bc court of appeal

By Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

 

British common law has long held “the house of everyone is to him as his castle and fortress” and the B.C. Court of Appeal says that principle still holds.

 

Stamping out marijuana grow operations might be a laudable societal goal, but in a unanimous ruling the court said constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure must nevertheless be respected.

 

The five-judge panel concluded the government should amend the 2004 Safety Standards Act because people have a high expectation of privacy in their homes.

 

Chief Justice Lance Finch, who penned the decision, said two sections of the law — authorizing the warrantless entry and inspection of homes to combat the electrical dangers posed by marijuana grow operations — violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

Still, the ruling looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors — it only adds an extra step in a pernicious inspection process required as a result of the expensive failed criminal prohibition against pot.

 

By. CBC News

A former Vancouver sex-trade worker was at the B.C. Court of Appeal Thursday fighting for the right to challenge the constitutionality of Canada's prostitution laws.

Sheri Kiselbach was seeking to overturn a December 2008 B.C. Supreme Court decision that she could not challenge the laws because she was not an active worker in the sex trade and was not facing criminal charges for prostitution.

"My ultimate goal is to have sex workers from all walks of life to be able to work safely," Kiselbach said outside the court in Vancouver.

By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed the federal government appeal, which means Insite, the Vancouver supervised injection site that was the first of its kind in the country, will remain open.

The federal government is expected to appeal today's ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Insite was originally allowed to operate under a temporary exemption to federal drug control laws. When the temporary exemption was due to expire, Insite went to the BC Supreme Court and won a permanent exemption.

The federal Conservative government appealed that decision.

By. Globe and Mail

The B.C. appeal court has upheld a ruling by the province's Supreme Court that allows the supervised injection site in the Downtown Eastside to stay open.

The ruling upholds a 2008 ruling.

The decision was cheered by Insite supporters in a news conference held outside the court complex.

“Let's hope Stephen Harper doesn't waste any more taxpayers' money by taking this to the Supreme Court,” said Liz Evans, executive director of the Portland Hotel Society, which runs Insite.

Insite, North America's only such facility, has been open since 2003.