I move amendment No. 1:—
In page 9, lines 9 to 15 inclusive, Section 15, to delete sub-section (2).
This sub-section reads:—
An inspector may (subject to the production by him if so required of his authority in writing as such inspector) at all reasonable times enter upon and have free access to the interior of any premises in which he believes or suspects that butter is sold or exposed, kept, or stored for sale and may inspect and take extracts from any records found on such premises relative to dealings in or transactions relating to butter.
We object to that sub-section because we feel that its enforcement will mean an invasion of the rights of the individual. An inspector may suspect that butter is being made in some farmer's house in the country. He has the right to suspect once he sees a cow in a farmer's field. The sub-section gives an inspector the right to go into any and every house, into any and every room in every house, to satisfy his curiosity as to how certain people are carrying on their work. He has not the right under this sub-section to search, but I see that the Minister proposes to give him that power under a later amendment. We hold that what is proposed is a very serious invasion of the rights of the individual. Any inspector can, on suspicion, walk into a house, go around that house, no matter whose it may be, and make all sorts of inquiries in order to satisfy his curiosity. It now appears that the possession of butter is a much more serious crime than the possession of arms in a house, because police officers cannot go into a house and search for arms unless they have a search warrant. But, according to the Minister, an inspector under this Bill can go into any house and search for butter. I suggest to the Minister that he and his inspectors should find some other way of catching alleged offenders besides adopting this method of going into a house and searching every crevice, nook and press in it.
People are entitled to have butter in their houses; they are entitled to sell butter out of their houses, without being registered if they sell to a person registered for that purpose. Consequently, people commit absolutely no crime, there is no breach of the law, if they have butter in their houses or even make butter in them. They can have any amount of butter they wish in their houses. Hence, I think it is manifestly unfair that inspectors under this measure should be given this power to search. If the inspectors want to catch-out people selling butter to unlicensed dealers, let them find some other means. I do not think there is any need for this sub-section. The Minister, I suggest, ought to follow the usual procedure for detecting offences against the law and not insist on a sub-section of this nature in the Bill. Its enforcement will lead, or is likely to lead, to a grave infringement of the rights of the people.