Canada raids farm for supplying raw milk demand; food freedom activists successfully defend farm with civil disobedience

10/11/2015 / By Carol Young

Michael Schmidt is a Canadian dairy farmer and raw milk advocate who was raided October 2 by Canadian bureaucrats and police. Michael has been a huge proponent for raw milk for over 30 years and he has been instrumental in changing policy on raw milk.

Michael currently operates a shareholder agreement with people who are part owners on the farm. This farm is not Michael’s farm, but he does milk the cows and helps make deliveries to help the farmers out.

On September 30, Michael’s wife, Elisa, was making deliveries in a parking lot, and the truck she was driving was targeted for a raid by bureaucrats. The bureaucrats tried to raid the truck without a warrant, but Elisa stood her ground and demanded that they present a warrant before she would allow the truck to be inspected.

As you can see in the above video, Elisa was courageous and steadfast when handling the raid on her truck. Elisa understood her rights and made sure that the bureaucrats did not take advantage of the situation. Even when they returned an hour later with a warrant, they tried to take a lot of things from the truck that, according to the warrant, they had no right to take. Elisa pointed out to the bureaucrats that their warrant only allowed them samples, and Elisa reading the warrant carefully was paramount in stopping them from seizing more than they were legally allowed.

In the video, you can hear the supporters telling the bureaucrats, “This is our milk. No, you cannot take it… that is not a sample. What is the definition of a sample? This is not your milk! They’re trying to take it, they’re trying to unload the milk. As long as you follow the warrant, we’re OK.”

On Friday, October 2 the bureaucrats and police are currently raiding the farm, Glen Colton Farm. Our sources say there are 20 bureaucrats and five police at the farm, but they are outnumbered by the shareholders and their supporters. Our source estimates that there will likely be upwards of 50 people arrested today.

It is important to note that Michael is currently out on bail for refusing to massacre his flock of healthy sheep in Canada. If he is charged with anything today, he will go straight to jail. Michael has an Indiegogo account dedicated to his legal defense in his sheep protection case. A separate Indiegogo campaign to support Glen Colton Farm is currently in the works.

For background information on Michael, go here.

And for a short video about the sheep case go here.

Below is the list of the agencies that are currently on the farm conducting the raid:

Ministry of Natural Resources

Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Police departments

Regulatory Compliance Unit of Ontario

Ministry of Finance

Dairy Inspection branch working for the dairy farmers of Ontario

UPDATE FROM MICHAEL SCHMIDT’S SUPPORTERS:

Super news on the Michael Schmidt raid in Canada! This is proof that peaceful non-compliance works. What started off as a tense standoff between peaceful Canadians and the agents who work to control them ended in peace and victory for the people. The agents unloaded the vans full of confiscated farm equipment and products. Peaceful persistence works! Thank you to Michael and everyone there who made this happen and was willing to sacrifice their temporary freedom for something greater!

There will likely still be charges or another raid. However, for today, the farm has made huge progress!

Sources:

Tagged Under: bureaucracy, Canada, farm raid, fascism, government, healthy food, raw milk