Pubdate: Wed, 04 Jul 2001
Source: Kelowna Capital News (BC)
Copyright: 2001, Kelowna Capital News Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: Alistair Waters

LANDLORDS MAY FACE POT BILL

Kelowna's mayor says he's intrigued by a Surrey bylaw that slap 
landlords with fines of up to $7,500 for pot busts on property they 
rent out.

And Walter Gray wants his city's staff to look at the possibility of 
introducing a similar bylaw here.

"I'm quite intrigued by it," Gray told the Capital News Tuesday. "I 
think Surrey may be onto a good idea."

Fed up with paying hundreds of thousand of dollars each year to have 
the RCMP in Surrey bust home marijuana growing operations, 
councillors in the Vancouver suburb recently passed the bylaw, 
calling it a toll to deal with illegal drugs.

Gray said he views the bylaw the same way, noting home growing 
operations are also a big problem here.

In Surrey, there were 350 home growing operation raids last year and 
it cost the municipality $875,000.

Kelowna RCMP Const. Garth Letcher said figures for Kelowna were not 
readily available but would likely be compiled for council.

Acting city manager Ron Mattiussi, who is also Kelowna's director of 
planning and the top bureaucrat responsible for bylaw enforcement, 
has started to research what Gray dubbed "the Surrey solution" and 
was expected to report to council at last night's public meeting.

Gray said Mattiussi, who was unavailable for comment yesterday 
afternoon, would talk to officials in Surrey and to the local RCMP 
about a possible local bylaw.

But while the mayor likes the idea of holding landlords responsible 
for the actions of their tenants, the B.C. Civil Liberties 
Association has said it has serious concerns about Surrey's bylaw.

The BCCLA says the move not only attempts to pass criminal law-which 
is the jurisdiction of the federal government-it also could infringe 
on the tenants' rights to the "quiet enjoyment of the rental 
property."

However, Gray said putting the onus on landlords will make them more 
responsible when they search for prospective tenants.

"Most landlords don't care as long as the rent cheques keep coming 
in," said Gray.

"The Surrey bylaw is a wake-up call for landlords."

He said at a recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities Convention, 
our country's top RCMP officer said 76 per cent of Canadians do not 
believe that organized crime affects them.

"But most grow operations have an organized crime connection to 
them," said Gray.He noted that such a bylaw could help make 
law-abiding residents aware of the problems of illegal drugs and 
their connection to the community.
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MAP posted-by: Kirk