WHEN PRIVACY RIGHTS AND SAFETY ISSUES COLLIDE

B.C. Court of Appeal's ruling is wrong-headed and will only work to
help grow-op criminals escape prosecution

Burnaby Now June 5, 2010 In a remarkable bit of backwards thinking,
the B.C. Court of Appeal has put handcuffs on a law enforcement
initiative that works to reduce the impact of marijuana
grow-operations in local communities.

While we understand the court's willingness to value the right to
privacy, it's difficult to understand how that value supersedes the
safety concerns surrounding intense use of electricity - usually
stolen and often dangerously rerouted - involved in many grow-ops.

It started with the case of Arkinstall et al vs. Surrey et al,
brought by two residents of Surrey who refused to allow safety
inspectors to enter their home as long as they insisted on being
accompanied by police officers.

The inspectors were abiding by provisions of B.C.'s Safety Standards
Act that - until struck down by the B.C. Appeal Court in May - let
municipal and fire inspectors enter into anyone's home for safety
inspections if they suspected the home was being used to grow marijuana.

The Appeals Court ruled that such inspections violate the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms and that, in future, administrative warrants will
be required.

That would still allow the inspections to take place, the court
maintains, but would reasonably protect individual privacy.

And it would give marijuana growers the heads-up they need to clear
out and restart their operations in a new neighbourhood.

Once again, law enforcement gets the run-around, and it would seem
criminals get the breaks.