LAW WILL SMOKE OUT GROW-OPS

Heavy users of electricity will be reported to police under a bill
introduced in the legislature this week.

Near the end of this month, municipalities will have B.C. Hydro
records on demand, data they'll turn over to police to determine if
spikes in power use were caused by a marijuana grow operation.

Grow-ops require high power consumption, typically three to 10 times
the amount used by a normal home.

"This will help local authorities shut down marijuana grow operations
more quickly and more efficiently," Minister of Public Safety John
Les said Thursday, as he introduced Bill 25.

Authorities will get names and addresses of account holders to
investigate if the homes contain a grow operation, he said.

It's the latest tool in a revolutionary program launched by Surrey
Fire Department that sees high energy users put on notice for
inspection. Non-compliance results in power to the home being shut off.

Surrey and Abbotsford are the only cities running the initiatives.

Investigators say a main impediments to the program has been the
process to acquire B.C. Hydro information through the Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The city first had to have
tips from neighbours.

Now the process will be reversed: power records come first, then assessment.

"A key trigger for inspections was unusual electricity consumption,
but obtaining that information was a challenge," Surrey Fire Chief
Len Garis said.

"The greater availability of energy consumption information is
expected to greatly expand the ability of these inspection programs
to disable marijuana grow operations."

Launched last year, the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative involved
fire, police, bylaw and building inspectors tracking high energy use
and posting a notice that the home will be inspected in 48 hours.

"The results exceeded expectation," Garis said.

"The team processed 420 tips and rendered safe 119 grow operations."

Garis acknowledges the legislation will be controversial.

"The program may be viewed by some as an infringement of privacy,
however...public safety is more compelling and outweighs any privacy
rights," Garis said.

However Jason Gratl, president of B.C. Civil Liberties Association,
said the legislation seems "neither necessary or desirable."

He notes there are enough marijuana grow operations to keep police
busy for a long time .

"It all seems a little much for such a purpose," Gratl said Thursday.