Law Times

Page 16 August 7, 2017 • LAw times www.lawtimesnews.com LEGAL AID ONTARIO CONSULTATION Legal Aid Ontario has an- nounced there will be sessions to hear from clients, community legal clinics, lawyers and others to discuss problems racialized communities face when trying to get legal services. The non-profit corporation has put a consultation paper on its website for discussion, after the Racialized Communities Strategy was launched last year. "What we're focusing on this fall is talking directly to people from all of these various com- munities in addition to continu- ing our discussions with the organizations that serve them," says Kimberly Roach, lawyer and policy counsel for the strate- gy, in information posted on the Legal Aid Ontario website. "We want to hear about the hurdles they're facing when it comes to getting the legal help they need. And we want to work together on solutions." LAO said written submis- sions can be sent in through the website or by emailing rcs@lao. on.ca. ACT APPLIES TO ONLINE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE An Ontario Court of Appeal judge has ruled that the Libel and Slander Act applies to an online newspaper article. In John v. Ballingall, 2017 ONCA 579, Justice Mary Lou Benotto said it would be "absurd" to have different laws that apply to both online and print editions of newspapers. The case relates to a Toronto rapper, Darren John, who sued reporter Alex Ballingall, To- ronto Star Newspapers and the Torstar Corporation. John launched the legal action after an online article and a print article ran in Decem- ber 2013 addressing how John had been charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and criminal harassment for rap lyrics in one of his songs. His claim was dismissed for not complying with a six-week notice period and three-month limitation period under the Libel and Slander Act, but John launched an appeal arguing the act did not apply to online arti- cles and that a two-year lim- itation period under the Lim- itations Act should be applied instead. However, the appeal failed. "The regime in the [Libel and Slander Act] provides timely opportunity for the publisher to address alleged libellous statements with an appropriate response that could be a correc- tion, a retraction, or apology," said the ruling. CAUTION FROM LAW SOCIETY The Law Society of Upper Canada has warned lawyers about subscribing to CanLaw or the Canadian Lawyer In- dex, which can be accessed on- line. "The Law Society strongly recommends against subscrib- ing to this service," says a notice from the LSUC. The notice ex- plains that J. Kirby Inwood, the index's president, is not a li- censee of the LSUC. 79 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 21 % LAW TIMES POLL Law Times reports that an On- tario judge ruled the province failed in its obligation to consult indigenous communities before it approved a quarry on trad- itional lands. Readers were asked if they thought the province is adequately fulfilling its overall duty to consult with indigenous communities. About 21 per cent said yes, the province is trying its best to fulfil the duty to consult, except in rare circumstances. Another 79 per cent said no, the province could be doing a much better job at fulfilling its duty to consult. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Kimberly Roach says part of the Racialized Communities Strategy will be discussing challenges people face when it comes to accessing legal help. ADVERTISING BANNED BERLIN — The anti-religion Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can be banned from advertising its services on the outskirts of town, a German state court ruled, reports Reuters. The Brandenburg court rejected an appeal filed by the group, which criticizes religion as intolerant and has amassed followers world- wide, against an earlier ruling last year. "The suing party can be seen as neither a religious community nor a community with a common world view," the court said in a state- ment, according to Reuters. German churches often advertise services at the entrance to a town, and the Spaghetti Mon- ster group had sought permission to do the same in the town northeast of Berlin. NO LAWSUIT YET LONDON — Seven Roman Catholic priests were refused service in a Welsh pub after staff mistook them for a stag party in fancy dress, reports Reuters. After realizing a mistake had been made, Cardiff 's The City Arms offered the clergymen a round of free drinks to apologize, the Arch- diocese of Cardiff said in a recent blog post. Ar- riving at the pub to celebrate the ordination of Father Peter McLaren, the priests were told by a bartender that The City Arms did not serve large groups in fancy dress, according to Reu- ters. The archdiocese said the priests had started to leave when another staff member said he be- lieved they were real priests and invited them back in for a free drink. "We'd like to thank The City Arms for being good sports through all of this and their kind gesture to our seminarians," the blog post said. It said the priests had initially thought the bartender was joking when he mistook them for a stag party, an all-male bash held for men who are getting married and which in Britain often involves dressing up and consuming copious amounts of alcohol. An assistant manager of the pub told the BBC that it was the policy of the pub to turn away large parties wearing fancy dress as there had been a number of issues with such revellers. "A slight misunderstanding from us but everyone was happy in the end," the pub said on Twitter. REDEEMING FAITH IN HUMANITY BERLIN — A briefcase filled with the equiva- lent of more than $5,200, along with 22 gold bars weighing almost a kilogram, was discov- ered beneath a tree by an honest finder who promptly turned over the small fortune to Ber- lin police, reports Reuters. The cash and gold were found just outside a bank in the Neukölln district, one of Berlin's poorest areas. The fortunate owner later told police he had put the briefcase down to lock up his bicycle but then forgot about it, according to Reuters. "Amazing what you can find under a tree in Neukölln," the police wrote on Twitter. Berlin police later added, "The owner has been found. He said he put his things down while locking up his bicycle and then simply forgot about them." EXTREME MEASURES SHANGHAI — A 59-year-old woman from the central Chinese city of Wuhan transformed her appearance through plastic surgery in order to avoid 25 million yuan ($3.71 million) of per- sonal debts, state news agency Xinhua said. Reuters reports the case highlights issues fac- ing China as it tries to establish a "credit society." Police officers were reported to be "astonished" aer apprehending the woman, who fled to the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen aer a court in Wuhan ordered her to pay off her debt. "We were very surprised at the scene," the of- ficial Xinhua news agency quoted a policeman as saying. "She looked in her thirties and was different from the photos we had." e woman, identified as Zhu Najuan, also confessed to using other people's identity cards to travel across the country by train. LT Genuine © 2017 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. At Stewart Title, we've worked hard to build a company where integrity is the keystone in all our dealings. With us what you see is what you get — comprehensive title insurance coverage, experienced underwriters and support for your practice. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Untitled-6 1 2017-04-18 8:45 PM

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