Raw milk producer takes debate to Queen's Park
By Bill Rea

It's still illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Ontario, but efforts are continuing to get that changed.

It looks like those efforts are not going to get a lot of support locally, however.

York-Simcoe MPP Julia Munro indicated she sees no need to change things.

"We do have a good system of protection in place," Munro commented, adding she saw no reason to change a system that's worked well for years. "It's designed to collect and process and distribute for 11 million people."

Munro agreed there is some value in raw milk. "I'm not going to dispute that," she said.

But she added the marketing and safety issues are a bigger concern.

She also agreed with the notion that people should have a choice, "but you also have to consider the taxpayers who have to pay for the problems that arise from time to time from these issues of choice."

"You can't have it both ways," she observed.

Grey County dairy farmer Michael Schmidt took his raw milk crusade to Queen's Park last Wednesday.

That happened to be the first anniversary of a raid on his farm.

He reported that more than 20 armed officers from the ministries of natural resources, finance and health, as well as local health units, showed up. He stated they were looking for evidence that he was running a cow share program for distributing raw milk to its members.

"People can make informed choices," he told a press conference at Queen's Park.

"It's not a public health concern," he added, arguing if it were, the government would have been more vigorous in shutting down his cow share operation.

He also said the York Region Health Unit obtained a court order to get him to stop making deliveries of raw milk to his customers in York.

Schmidt said he's facing a total of seven charges over his activities, with his trial stet for May in Newmarket.

"We have not stopped," he declared.

He is still making weekly trips to Richmond Hill to deliver milk to his local clients.

"We are now at the point of civil disobedience," he said.

He estimated there are some 200,000 people in Ontario who drink raw milk, with a lot of them visiting farms to obtain it.

He also said there are 150 families in his cow share program. In total, the program has a three-year waiting list to join.

Schmidt also said there have been about three million servings of raw milk distributed in Ontario over the last 12 years.

"None of them got sick," he declared, adding most of those people might have seen improvements to their health.

He added Queen Elizabeth even drinks raw milk.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdock had put forth a private members resolution last year, calling on the government to study the raw milk regulations, but it was defeated.

There is still support for the move, at least in the Progressive Conservative caucus. Murdock was on hand at last week's event, still backing Schmidt's efforts, as was Lanark- Frontenac-Lennox and Addington MPP Randy Hillier.

Hillier said this issue has not yet been discussed with the Tory caucus, but he thought that with reasonable discussion and debate, most of his colleagues might come on side.

"There is a need for the pasteurized system," he said. "This is not an attack on this system."

James McLaren, of the Natural Milk Organization, said he's been a vegetarian for about 20 years, obtaining his protein from raw milk.

Pasteurization of milk became mandatory in 1938, he observed, adding there are hygienic production practices that could be used to ensure the safety of raw milk. Politicians failed to look into those practices, he said, preferring to stick with just pasteurization.

They are asking the government to look into it now.

There's a model in place in England, allowing for wholesale and direct sale quotas, and McLaren said it's been effective. Raw milk there is considered as safe as any other food group.

"It's really not a health issue," he remarked. "It's a political issue, and we want political action at this time.

"There are many bad laws on the books," observed raw milk consumer Judith McGill. "This is one of them. It's archaic."

King City resident Vibeke Ball, a member of the cow share, was at Queen's Park too, commenting she gets her milk every week from the program. She said she can't drink pasteurized milk.

"It's just wonderful to get such a healthy product and to know the farmer where it came from," she remarked.

Olga Ullmann, also from King City, said she's been a member for about four years. She said they were looking for better quality food, "and we found it."

"It seems to be a political issue, more than a health issue," she commented.