LdyLunatic
02-09-2006, 11:31 AM
VANCOUVER -- City council in Chilliwack, B.C., has suspended plans to enact a controversial bylaw that would require customers of hydroponic stores to provide photo ID and personal information that would be entered into an RCMP database.
Mayor Clint Hames confirmed that the city will wait for a report from provincial Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis before it decides what to do with the bylaw.
Mr. Loukidelis said yesterday that he was pleased the municipality has responded to concerns about the bylaw. His report, which is scheduled to be released within a month, will examine the privacy implications of a growing number of bylaws enacted by B.C. municipalities that require certain businesses to obtain personal information from their customers.
"I am pleased that city council in Chilliwack has decided to give this bylaw some sober second thought," said Jason Gratl, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, one of a number of groups that voiced concerns about the proposed bylaw.
Mr. Hames said he welcomed Mr. Loukidelis's review, pledging that -- if necessary -- the bylaw will be amended to comply with provincial privacy legislation. But he expressed some skepticism about what he called the hydroponics industry's "passion for privacy."
He estimated the Chilliwack area has about 1,000 marijuana grow operations, and suggested that local businesses must be providing the supplies for many of them.
"If the hydroponics industry wants to be clean, why are they not working with the city to make sure their products are not being used improperly?" Mr. Hames asked.
Mayor Clint Hames confirmed that the city will wait for a report from provincial Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis before it decides what to do with the bylaw.
Mr. Loukidelis said yesterday that he was pleased the municipality has responded to concerns about the bylaw. His report, which is scheduled to be released within a month, will examine the privacy implications of a growing number of bylaws enacted by B.C. municipalities that require certain businesses to obtain personal information from their customers.
"I am pleased that city council in Chilliwack has decided to give this bylaw some sober second thought," said Jason Gratl, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, one of a number of groups that voiced concerns about the proposed bylaw.
Mr. Hames said he welcomed Mr. Loukidelis's review, pledging that -- if necessary -- the bylaw will be amended to comply with provincial privacy legislation. But he expressed some skepticism about what he called the hydroponics industry's "passion for privacy."
He estimated the Chilliwack area has about 1,000 marijuana grow operations, and suggested that local businesses must be providing the supplies for many of them.
"If the hydroponics industry wants to be clean, why are they not working with the city to make sure their products are not being used improperly?" Mr. Hames asked.