WARRANTLESS SEARCHES BREACH CHARTER: JUDGE

A bylaw that gave police a back door entry to marijuana grow ops by
using public safety as a justification for home inspections violates
the Charter of Rights, says a B.C. Supreme Court judge.

But whether the ruling stops inspections of homes by RCMP in Richmond
is up in the air, according to Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

A recent court ruling on Surrey's Electrical Safety bylaw could have
implications for a similar bylaw in Richmond.

The ruling was in response to a complaint by Jason Arkinstall, a
Surrey homeowner who was subjected to a search under the electrical
safety bylaw.

Arkinstall, who has a criminal record related to drug trafficking, had
his power cut off by B.C. Hydro when he refused to let police into his
home without a search warrant. Brodie said the court ruling upheld the
right of municipalities to have such bylaws, which are aimed at
addressing fire hazards that may result from the electrical rewiring
of homes that often occurs when the home is turned into a marijuana
grow operation.

What the ruling didn't do, however, is allow police to tag along with
inspection teams and conduct searches without a search warrant.

"(In) the circumstances of the present case, I find that the police
did not have authority ... to enter and search the petitioners'
residence in aid of the EFSI Team inspection without a warrant,"
Justice Bill Smart said in his conclusion.

"It was unconstitutional in this case, based on this case," Brodie
said. "It is not to say that it is always unconstitutional."

Asked whether the City of Richmond will continue the inspections,
Brodie said it would. But whether police will attend each inspection
is to be reviewed, he said.

Lee Jensen, who was one of more than 100 Richmond homeowners subjected
to a search by police and safety inspection of his home, is happy to
hear the ruling challenges the right to automatically send police
along to conduct a search without a warrant.

"I kind of thought they'd look at it that way," Jensen
said.

In February, Jensen and his wife were subjected to what they said was
an embarrassing search of their home by police, fire and city
officials. The search was done under the Electrical and Fire Safety
Inspection program, which is similar to Surrey's.

The Safety Standards Act gives municipalities the right to ask for,
and receive, heretofore confidential information from B.C. Hydro about
electrical consumption rates by their customers. Above-average
electrical use can prompt an inspection.

High electrical consumption can be a telltale sign of a marijuana grow
op. It is also a telltale sign of legal activities that draw a lot of
power -- heated swimming pools and saunas, for example, and
greenhouses.

The Jensens, who have a pool, were flabbergasted when, in February,
they were told their home would be searched and then inspected because
their high electrical bill lead authorities to believe they had a
marijuana grow op. No evidence of a grow op was found in their home.

They said it was embarrassing to have to explain to neighbours why
there were cop cars parked outside their home.

Jensen is therefore pleased with the recent court ruling, which upheld
the legality of the safety inspections themselves, but which ruled a
search by police without a warrant is a breach of the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, which protects against illegal search and seizure.

Jensen is still puzzled as to why his house was singled out. Since the
February inspection, he said he has talked to neighbours who have said
their homes have even higher power bills than his, and yet they have
never had an inspection. He said the city and RCMP have never provided
an adequate explanation for how they decide who is inspected and who
isn't.

"I don't know how they do this," he said.