More than a year after police officers in British Columbia dismantled what they said was the largest drug superlab in the country, the Ford government is bringing in regulations aimed at ensuring similar operations can’t start up in Ontario.
Toward the end of 2024, the RCMP busted an alleged drug lab on a property in Falkland, B.C., where the landlord said he had no idea what had taken place on the land he owned.
The landlord filed a civil claim months later after the provincial government tried to seize his property, where police had said they found “half a tonne of hard drugs,” as well as firearms.
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A new regulation posted by the Ontario government would create a criminal offence for landlords who “knowingly” allow their properties to be used for activities relating to illegal drugs.
The regulation would mean that, if police suspect someone is allowing their property to be used, they can seize items needed for evidence, order people to vacate the property and recover costs of law enforcement.
In the Falkland case, the landlord denied any knowledge of the operation.
The regulatory proposal explains the legal change “would hold a landlord accountable for knowingly permitting illegal drug production and trafficking on their premises.”
The province indicated to Global News the reason it had created the regulation was to give it additional tools if a B.C.-style drug superlab from being created in Ontario.
“Landlords have a responsibility to ensure their properties are safe for everyone,” the Ministry of the Solicitor General said in a statement.
“These proposed regulations will ensure that landlords who knowingly allow the illicit production and distribution of illegal drugs on their property would be held accountable.”
The regulation has not yet come into effect and is part of the justice legislation the government passed last year.
— With files from Global News’ Amy Judd
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