Dear Editor,
Re: “Black market comes at a cost,” Voices column, Aug. 11.
Your column was spot on.
If we keep allowing unlicensed food markets to grow, we are eventually going to have a much bigger problem than anyone can imagine.
Besides the fact that no taxes are being paid, there is no food inspection being done, which could potentially lead to hepatitis or other illnesses being caught and spread throughout the Metro Vancouver region.
The excuses of Vancouver Coastal Health and Revenue Canada that they can’t properly monitor this underground business is ludicrous.
Maybe this kind of black market business is acceptable in other countries, but it is not acceptable in Canada.
That’s why we have the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and why other countries want to import Canadian food products.
Here’s a simple solution. Hire undercover police to order and purchase these goods, like your undercover reporter did.
When someone is caught, arrest them, fine them $50,000 and give them an automatic two-year jail sentence for having no commercial food licence or inspection, potential health risks to the community, and for evading taxes.
Once the first few are fined and jailed, I’m pretty certain others won’t continue for the fear of being caught.
Handing out light fines won’t do anything to curb this problem, and it will continue to spread.
As written, this has become a “growing business.” Who knows what will be next? Without proper health and tax laws being followed, anything goes.
R. Lewis
Richmond
