ELECTRICAL SAFETY BYLAW RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Brodie: 'I'm sure with some adjustments we'll be able to carry on ...
it's been quite an effective program."

A bylaw that helped the City of Richmond shut down 91 marijuana grow
ops is being suspended due to concerns it may be unconstitutional.

In a ruling last week, the Appeal Court of B.C. found the Safety
Standards Act -- a provincial statute that gives force to the city's
Electrical and Fire Safety Inspection bylaw -- violates the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms by allowing for warrantless searches by
municipal teams of fire and electrical inspectors looking for hazards
related to marijuana grow operations.

The court ruling was the result of a challenge of the City of
Surrey's Electrical and Fire Safety bylaw.

Richmond's bylaw is based on the same statute, so it is being
temporarily suspended, according to city hall spokesperson Cynthia Lockrey.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie thinks the bylaw need not be scrapped -- just fine tuned.

"I'm sure with some adjustments we'll be able to carry on," he said.
"We will be carrying on with it because it's been quite an effective program."

Lee Jensen said he's glad the courts have upheld citizens' right to privacy.

"I'm very happy about it because it (the bylaw) is intrusive," he said.

Jensen and his wife Fay were among the 100-plus Richmond citizens
whose properties were searched but where no evidence of a grow op was
found. Less than half of the homes searched in Richmond turned up any
evidence of a grow op and its usual rewiring.

The Safety Standards Act gave B.C. Hydro the legal authority to
provide municipal governments personal information on power consumption.

Spikes in electrical consumption can be an indicator of marijuana
grow op. They can also be the sign of a hot tub or swimming pool.

Jensen and his wife do have a swimming pool, but it is solar heated,
Lee Jensen said, so he's still not sure why his hydro bills are so
high -- although he said he has teenagers who don't turn off lights.

"My hydro bill is still stupid," Jensen said, estimating it at $200 per month.

Because their power bills are so high, their home was flagged and
they were subjected to what they called an "embarrassing" warrantless
search of their home in February 2008 by a team of inspectors from
the city, Richmond Fire Rescue and the RCMP.

At the time, the Jensens said they thought the searches were
unconstitutional -- something the Appeal Court last week confirmed.

The Appeal Court found the searches to be a "considerable intrusion."

"They involve walking through the entire residence, searching
electrical panels, and very involved searches of attic spaces, and
crawl spaces," the court writes.

There may be cases when police or fire inspectors can search a
premises without a warrant if there is an immediate danger to the occupants.

But in most cases, homeowners are given 48 hours notice that their
home will be inspected, which the court concluded is more than enough
time for authorities to obtain a search warrant.

The inspections are ostensibly done to ensure any rewiring does not
pose a safety hazard. By the time inspections are done, most
marijuana grow ops have been dismantled.

RCMP are asked to accompany inspection teams due to fears that a
marijuana grow op may be booby-trapped.

But the court pointed out that Surrey city officials shared private
information about homeowners with police -- something the court found
to be unnecessary.

"The local government shares account information with the police,
adding further to the aura of criminality surrounding these
searches," the court writes.

If the reason police are asked to attend is strictly to protect
inspectors, they need not know details about the homeowners, the
Appeal Court writes.

The Appeal Court ruling speaks to the stigma that results from
searches involving police.

"The suspicion cast on persons who are made the subject of a criminal
investigation can seriously, and perhaps permanently, lower their
standing in the community," the court writes. "This alone would
entitle the citizen to expect that his or her privacy would be
invaded only when the state has shown that it has serious grounds to
suspect guilt."

Lockrey said search warrants are obtained in some cases in Richmond.

Under the current bylaw, residences that are red-flagged receive an
inspection notice. They are asked to call and arrange an inspection.
RCMP accompany the electrical and fire department inspectors.

If tenants or homeowners do not call back to arrange for an
inspection, the city applies for a search warrant.