THUNDER BAY — A judge has issued a preservation order for a city residence alleged to be a long-time location for illegal drug sales.
The Ministry of the Attorney General applied in Superior Court for an order preventing the registered owner from selling, leasing or mortgaging a house on River Street.
According to a motion heard last month, the property has been used to facilitate the sale and use of illegal drugs for over 20 years, and the owner is awaiting trial on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking hydromorphone, and possession of property owned by crime.
The preservation order is in effect pending the outcome of an application for forfeiture of the property to the Ontario government under the Civil Remedies Act.
In addition to preventing the sale of the home, it requires the owner to keep the property in a state of good repair, to maintain insurance coverage and utility services, and to pay all bills and expenses.
The man disputed the motion and the forfeiture request on the basis that he has not conducted illegal activity from the property, and that he wished to prove that.
But having been granted adjournments of the hearing in April and again in May so he could gather documents and get legal advice, his request for a third adjournment was denied after he failed to consult a lawyer and provided no materials to the court.
Acting Regional Senior Justice T.J. Nieckarz said that based on the evidence presented by the Attorney General, she was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds to believe his house is an instrument of unlawful activity.
She cited the following reasons:
- The property is well-known to the Thunder Bay Police Service as a location where illegal drug sales take place
- In August 2021, Thunder Bay police began an investigation and conducted surveillance of the property. About 130 people were observed coming and going from a recreational vehicle parked in the driveway at all hours of the day and night, over three days. Some of these individuals were well-known to police to be part of the drug culture.
- In August 2021, Thunder Bay police executed a search warrant and allegedly found the owner and another person inside the RV, and drugs and drug-trafficking paraphernalia and cash inside the RV and the house. This was not the first time the owner had been arrested.
- Photos suggested the house was not being used as a typical residence, and was littered with garbage and various items, with windows boarded up.
- Since the current owner acquired the property in 1998, Thunder Bay police officers have been there 45 times, and patrolling officers have documented 91 additional occurrences at the residence.
- Individuals known in the drug subculture as well as people with outstanding warrants and stolen property have frequently been located at the property. There have also been numerous investigations involving impaired individuals found parked near, or leaving from, the property.
The judge noted that for the purpose of granting a preservation order, the court doesn't need to be satisfied that the owner committed crimes, but rather that the property itself is associated with unlawful activity.
In that regard, she said she agreed with the Attorney General of Ontario that "the burden of reasonable suspicion has been met."
