Law Times

Page 16 OctOber 16, 2017 • Law times www.lawtimesnews.com BARTON JOINS COMMITTEE Sandra Barton, a partner at Gowling WLG, has been ap- pointed to be part of the Class Proceedings Committee. The Law Foundation of Ontario announced the ap- pointment of Barton, a corporate commercial litigator, earlier this month. "The Class Proceedings Com- mittee is responsible for making decisions about whether appli- cant class action plaintiffs will receive support from the Class Proceedings Fund. Both the fund and committee were established in 1992 as an amendment under the Law Society Act," said a news release from the Law Foundation of On- tario. "The fund provides financial support to approved class action plaintiffs for legal disbursements and indemnifies plaintiffs for costs that may be awarded against them in funded proceedings. The fund promotes access to justice by enabling plaintiffs to fully pursue their claims." Barton replaces Jasminka Kalajdzic, an associate professor and associate dean at the University of Windsor, as the foundation's ap- pointee. ACCESS TO JUSTICE WEEK The Access to Justice Week will take place Oct. 23-27. The annual event — which is in its second year — is supported by the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Law Founda- tion of Ontario. There are six events being held throughout the week, including a presentation about the mental health of lawyers. More informa- tion and resources are available at theactiongroup.ca/access-to-jus- tice-week/. "Participating in the week provides a unique opportunity to ref lect on the justice system, the diverse people involved and the changes we can effect togeth- er. Last year, many productive insights and connections were made," said Paul Schabas, treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, in a statement on the Action Group on Ac- cess to Justice's website. "This year, the program builds on that foundation with sessions about access to justice as it relates to mental health, technology, public legal educa- tion and the importance of com- munity driven initiatives." FACL CONFERENCE The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers will have its annual conference in Toronto Nov. 18 at the Toronto Board of Trade. The conference includes a keynote address by Audrey Macklin of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law on Khadr v. Canada. It also includes a coach- ing panel by Stephen Ahad, counsel with the Law Society of Upper Canada. More information is available at https://on.facl.ca/tc-events/ conference2017/. 69 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 31 % LAW TIMES POLL An Ontario judge has ordered plaintiffs to post more than $900,000 in security for costs to Chevron Corporation and a subsidiary. Readers were asked if they agreed with the judge's ruling. About 31 per cent said yes, the plaintiffs failed to show their claim was not devoid of merit. However, another 69 per cent said no, the judge failed to con- sider the novelty and public im- portance of the action. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Sandra Barton has been appointed to be part of the Class Proceedings Committee. WOMEN DENIED RE-ENTRY AFTER COSMETIC SURGERY SEOUL — Three Chinese women were strand- ed at an airport in South Korea after receiv- ing cosmetic treatments that left them looking nothing like their passport photos, according to The Sun in the U.K. The tourists had been visiting South Korea during the recent "Golden Week" national holi- day in China. But while on their way back, the women with swollen faces and bandages around their head are said to have been detained by South Ko- rean immigration officers at passport control because they looked radically different to their passport photos. The Golden Week is an eight-day national holiday in the People's Republic that sees many Chinese take the opportunity to go on vacation. Despite having all their tickets and docu- ments ready, the women were unable to prove that they were the same people in the photos because the treatment had left their faces so swollen. The photo that has attracted more than 30,000 comments on social media shows them, passports in hand, waiting impatiently in the immigration office. It is currently unclear whether or not the women have been allowed to return to China. South Korea has become a top plastic sur- gery destination for Chinese women in the past decade and a half. Popular packages even include cosmetic treatments in South Korea fol- lowed by safari trips in Africa where their faces can heal in private. PSYCHIC GUILTY OF TAX EVASION BOSTON — A self-proclaimed psychic who was paid US$3.5 million by an elderly Mas- sachusetts woman in exchange for claiming to cleanse her of demons pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to trying to avoid paying taxes, reports Reuters. Sally Ann Johnson, 41, for more than seven years provided what she described as healing services to a resident of the island of Martha's Vineyard, who was more than 70 years old when she first met the spiritual healer, accord- ing to court papers. Johnson, who ran businesses including Psy- chic Match Inc and Flatiron Psychic, admitted in Boston federal court that she tried to impede the administration of tax laws. Johnson, who told the court she never passed the second grade, called herself a "spiritual con- sultant." She said in court she had not paid taxes in connection with the money she received as income as well as a gift. "I honestly did not do the right thing," she said. Johnson, who has resided in New York, Florida, Illinois and at times Massachusetts, faces up to three years in prison. She is sched- uled to be sentenced on Jan. 17. SATIRE WINS GERMAN BOOK PRIZE BERLIN — A satirical look at the European Union and its bureaucracy, which opens with a pig running amok in one of Brussels' main squares, has won the prestigious German Book Prize, according to Reuters. Austrian writer Robert Menasse scooped a 25,000-euro prize for his novel Die Hauptstadt (The Capital) on Oct. 9 on the eve of the open- ing of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Europe's future hangs in the balance as Brit- ain wrangles with Brussels about the terms of its departure from the bloc after the June 2016 Brexit vote. Despite efforts to provide a united front, the other 27 members remain deeply di- vided over the euro, taxes and migration. "Contemporary times are presented liter- arily so well that contemporaries recognize themselves and coming generations will better understand this time," the German Publishers and Booksellers Association said. The Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten called Me- nasse's book "provocative, timely and impor- tant . . ." The book, published by Suhrkampf Verlag in September, was one of six books shortlisted for the prize. LT "It's one of the country's most prominent trademark-trolling firms." 9 th Annual Aboriginal Law JOIN OUR FULLY ACCREDITED PROGRAM | EXPAND YOUR NETWORK AND OBTAIN CPD HOURS Register online: www.lexpert.ca/Aboriginal-Law • 416-609-5868 | 1-877-298-5868 *Discount applies to in-class only USE PROMO CODE EARLYBIRD2017 & SAVE $300* EARLY BIRD ENDS OCT.25 Untitled-4 1 2017-10-10 8:39 AM

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