Could it possibly be that dairy farmer Michael Schmidt’s near-30-year journey through Canada’s legal system over alleged violations of the country’s strict raw dairy laws is finally at an end?
After all he’s dealt with in terms of police stakeouts, surveillance, imprisonment, hunger strikes, and multiple raids of his farm, to go along with seemingly endless court actions, Schmidt could be excused if he’s reluctant to make any absolute predictions. But it certainly looks more hopeful than in many years after the government declined to move ahead on charges against him and his wife, Elisa Vanderhout, alleging violations of Ontario’s dairy laws, which prohibit distribution of raw milk.
The ending of the case came after Schmidt and Vanderhout presented convincing evidence to the court that his primary government pursuer, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture investigator Glenn Jarvie, misled law enforcement about Schmidt’s actions. According to Schmidt’s motion seeking dismissal, supposedly anonymous complaints filed with police and agriculture authorities in 2019 that Schmidt was selling raw milk didn’t come from upset citizens, but rather from Jarvie himself.
In their complaint, Schmidt and Vanderhout say they “provided the Court with not one, but two expert opinions showing that the same person wrote Investigator Jarvie’s duty book notes, the handwritten envelope provided to Grey Bruce Health Unit in July of 2019, and the handwritten envelope provided to the Walkerton Crown Attorney’s office in August of 2019. The inescapable inference that flows from this is that Investigator Jarvie, himself, provided evidence against the applicants to the Grey Bruce Health Unit and the Walkerton Crown Attorney’s office. It is also clear that Investigator Jarvie intentionally misled the Grey Bruce Health Unit and the Walkerton Crown Attorney’s office in order to have the applicants charged with the offence before the Court.”
Additionally, Schmidt alleged: “Based on the records I had received by the crown the 2006 Glencolton Farm investigation took 5 months. The 2015 investigation took 7 months. This investigation has taken over 24 months. Based on disclosure provided by the Crown and a Freedom of Information request I filed I counted and listed so far 68 people who were involved or were engaged in this investigation. Based on disclosure provided by the Crown, I counted 45 licence plates of individuals being investigated and followed during this investigation. Based on investigators’ reports and notes, I calculated that during the 2019-2021 investigation about 788.5 hours have been spent on active surveillance, which does not take into account their work in their offices or any meetings related to this investigation. I was able to calculate these numbers as they are based on 22 surveillance reports and the investigating officers’ notes that were provided to me.”
Schmidt also alleged that the government failed to provide to him information about the full scope of the investigation: “In 2015 during the last investigation by the same lead investigator the Crown disclosed 1500 photographs which were taken during active surveillance. In this investigation, I only received 20 photographs in the disclosure related to their surveillance and none of them contained any evidence of alleged ‘milk distribution’.”
And just a reminder: Never once over the last nearly 30 years was there ever a report or complaint of illness from Schmidt’s milk, nor was there ever a government finding of pathogens in any of the milk investigators confiscated.
While Schmidt is understandably relieved by the withdrawal of the charges, he notes that the ongoing battle with Canadian regulatory authorities has been terribly costly in many ways. In addition to all the stress and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, one of his greatest pains has been to lose more than $100,000 in state-sponsored arts funding for his popular Symphony in the Barn, based on his supposedly criminal raw-dairy activities. The “Symphony” has over the years brought prominent classical musicians to his farm in Gray, Ontario, two hours north of Toronto, for well-attended night-time summer concerts and a winter German-style market.
Was all this destruction the work of a rogue investigator, or the result of a concerted and organized government campaign of destruction on behalf of Canada’s highly organized processed dairy industry? Perhaps one day we will learn the real story. (For further background on this case, search out “Michael Schmidt” on this blog.)
Michael
Congratulations on this hard won triumph. The costs have been paid in life’s most precious gift. Time…
It is my hope that the love ❤️ by your customers surrounds you in a warm embrace.
You have given so much to a high purpose.
All the best,
Bother Mark Mcafee
Fresno CA.
“Could it possibly be that dairy farmer Michael Schmidt’s near-30-year journey through Canada’s legal system over alleged violations of the country’s strict raw dairy laws is finally at an end?”
Experience should tell us that bureaucrats don’t take kindly to losing… Unless overbearing self-serving bureaucrats are taken to task for their excessive and unjust actions/activities then I don’t believe we can expect any meaningful change.
That said, I congratulate Michael’s “ hard won triumph”…
Finally some better news, our government in Ontario and all of Canada is corrupt as are the Courts. I know Michael personally, been to his farm and had discussion and been amazed at his stubbornness, NOT A BAD TRAIT. I on the other hand pursued my method of forming the CACL Canadian Anti Corruption League of which very recently finally acquired the required 250 signatures to form a Political Party In Canada.(damn I hate the word political) we will be happy to recognized as a (MANAGEMENT TEAM) WITHOUT ANY SO CALLED POLITICAL IDEOLOGY.
After some personal setbacks starting with so called COVID and an aftermath of horrors there seems to be hope on the horizon. I hope it stays’ wit me on the good side. CACL will remain constant in the battle for A LAND OWNERS RIGHTS, B FARMGATE SALES, SUPPORT FOR THE SMALLER FAMILY FARMS, C ANYTHING THAT COMMON SENSE DICTATES IN A CLEAN, NUTRITIOUS FOOD SUPPLY. ROYCE HAMER , FOUNDER CACL, CANADIAN ANTI CORRUPTION LEAGUE.
Oh my goodness, I do hope this is the end of the harassment! Michael Schmidt and his wife have endured so much. May they be left in peace to serve their customers. Thank you for sharing this good news!
Finally! Congratulations! I think there is a movie script in Michael’s story.
Congratulations Michael, and thanks for the concerts in the barn
I agree with the movie script. We need a documentary of his journey and the fight for real food! Congratulations to Michael Schmidt and his family!! Eternally grateful for his dedication. ❤️
https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/ice-cream-08-23/details.html
Pasteurized ice cream making people sick …. Again. No where in the CDC report does it say that the product is pasteurized or that pasteurization failed. Instead it says that the listeria probably came from the cows.
What a bag of non scientific crap or worse. There is a place in hell for liars that are on the governments payroll. Lying to citizens is a high crime.
Mark, It is merely a reflection of the medical and drug establishments reductionist disease prevention doctrine/bag of tricks that is rife with Pseudo science contradiction and greed… Indeed, and many folks buy into that doctrine as if it is the be-all and-end all of truth!!!
Mark, what is going on with your safety plan? Salmonella outbreak with your milk. Once again, kids are hospitalized. Also discovered you are involved in herdshares in my area. Found a gallon of your milk in a friend refrigerator and they said they got it from a local farm. You supply the bottles. Hmmm…. https://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-information/raw-farm-llc-raw-milk-sickens-9-with-salmonella/
meanwhile
https://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-information/salmonella-and-e-coli-found-in-canadian-oysters/
many people very sick from eating raw oysters. Not an illegal foodstuff, though
We are not involved in any herdshares in any place in California!? Or elsewhere.
Very strange comment. Makes you wonder if herdshares take cover behind insured retail brands of raw milk.