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B.C. moves to protect people reporting suspected drug houses

Changes allow shutdown of ‘crack shacks,’ Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says
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B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth (Black Press Media)

The B.C. government is updating a 2013 law targeting drug houses, promising to protect citizens who report criminal activity and landlords who struggle to evict problem tenants.

“People who have criminals operating on the streets, where they live and work, deserve to know that they can speak up and remain safe,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Thursday. “In turn, authorities need the teeth to shut down dangerous properties, quickly and for good.”

Farnworth presented a new version of legislation that was passed unanimously in 2013 but never enacted. The proposed law targets drug labs and drug trafficking sites, possession of illegal guns, after-hours sale of liquor and selling drugs or alcohol to minors.

READ MORE: Vancouver Island drug house busted, hand grenade seized

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The legislation provides a 90-day shutdown of a “crack shack” that allows time for authorities to deal with problem properties permanently, he said.

“There will be an enforcement unit that will have the ability to do a very quick investigation, and have the tools, working with local government, to stop whatever illegal activity is taking place,” Farnworth said.


@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca

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