OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from an Ontario farmer who has long championed the right to sell and drink unpasteurized milk.
Earlier this year, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a 2011 conviction against Michael Schmidt that saw him fined $9,150 under provincial health-protection laws.
In its ruling, the court said Schmidt's "cow-share" scheme — in which consumers supposedly bought an ownership interest in a dairy cow — was little more than a way to circumvent public-health rules.
Schmidt has been involved in a 20-year battle to make unpasteurized milk available to non-farmers.
The province has always insisted the unprocessed milk poses a significant risk to public health — a view that the appeal court said it saw no solid evidence to refute.
As is usual, the Supreme Court did not provide any reasons for its decision.