This is from an email communique sent out to Toronto Dowsers members by Marilyn Gang. Marilyn and the dowsers have been strong suppporters of the raw milk cause since the raid on Michael’s farm in 2006.
Michael Schmidt, the Durham Dairy Desperado was acquitted on all 19 charges against him, which stemmed from the pre dawn raid on his dairy farm November 21, 2006.
The judge announced his decision, and the reasoning behind it today at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket.
Court was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. today. I was unable to get there until 11 and thought the verdict would have been handed down by that time. It was not. About 150 of us were in the hallways, waiting, until 12:05 when Michael exited the courtroom and told us the verdict — to a roar of applause, cheers, whistles and glasses of real milk raised in a toast, to Michael and to all of us.
During that almost 3 hours in the courtroom, apparently the judge was reading his 40? page decision.
Michael greatly appreciated the work of this judge. He said that the judge explained how he arrived at his decision from the very beginning and that “this case law can be applied to many segments. The court actually preserves and opens up a niche that we are all longing for … What Canada should be. … We pried open the door for individual rights in this country.”
“Stay out of our bedrooms, our stomachs and our refrigerators.”
Michael complimented the work of the judge several times, telling us that his decision, and the way he worded it, opened things up for individual rights regarding food choice.
As he exited the courtroom, about 8 heavy duty news cameras were pointed at him.
About 200 people showed up at the rally in the senior center across the street. One of the speakers had an egg farm, he had been raided. A representative of the landowners association spoke about the Canadian armed forces major — whose home was raided because this man, who has a University of Guelph degree in biomedical toxicology, had slaughtered a pig, to use the meat for his own family.
What shall be interesting, from this point forward, is how government and industry will react.
The text of the decision ought to appear within the next few days at: http://www.foodrightsalliance.ca/
Toronto Dowsers website
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