Law Times

PAGE 16 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James CITY INSISTS ON SMOKE-FREE WORKERS Delray Beach, Fla. — Where there' a wildfire of health costs. At least that's what the s smoke, there's mission has agreed — with the exception of one commissioner — that all city employees hired af- ter Oct. 1 must be smoke-free. According to some estimates, employers that City of Delray Beach believes. According to the Sun Sentinel, the city com- was "angry, embarrassed, and disappointed" with her husband' LaToya Cantrell wrote. "He will accept the le- gal consequences as the judicial process takes its course. "I absolutely do not condone his actions," s actions. hire smokers can expect an average of $12,000 a year in health and disability costs. As a result, the commission believes the new policy will not only save money but will also help promote a healthier lifestyle for employees. The commission hasn't leſt already-employed more than 16 years, according to the Louisiana State Bar Association. He ran unsuccessfully for juvenile court judge in 2009. He has been with the city since 2009. Cantrell has practised law in Louisiana for " smokers out in the cold, though. According to the Sun Sentinel, smoking-cessation classes are avail- able throughout the year and while a medical insurance premium applies, employees can take advantage of free medication to help kick their nasty habit. PROSECUTOR ARRESTED FOR HAVING JOINT IN COURT NEW ORLEANS — If you're going to break the law, don't do it in a courtroom. That obvious piece of advice allegedly evaded a New Orleans city attorney who was arrested for possession of marijuana and suspended from his job aſter a joint tumbled from his pocket in front of police in court. Jason Cantrell, 43, assistant city attorney, was issued a summons for simple possession of mari- juana aſter a marijuana cigarette fell to the floor in Orleans Parish magistrate court, New Orleans police spokesman Frank Robertson said. "Jason Cantrell is suspended without pay COPS MAKE PROGRESS IN SYRUP CAPER MONTREAL — Pancake lovers can breathe a sigh of relief as investigators make progress in a high-profile case of stolen maple syrup. According to Reuters, police may have caught OctOber 15, 2012 • Law times u The INSIDE STORY TWO CROWNS APPOINTED TO BENCH Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has announced the appointment of two On- tario Crown prosecutors as judges of the Superior Court. Former Progressive Conservative MPP Tony Skarica takes a position on the Superior Court bench in Brampton, Ont. He replaces Justice D.L. Corbett, who transferred to Toronto following Justice Sarah Pepall's move to the On- tario Court of Appeal in April. Besides his stint in politics, Skarica has Rob Nicholson a break in the sweetest crime of the year, seizing thousands of litres of maple syrup from an export- er on suspicions that it was part of a cache of syrup that went missing from a Quebec warehouse in late August. Quebec provincial police removed about 1,000 barrels of maple syrup from S.K. Export Inc.' s storage facility in Kedgwick, N.B., according to the company's owner, Etienne St-Pierre. him the syrup was linked with the headline-grab- bing heist in late August in which thieves alleg- edly siphoned off a reservoir of syrup from barrels stored in a rural warehouse owned by a producer co-operative. The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Pro- According to Reuters, St-Pierre said police told pending further investigation," Reuters quoted Ryan Berni, a spokesman for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, as saying. "He was not acting in his capacity as assistant city attorney when the in- cident occurred. Cantrell's wife, a candidate for New Orleans city council, said on her Facebook page that she " ducers warehouse, located some 160 kilometers northeast of Montreal, held maple syrup worth more than $30 million. St-Pierre, whose company exports Canadian maple syrup products to customers in Europe, Asia, and the United States, said he obtains his syrup directly from producers. He said he had received the syrup that po- lice seized from the same sources he uses ev- ery year and doesn't believe it was part of the missing bounty. LT had a long career in criminal law. A permanent duty counsel for three years beginning in 1979, he worked as a sole practitioner from 1982 to 1983. He then served as an assistant Crown attorney in the Hamilton, Ont., and central south regions at various points thereaſter. Also appointed to the Superior Court bench in Brampton is To- ronto Crown attorney Ria Tzimas. Tzimas became counsel with the Crown law office following a five-year stint in private practice from 1993 to 1998. She replaces Justice M.H Tulloch, who joined the Court of Appeal in June. LAW FIRMS LAUDED AS TOP EMPLOYERS McCarthy Tétrault LLP is hailing its success in landing a spot on Mediacorp Canada Inc. ers in Canada for 2013. "With the support of our CEO, 's list of the top 100 employ- we continue to work hard to de- velop and implement programs, practices, policies, and initiatives that are among the very best offered by employers in Canada," said Paul Boniferro, the firm' er for practices and people. "We still have work to do, but s national lead- as a leading law firm, we believe this hard work is never done. Also on the list from the le- " gal community was Bennett Jones LLP. In addition, legal publisher Carswell, a division of Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., made the list for the fiſth consecutive time. The list noted Bennett Jones provides compas- sionate leave top-up payments of 100 per cent of salary for a week. Carswell, meanwhile, accolades for a two-year leader- ship program aimed at promot- ing from within. received NEW CHAIRMAN AT STIKEMAN ELLIOTT William Braithwaite is the new chairman of Stikeman Elliott LLP. A senior partner in the firm' "Hello? Adanac temp agency? About that receptionist position at Gervais McDonald & Gillespie — you know that NHL defenceman you sent?" Toronto office, Braithwaite is a leading lawyer in the area of mergers and acquisitions. He has also acted as counsel to major corporations, boards of directors, institutional share- s holders, governments, and regu- latory agencies. Braithwaite succeeds Pierre Raymond in the role as chair- man. Raymond will continue in a management role at the firm' Montreal office. s CROWNS APPROVE TENTATIVE DEAL Federal government lawyers have approved a tentative agreement reached earlier this year that granted them a 15.25-per-cent wage increase over three years. According to the Associa- tion of Justice Counsel, 91.5 per cent of members who voted were in favour of the collective agreement reached with the federal government. "We have heard the voice of our members," said association president Lisa Blais. "Our as- sociation will do everything to ensure a speedy finalization of the agreement and its early implementation." POLL RESULTS A strong majority of respon- dents to the latest Law Times on- line poll are in favour of Omar Khadr' the federal government should have allowed the inmate previous- ly held at the U.S. prison in Guan- tanamo Bay, Cuba, to come back to Canada. A further 22 per cent of respondents weren't necessarily in favour of the move but said the government had no choice. Just under 19 per cent of respondents outright opposed his return. LT About 60 per cent agreed that s return to Canada. 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