Utter waste of time and money.

[bornagainbiking]

Marijuana or booze? Restaurant must decide
TheStar.com - GTA - Marijuana or booze? Restaurant must decide

Eatery's liquor licence in jeopardy after toker wins rights decision

February 10, 2009
John Goddard
STAFF REPORTER

Ted Kindos faces two choices: Continue to be called a bigot or break the law. Either way, he risks going bankrupt.

Kindos owns Gator Ted's Tap & Grill in Burlington. Four years ago, he asked a marijuana smoker to step away from his front door.

The medically licensed toker complained to the Ontario Human Rights Commission of bias against a disabled person. He won.

Kindos was about to pay the fine and post obligatory signs saying, "We accommodate medicinal marijuana smokers," when a different government agency told him he could lose his liquor licence. Serving anybody possessing a controlled substance – prescribed or not – is against the law.

"Heads I win, tails you lose," Kindos said yesterday. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal will hear the case this summer.

"People didn't like the way I smell," the smoker, Steve Gibson, acknowledged of one complaint against him from fellow patrons.

"But I don't like a lot of smells either. I can't bear to stand near some chicks, they've got so much perfume on."

Gibson suffered a neck injury in a 1989 workplace accident, collects a disability pension and is one of 3,000 people in Canada authorized to use marijuana to control pain.

When Kindos asked him not to light up inside, Gibson stood smack outside the front door where families pass in and out. Regular smokers stand there, too, he says.

"I don't care if you're eating a banana outside my front door – if you're blocking my entrance I'm asking you to leave," Kindos says.

After spending $40,000 to fight the rights complaint – the government covered Gibson's costs – Kindos announced last May he would settle. But on seeing the offer, he changed his mind. He was ordered to pay Gibson $2,000 for pain and suffering, train staff in the human rights code, educate the public about the code, and post the signs.

Discovering he could lose his licence proved the last straw.

Kindos must continue to fight the complaint or lose his business, he says. Legal bills could also bankrupt him but a lawyer has agreed to take the next stage without charge.

Thank God they are going to hear the case this summer.
Get on with it and quit wasteing Ontario tax dollars and Gibson's (paid for) legal fees.
Give Kindos a break he has employees to pay and a business to run. (jobs)

[oldcoote]

Completely ridiculous.

[matt602]

The OHRC is ridiculous in itself. Wasting tax dollars on crap like this and "cultural issues".

[astroblaster]

this also pissed me off when i heard about it.

[flar]

wtf?

[Blurr]

This is crazy.

The Human Rights Tribunal has other horrible rulings.

My favorite is Mark Steyn Vs Tribunal. Mark Steyn was brought to the tribunal over an article he wrote on Islam in Macleans. It got some publicity and after a backlash over how it was a violation of free speech the case was dropped. Beforehand, Steyn was mentioning the tribunal breaks 800 years of british law, including innocent until proven guilty.

In the news release dropping the case the tribunal stated that Steyn was guilty even though the case was dropped and it never went to trial!!!

Judgment without trial.