MPP Randy Hillier supports Michael Schmidt and his campaign for raw milk

MPP Randy Hillier, Sean McGivern, Michael Schmidt and MPP Bill Murdoch at Queen's Park for a press conference on raw milk issues November 18, 2008

As an elected representative in the provincial parliament, I find the decision handed down on December 2 by Justice J Boswell to be a grave injustice and without regard for our traditions of British common law.

Michael Schmidt is a peaceful man, a man of conscience and conviction and a productive member of our community. In contrast to other protests, Michael’s protests over milk are defined by the absence of force or of the threat of violence, and without destruction of private property. These peaceful characteristics explain Mr. Schmidt’s widespread support in the community and throughout the province.

It is beyond question that Michael has worked endlessly and enduringly, and with respect for the law. He has often requested for full and proper hearings and an airing of “The Milk Act” and the science that supports the legislation. However his every attempt at legislative reform has been blocked or dismissed by special interests. Furthermore, it is clear to all, that any disobedience he may have shown has always been peaceful, respectful, and civilized, and in the very best of our traditions, dating back to Henry David Thoreau, of civil disobedience to unjust laws and unjust men.

More on ODA’s Manna Storehouse raid

Manna Storehouse photo

NEW DEC. 17: Manna Storehouse 7: The Stowers tell their story.

Our earlier post “ODA ‘swats’ Manna Storehouse co-op” is proving to be tremendously popular. Following up some of the traffic sources and ping-backs I eventually found more details on the story, which is looking more and more bizarre. Here’s some of what Berit Kjos is saying about it over on the True Discernment blog. From the looks of things, somebody up there must think Amish farmers are more of a threat than those “terrorists” we hear so much about.

“On Monday, December 1, a SWAT team with semi-automatic rifles entered the private home of the Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio, herded the family onto the couches in the living room, and kept guns trained on parents, children, infants and toddlers, from approximately 11 AM to 8 PM. The team was aggressive and belligerent. The children were quite traumatized. At some point, the “bad cop” SWAT team was relieved by another team, a “good cop” team that tried to befriend the family.

Raw Milk Producer Fined $55,000 — Globe and Mail readers speak up

Sun media reporter interviews a cow share member on the question of raw milk rights, October 20th, 2008, following the guilty verdict for farmer Michael Schmidt.

The Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper is one of many media outlets carrying the Canadian Press story about Michael Schmidt’s recently announced fine for contempt of court. Here’s an excerpt from the story, followed by a selection of reader comments:

“NEWMARKET, ONT. — Ontario raw milk producer Michael Schmidt has been fined a total of $55,000 by a judge after being found guilty in October of contempt of court charges.

The judge fined Mr. Schmidt $5,000 on the charges and told him he had to pay $50,000 in court costs incurred by York Region in prosecuting him.

It was $3,000 less than the prosecution had been seeking.

Mr. Schmidt told Bayshore Broadcasting news he has no intention of paying the fine or the court costs….”

Criminalizing raw milk makes Canada look ignorant — even to Americans

Is this man a criminal? Farmer Michael Schmidt talks to media outside the Newmarket court house October 20th.

Here’s an editorial by Kimberley Hartke, writing from the United States. Believe it or not, even the Americans take a more enlightened attitude to raw milk that do we in Canada. Thanks to Pam Killeen for passing this along to The Bovine:

“Dear Canada: Michael Schmidt is Not a Criminal

There are three compelling reasons why Michael Schmidt’s cow-boarding program is not wrong and why all 20 charges against him, including the recent contempt finding, should be dismissed.

Number one: The raw milk he produces has made no one sick—in twenty years. Claims by his health officials and competitors that his product is ‘dangerous’ are just that– baseless claims designed to scare the public, with the end goal of preventing the increasing popularity of raw milk. The Milk Marketing Boards are right, modern, industrial dairy products from factory cows need to be pasteurized. In contrast, Schmidt’s raw dairy is inherently safe because the cows are not confined, and they are raised in their natural habitat, on green grass pastures in plenty of sunshine.

Prosecuting Michael Schmidt tarnishes Canada’s image in world community

Raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt (left) greets supports and talks to the media outside the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket where he was convicted of contempt of court October 20th. He was sentenced December 2nd.

On a recent visit to Germany, sponsored by the German government as a gesture of goodwill to descendants of Holocaust victims, American author David E. Gumpert wondered whether in times to come, people would visit the site where Michael Schmidt’s farm once stood and recognize — just like Germans do now about the Nazi era — how totally deranged our country once was. Here’s an excerpt from that post of David’s:

“I departed the Weston A. Price Foundation conference early to travel to Germany and attend special ceremonies in my deceased mother’s hometown, commemorating the seventieth anniversary of Kristallnacht–the night Germany burned nearly all the country’s synagogues to the ground and officially launched the Holocaust.

I had been to the city of Darmstadt a few times before, in researching a book I co-authored with my aunt about my family’s experiences during the Holocaust (Inge: A Girl’s Journey Through Nazi Europe) and thought I knew most everything I could learn related to my family’s history. But after I arrived yesterday, I learned something else–a bizarre tale– that made me think about the current struggles over raw milk in Canada and the U.S.