Law Times

Page 16 March 18, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James IRISH SISTERS SHOCKED AT FLAG BAN ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Couldn't a Florida municipality that bans foreign flags at least make an exception on St. Patrick's Day? According to Reuters, the owners of an Irish pub in northeast Florida say they were shocked to receive a citation for flying the Irish flag but have removed it to comply with a local ordinance banning commercial display of non-U.S. flags. The four sisters who own Culhane's Irish pub in Atlantic Beach said they would still apply for a temporary permit allowing them to at least fly the green, white, and orange Irish flag on St. Patrick's Day. "St. Patrick's Day is huge for us," said Aine Culhane, who owns the pub with sisters Mary Jane, Michelle, and Lynda. They showed Reuters a copy of a citation issued by code enforcement officers for the City of Atlantic Beach on Feb. 20 giving them 24 hours to "cease display of flags other than American flag." The Culhanes said they had flown an Irish flag and an American flag on the front of their pub for eight years and were unaware of the ordinance. Acting mayor Maria Mark told WTLV city council was reconsidering the ordinance but she doubted it could approve any changes before St. Patrick's Day. BAUDELAIRE CITED IN EU ALCOHOL DEBATE STRASBOURG, France — The Europeans are dramatic even when debating alcohol regulations. "Accepting the sale of a drink under the absinthe label without the guarantee that the plant of that name was used to make it amounts to cheating," said Francoise Grossetete, a centre-right French parliamentarian who wants to protect the traditional essence of absinthe and is advocating for a new minimum amount of the toxin thujone when it comes to defining the drink. "Baudelaire would turn in his grave!" Efforts to regulate absinthe, blamed for causing intense drunkenness and visions, have come and gone over the decades. Now the European parliament is to debate a new, common definition of what constitutes it. According to Reuters, the discussion focuses on the amount of thujone that must be present in the drink, if any at all. Thujone is a toxin extracted from wormwood plants that some EU lawmakers worry is too harmful, especially in higher concentrations. Under current EU regulations, absinthe doesn't have to contain any thujone to justify the name but also must not exceed a maximum of 35 milligrams of the toxin per kilogram. In order to standardize the content, the European Commission has proposed that anything labelled "absinthe" must have at least five and maximum of 35 milligrams of thujone per kilogram. As is often the case in the European Union, the Germans and the French are on opposite sides of the debate. German lawmaker Horst Schnellhardt, concerned about the health risks, prefers a definition that would allow something to be called absinthe even if it contains no thujone at all. To Grossetete, that ignores the essence of the spirit. CITIZEN'S ARREST BILL COMES INTO FORCE Bill C-26, the Citizen's Arrest and Selfdefence Act, has come into force, the federal government announced last week. The new law expands the right of Canadians to arrest crime suspects until police arrive. But the provision is only applicable when it's not possible for a police officer to make the arrest, the bill says. "Canadians want to know that they are able to protect themselves against Rob Nicholson criminal acts and that the justice system is behind them, not against them," said Justice Minister Rob Nicholson. "Those who have been the victim of a crime should not be re-victimized by the criminal justice system." Unlike the previous provision, which required a citizen to catch a suspect in the act in order to make an arrest, the new law allows Canadians to stop people "within a reasonable time." In addition, the government says it has simplified self-defence laws to ensure the courts understand them more easily. TEACHER IN HOT WATER FOR BLOOD TASTING SOLA, Norway — This must be why they have union rules protecting teachers from wrongful dismissal. According to Reuters, a Norwegian kindergarten teacher has lost her job after she brought a vial of her own blood to class and allowed children to touch and taste it. The teacher in Sola brought in a blood sample taken earlier in the day and poured it on a plate for the children to see. "The children asked if they could touch it and she allowed them," Inger Lise Soemme Andersen, the head teacher of the kindergarten, told Reuters. "Then they asked, 'How do we get it off?' So she put her finger in her mouth and the children followed suit. "The parents are mortified, shaken, and shocked." LT NEW PARTNER AT FASKENS Samantha Alfonzo has joined Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP's Toronto office as a partner, the firm announced last week. Alfonzo joins the firm's mining as well as its mergers and acquisitions groups. A native of Venezuela, Alfonzo has significant experience in South America, Fasken Martineau said in a press release. "She brings a broad expertise in client counsel including the negotiation, review, and preparation of contracts and corporate governance issues," the firm said. "She has also advised clients in the mining industry in many high profile international transactions. "Ms. Alfonzo has a wealth of experience in the mining industry, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, asset and share sales, business, and taxdriven corporate reorganization." "No, I'm afraid you can't revise the offside rules." COMPLIANCE KEY FOR CORPORATE COUNSEL Corporate counsel will be watching for cost containment and compliance this year, according to new survey results released by Robert Half Legal. The survey, developed by Robert Half but conducted by an independent research firm, asked 175 lawyers in the United States and Canada at companies that employ 1,000 or more people about the biggest challenges facing them in 2013. According to the results, 26 per cent of lawyers "identified compliance and regulatory issues as their legal department's greatest business challenge in the coming year." "An equal percentage ranked the ability to control outside counsel costs as their top concern," Robert Half noted. Increased workloads were the third most challenging issue followed by budget reductions. LEGAL AID SPENDING RISES Legal Aid spending in Canada was up 15 per cent over the last four years to $780 million in 2011, but revenue has increased by just seven per cent, according to new numbers from Statistics Canada. But since the delivery of legal aid varies across the country, it's difficult to determine if the provinces are using the money in the best way possible. Home to 40 per cent of Canada's population, Ontario accounts for half of legal aid spending across Canada. But Ontario also spends more money per capita, about $28 per person, compared to the national average of $22. Legal aid income cutoffs in Ontario are among the lowest in the country, ranging from $10,800 a year for a single person to $26,714 a year for a family of five, a situation that leaves the majority of people ineligible for assistance. LT The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM

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