BYLAW IN THE WORKS

Staff will prepare a bylaw that would see homeowners and landlords pay for
costs from grow op investigations

A vote directing municipal staff to prepare a substance manufacture bylaw
for municipal councils consideration squeaked through at the August 26
meeting with three councillors voting against it.

Councillor David Gabelhouse explained the bylaw would deal with controlled
substances ranging from marijuana to chemical drugs such as ecstasy. It
would enable the municipality to recover the extraordinary cost of
enforcing the law in the case of substance manufacturing.

He pointed out that police have investigated 11 grow operations so far this
year at a cost of approximately $4,000 each. He said time and money spent
in this area takes away from other policing duties.

"The purpose of the bylaw would be to try to prevent homeowners from being
lax in their duties and having someone use their house as a grow op," he
said. Assessment costs could be referred back to the landlord/homeowner,
and if not paid they could be attached to taxes in arrears.

Other people in the community are also at risk from grow ops. "A new tenant
may be exposed to mould. There is also a component where our bylaw
enforcement officer and our building inspector may be involved in handling
the resolution of a grow op," said Gabelhouse.

Councillors Sandi Tremblay, Myrna Leishman and Brenda DeGraag voted against
the motion. "I don't think you need to penalize the owners of homes they
have rented out," said Tremblay. She said it costs homeowners "huge
amounts" of money to get their homes back into shape again when someone
rents them and uses them as grow ops.

"To me we are making the property owner a double victim," said DeGraag. She
said she couldn't see a homeowner knowingly renting their home to someone
to use as a grow op.

RCMP Sergeant Andy Brinton said that five grow ops investigated this year
all belonged to one person. "The reality is that a lot of these grows are
owner-operated."

He addressed how this bylaw would be affected should marijuana be
decriminalized. In its current state, it would still be considered illegal
for someone to possess small quantities but that a person wouldn't receive
a criminal record. Large quantities, production, trafficking would still be
considered illegal. One requires a permit to grow marijuana for medical
purposes.

Councillor Jeff Mah pointed to landlords' right to inspect their premises
and said property managers can do the job for absentee landlords.

"I think we need to be clear that we are not a drug-friendly town," said
Councillor Russell Storry.

Like any bylaw, this bylaw would be enforced at the officer's discretion.