the association does not object to similar restrictions when
they are imposed on individuals by the courts as a condition of bail or
parole. What it does object to is an automatic blanket ban on an entire
class of people, he said.

The association's lawyers will file affidavits outlining services that are
denied convicted dealers because they are offered within the restricted
zones: drop-in health clinics, a needle-exchange program,
methadone-dispensing drug stores and counselling and educational services.

Westwood said this is the only bylaw of its kind that he knows of in Canada.

He said the association does not object to other provisions of the bylaw,
which allow police to give tickets for littering, defacing property and
blocking traffic in the restricted zone.

The city of New Westminster issued a statement Wednesday saying it could
not comment on the association's action because the matter is before the
courts.

"However, the issue will be placed on the agenda of the March 6, 2000
council meeting," the statement said.

The statement said "council decided to adopt this innovative bylaw after
receiving numerous requests from residents and businesses alike to combat
drug trafficking and restore public safety in New Westminster."

Because of the bylaw and other actions drug trafficking is no longer a
significant problem in New Westminster, the city said. Royal City law
targeting drug dealers challenged

The law banning convicted drug dealers from the downtown core is contested
by a civil liberties group. Tom Barrett Vancouver Sun The B.C. Civil
Liberties Association is challenging a New Westminster bylaw that bans
convicted drug dealers from the city's downtown core.

Association executive-director John Westwood said Wednesday the law
reflects a "Wild West" mentality where police can simply run undesirables
out of town.

The bylaw, passed in mid-1998, creates a restricted zone around downtown
Columbia Street and the 12th Street corridor. Police can give a $100 ticket
to anyone in the zone who has been convicted in the last year of dealing
drugs.

However, Westwood said, New Westminster police have not been issuing
tickets, which delayed the association's challenge, filed in B.C. Supreme
Court on Tuesday.

"Initially we were waiting until someone was charged under the bylaw, but
the police were not charging," said Westwood. "They were giving people
warnings and ushering them out of the zone without actually charging them.
So there wasn't an opportunity to challenge this."

The association then tried to find a convicted drug dealer to join the
court action.

"Not surprisingly, they weren't popping out of the woodwork," Westwood
said. "At the end of the day it proved fruitless and we decided we couldn't
wait any longer and filed on our own."

The association will argue that New Westminster does not have the authority
under the Municipal Act to ban a class of people from a part of the city.
It will also argue that the restricted zone amounts to an attempt to pass
criminal law, which is beyond the powers of a city council.

The association's three lawyers, Bruce Elwood, John McAlpine and Richard
Peck, will also argue that the bylaw violates the Charter rights of persons
restricted from the zone.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of assembly and
association, the presumption of innocence and security of the person -- all
of which are violated by the bylaw, the association argues.

Westwood said the association does not object to similar restrictions when
they are imposed on individuals by the courts as a condition of bail or
parole. What it does object to is an automatic blanket ban on an entire
class of people, he said.

The association's lawyers will file affidavits outlining services that are
denied convicted dealers because they are offered within the restricted
zones: drop-in health clinics, a needle-exchange program,
methadone-dispensing drug stores and counselling and educational services.

Westwood said this is the only bylaw of its kind that he knows of in Canada.

He said the association does not object to other provisions of the bylaw,
which allow police to give tickets for littering, defacing property and
blocking traffic in the restricted zone.

The city of New Westminster issued a statement Wednesday saying it could
not comment on the association's action because the matter is before the
courts.

"However, the issue will be placed on the agenda of the March 6, 2000
council meeting," the statement said.

The statement said "council decided to adopt this innovative bylaw after
receiving numerous requests from residents and businesses alike to combat
drug trafficking and restore public safety in New Westminster."

Because of the bylaw and other actions drug trafficking is no longer a
significant problem in New Westminster, the city said.