Milk violator Michael Schmidt fights on
Sunday, January 10, 2010
No matter how a Newmarket court rules this month on charges that Michael Schmidt violated the Milk Act, the Canadian Constitution Foundation promises he won't disappear.
The registered charity has taken up the cause of the raw milk proponent from north of the town of Durham in Grey County. If he loses, litigation director Karen Selick will seek an appeal. If he wins, the organization will seek to legalize distribution of raw milk to consumers who don't want to own a cow.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation calls itself "an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to defend the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through education, communication and litigation."
A year ago, Schmidt was sentenced to pay $55,000 in contempt of court fines because he persisted in delivering unpasteurized milk to members of his cow-sharing program, contrary to a court order after his farm was raided in 2006. Last February, his trial on charges of violating The Milk Act ended and he has been waiting for a judgment ever since. His court date is Jan. 21.
On the Canadian Constitution Foundation website, Selick asserts that "dead bacteria floating in your milk" cause allergic reactions in drinkers of pasteurized milk. She also predicts that selling raw milk will soon be as acceptable as Sunday shopping, which was also illegal in Ontario until 20 years ago. And she says Schmidt has doubled the size of his cow herd to deal with unprecedented demand. BF