cannabisnews.com: New Bill To Allow Hydro into Suspected Grow-ops





New Bill To Allow Hydro into Suspected Grow-ops
Posted by CN Staff on October 07, 2004 at 10:29:57 PT
By Colin Perkel, Canadian Press 
Source: Canadian Press 
Ontario residents may soon be forced to allow hydro, building and other inspectors into their homes as part of a planned crackdown on marijuana grow-ops.Legislation will be introduced this fall to give the inspectors the power to enter homes if they suspect the illegal activity, Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said today.
"What happens now is that some of these people just aren't allowed to enter into a private home," said Kwinter."We want to make sure that they have the ability to combat what is becoming a real scourge."Being able to knock on a door and demand entry is a power not even police have, unless they have first obtained a search warrant.The problem with that, Kwinter said, is that it's difficult to get a warrant without first knowing what's inside."This will give authority to various of these agencies to be able to go in and do an inspection."Kwinter said inspectors would "hopefully" only act if they have ``probable cause" to believe there's a grow-op inside.That could mean an unusual pattern of hydro use or excessive heat coming from a home, indicative of the bright lamps used for growing pot indoors.Grow-ops are estimated to cost $80 million a year in electricity theft and there are also serious safety issues as they pose a major fire hazard and some of the homes have had children inside.In March, the RCMP reported phenomenal growth in the number of illegal grow-ops in Ontario. Police estimated as many as 15,000 operations were active and grow-op busts have become an almost daily occurrence. The problem is not exclusive to Ontario and is being seen across the country.Besides the dangers posed by the grow-ops, police have long maintained the cash they generate goes to organized crime.Kwinter also said insurance companies are going to become part of the solution by refusing to cover homes damaged by grow-ops, leaving the homeowner on the hook in case of rental properties.Note: Extraordinary powers needed to fight 'real scourge,' minister says.Source: Canadian PressAuthor: Colin Perkel, Canadian Press Published: October 7, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Canadian PressCannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCannabisNews -- Canada Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 08, 2004 at 10:43:29 PT
afterburner
I just read in the CCC list how they are going to try to put restrictions on mortgages. Something about if a grow up is found they will be able to call the mortgage note due. Where are they coming up with these ideas? Are indoor grows that much of a problem? I understand that someone who owns a home and rents it that they wouldn't want a grow op because of mold etc. but if a person owns their own home I don't understand.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 08, 2004 at 09:51:19 PT
While the Federal Liberals Foam at the Mouth over 
Grow-ops, the Liberal Party narrowly avoids a vote of non-confidence. Leaders make 11th-hour deal [Toronto Star] 
2004-10-08 01:00:01 [National] http://tinyurl.com/5bx2a
' Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government has averted collapse and made history with last night's eleventh-hour agreement to make a substantial change in its throne speech. It was a change prompted by a separatist opposition party, the Bloc Québécois, Susan Delacourt and Les Whittington report. 'more: ' The one leader left out of the intense negotiations was New Democrat Jack Layton, who pulled out of the Bloc-Tory "co-opposition" last week out of fears that it was a plot to make Harper prime minister. ' Yesterday, his tone was angry: "Thankfully, the three guys who made the mess and took us to the brink went and sorted out their little mess and the House of Commons can continue to work, which is what we (the NDP) were suggesting all along. And I think that's what Canadians would have wanted to happen. Let's hope we don't have daily examples of this kind of brinkmanship and games-playing." ' Layton said he had been in touch with Martin in the hours leading up to the deal and had encouraged Martin to reach a compromise with the Conservative and Bloc leaders.' As for the impact of last night's events, Layton said of Martin: "He's got to start talking to people from the other parties. He doesn't have a majority government. He tried to pretend he did right up until an hour or two before the vote. And in the end, he discovered and realized that the Canadian people wanted a different approach."' Martin should now consult with the opposition parties on developing a legislative program "to solve the problems Canadians want solved," Layton said. ' One of the problems NDP party leader Jack Layton refers to is a workable medical cannabis system, including adequate supply, reasonable eligibility rules from Health Canada and in the NDP's eyes pot cafes. This arrogant Martin government has been acting as if they have a majority, witness the federal crackdown on cannabis culture country-wide. They would be well-advised to remember "which side their bread is buttered on." Cannabis advocates gave massive support to the NDP in the last election: then, the minority Liberal government continues their obstructionist policies and even escalates the oppression of medical cannabis and social cannabis culture with their "green tide" hysteria about grow-ops and attacks on cannabis culture in general. Now, the federal Liberals have faced down the Bloc/Conservative wolf at their door. The Liberals should remember who their NDP friends and supporters are.Also: Liberals blind to new realities [Toronto Star]
2004-10-08 01:00:00 [EditorialBoard] http://tinyurl.com/6bod6
' It has only taken four days but all the glib summer assumptions about the House of Commons going about its business mostly as usual under a slightly reconfigured makeup have been replaced by a strikingly different set of certainties. '
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 07, 2004 at 14:57:19 PT
Related Article from The Canadian Press
Ontario To Allow Power To Suspected Grow Ops To Be Cut Without Warning
 Colin Perkel, Canadian Press October 7, 2004  
TORONTO -- Hydro utilities in Ontario may soon have the power to cut off electricity to suspected marijuana grow operations without any warning to the home's occupants. Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter had spoken earlier Thursday of planned legislation this fall that would give hydro and other inspectors the power to enter homes. But after a cabinet meeting, Kwinter told reporters at an impromptu news conference that he wouldn't be doing that after all. Instead, he said, hydro companies would be able to act immediately to cut power if they believe the electricity is being used to grow pot plants indoors. "Someone will be able to cut off your power without telling you about it, without notice, because we think you're doing something illegal," Kwinter said. Suspicion could be aroused, for example, by an unusual pattern of hydro use or excessive heat coming from a home, indicative of the bright lamps used for growing marijuana indoors, he said. Grow-ops, which Kwinter called a "real scourge," are estimated to cost $80 million a year in electricity theft. There are also serious safety issues as they pose a major fire hazard, and some of the homes have had children inside. New Democrat Michael Prue told Kwinter a warrant should be needed before any action is taken against a suspected grow-op. "We live in a country of laws, not one where somebody can arbitrarily cut off your electricity and by chance kill someone on a respirator," Prue said. "You just can't do that." Kwinter had noted earlier it is difficult for police to get a search warrant without first knowing what is inside a home. As a result, he said building inspectors would get new powers to enter homes. But he later said inspectors already have the ability to enter a home to investigate safety issues. The planned legislation would simply codify their ability to act on a tip from police. In March, the RCMP reported phenomenal growth in the number of illegal grow-ops in Ontario. Police estimated as many as 15,000 operations were active, and grow-op busts have become an almost daily occurrence. The problem is being seen across the country. Police have long maintained the cash generated by grow-ops goes to organized crime. Kwinter also said insurance companies are going to become part of the solution by explicitly exempting grow-ops from coverage, leaving the owner of the home on the hook for any related property damage. Copyright: 2004 Canadian Press http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=ed128226-cc35-4997-a934-c84ee9e8937b
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