Pubdate: Wed, 25 Apr 2007
Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
Copyright: 2007 Whitehorse Star
Contact:  http://www.whitehorsestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1493
Author: Matthew Grant
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

'DO YOU WALK AWAY AND DO NOTHING?'

A draft bylaw to protect tenants from unsafe living  conditions is an 
example of municipal authorities  stepping in where the territorial 
government has failed  to act, say members of city council -- with 
one strong  exception.

Meeting at noon Tuesday, council and senior managers  discussed a 
proposed controlled substances/properties  bylaw.

The draft bylaw gives the city authority to ensure  former drug 
houses, such as marijuana grow operations  or illegal chemical labs, 
meet health and safety  standards before they're rented out to new tenants.

Coun. Jan Stick said she supports the idea of ensuring  former drug 
houses are safe to live in after they're  shut down. However, she is 
concerned about the scores  of other rental properties in the city 
which are  currently unsafe to live in.

"My overall concern is that we have these bylaws for  illegal 
operations but the fact is we have all of these  other houses that 
are full of mould and bad wiring and  they continue to exist and 
there's no options for those  (tenants) for remediation," Stick said.

"I understand the need for this but what about the  others? YTG (the 
Yukon government) is the Landlord  Tenant Act, they're the ones who 
are supposed to be  enforcing that."

Coun. Jeanine Myhre said she is also concerned about  the lack of 
protection for tenants.

She said she doesn't feel the message to tenants that  you had to 
have had illegal plants in your house to get  help is appropriate.

Coun. Florence Roberts said she feels the problem of  unsafe living 
conditions should be handled by  territorial health authorities.

"This is health and safety. The YTG doesn't  co-operate," Roberts said.

City manager Dennis Shewfelt responded to council's  concerns. He 
said the proposed bylaw is designed to  ensure the health and safety 
of people moving into  unsafe living conditions, such as mould, 
electrical  problems, structural damage and plumbing breakdowns 
caused by grow operations.

The territorial government cannot enforce those  standards because 
the Yukon Landlord and Tenant Act has  no safety, maintenance, 
occupation nor health  regulations as called for in the legislation, he added.

In a series of interviews with the Star last fall,  Liberal Leader 
Arthur Mitchell, NDP MLA Steve Cardiff,  Mayor Bev Buckway, tenants 
of several substandard homes  and Whitehorse landlord Hans Affolter 
called on the  government to develop regulations as called for in the 
decades-old legislation.

Earlier this month, Community Services Minister Glenn  Hart said the 
matter is under internal review.

Fiona Charbonneau is the manager of the Department of  Community 
Services' consumer services branch. She said  in an interview this 
morning the Landlord and Tenant  Act regulations have been the 
subject of review by her  department and the Department of Health and 
Social Services.

"We are currently reviewing the regulatory measures in  other 
jurisdictions," she said.

Charbonneau said the review is focusing in on matters  including 
health, safety, occupancy and maintenance  standards and how other 
areas in Canada regulate and  enforce them.

There is no timeline on the review's conclusion, she added.

"This isn't the only thing we're working on."

John Taylor, the city's bylaw services manager, told  council the 
proposed bylaw is a measure designed to  encourage landlords to take 
responsibility for their  properties.

He said the bylaw would be triggered by the territorial  Safer 
Communities and Neighbhourhoods Act and RCMP  investigations which 
would give city inspectors the  authority to enter properties used 
for drug purposes  and ensure they're fit for habitation.

"This bylaw is strictly punitive," Taylor said.

"This legislation says, 'I want to live in this  community, I don't 
want to walk into Takhini Arena and  have people say you're the 
reason for my kid's  problem.' " Taylor said.

"If there is a grow op, you have an obligation to  report it to us or 
the police as soon as you find out."

Taylor said fines to be attached to the bylaw, which  are proposed to 
range between $1,000 and $5,000, are  designed to encourage compliance.

"The fines are just there for the people who don't  react to that. 
The fines are just there for someone who  doesn't help, for someone 
who doesn't work with us," he  said.

Taylor said the bylaw could also be used to protect the  city's water 
system by giving the city the power to  shut off water systems to 
houses whose plumbing had  been tampered with.

"It could cost us if the water backed up and went into  our water mains."

Taylor said the city gets its authority for the bylaw  under the 
Yukon Municipal Act.

Coun. Doug Graham said he has a problem with the new  bylaw and feels 
it could leave the city open to  possible legal action.

"I disagree with the principle (of the bylaw). Where  does this put 
us on a legal footing?" he asked.

"Think of the costs that we could be facing here as a city."

Graham said he also can't support a bylaw which could  leave 
landlords responsible for illegal activities they  never took part in.

"What are the ramifications of other people, completely  innocent, 
because of this? If there are ramifications  that can screw innocent 
people, that's not a good  bylaw," he said.

Coun. Dave Stockdale said he believes that, like city  zoning 
decisions which sometimes negatively affect  neighbouring residents, 
the draft bylaw could be in the  best interest of the greater community.

"You have to do something. What do you do? Walk away  and do nothing?

"They couldn't get Al Capone (the 1920s-'30s Chicago  gangster) on 
murder or prostitution; they got him on  tax evasion," Stockdale said.

"This is another approach. This (bylaw) is in operation  in other places."

Administrative services director Robert Fendrick said  the bylaw is 
also designed to deter criminals from  setting up shop in Whitehorse.

"The way things are now, have we deterred any of them  from doing 
this again? No.

"The incentive is that it's a disincentive."

Shewfelt said he'll direct his officials to look into  council's 
concerns before council discusses the  proposed bylaw again.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman