RESTAURANT OWNER STILL FUMES OVER POT CASE

Is Reconsidering An 11-Page Tentative Deal

Ted Kindos said he is taking this weekend to reconsider an 11-page
tentative deal that was supposed to put an end to a three-year
dispute over a customer's medicinal marijuana use.

Late Friday afternoon, Kindos told the Burlington Post that after
seeing the tentative agreement the previous day; he is now reviewing
the details with his family and lawyer. He refused to comment further.

The owner of Gator Ted's Tap and Grill on Guelph Line had initially
told the Post Thursday that he and local resident Steve Gibson had
reached a deal over the latter's smoking outside Kindos' business.

Kindos didn't want Gibson -- who has a federal government exemption
to smoke medical pot to ease neck pain from a workplace injury -- to
smoke his weed too close to the front entrance of Gator Ted's. The
restaurant owner believes the smoke is a nuisance to passing customers.

Gibson maintained he just wants to be able to smoke his legal joints
in the same outside area among regular tobacco smokers.

The two were to lock horns at a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
hearing last week but a tentative agreement halted last week's
proceedings.

Like Kindos, Gibson told the Post Friday that the deal was not
official yet. Even Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario registrar
Patricia Grenier said Thursday that a hearing date of May 21 is still
set aside.

Kindos said the deal calls for him to pay Gibson a small amount of
money, but wouldn't specify how much. Gibson said under the proposal
he is to receive a nominal payment from Kindos.

"That's pretty well all he got," said Kindos prior to his call to the
Post Friday.

"Did I want to fork out $40,000-$60,000 in lawyer's costs, retain my
lawyer for the next eight days and be eight days away from my
business and have this stress?

"We minimized our losses at the end of the day.... It's (case) put me
out over $30,000," he said.

Kindos thanked Burlington MPP Joyce Savoline for her support. He also
singled out several local businessmen and businesses, Andy Marcolini,
Joe Dog's and East Side Mario's, for their financial help through
donations and fundraisers, efforts he says will cover the majority of
his legal costs to date.

However, he didn't hide that he is bitter about what he perceived as
a lack of support from many of his restaurant brethren in Burlington.

"I was very disappointed in a lot of other business owners in town
and a lot of associations I belong to. I hope it becomes their
problem one day."

Kindos says he and other business owners like him should be worried
about the potential liability for restaurants and bars when serving
alcohol to someone who is a medical marijuana user and who may have
lit up prior to entering their premises.

"It wasn't that he (Gibson) wasn't allowed to come back in. The point
is you're (maybe) smoking a joint, which falls under the Controlled
Substances Act, which falls under our Liquor Licence Act. So we can
get our licence revoked if we serve (someone like) him alcohol. We're
in a liability situation trying to accommodate his
disability."

Kindos said he and Gibson may have sparred verbally about their case
on a radio station last week but both want the human rights battle to
end.

"I'm relieved and my family is relieved. It has been a long road. You
will be the last (media) guy that I talk to on this because I've got
to get this behind me," Kindos had said last week.

He said he will be writing Gibson an apology related to what he
called unfortunate "abusive" remarks made about Gibson and his family
that appeared on a website Kindos had created to garner support for
his fight. He said about 1,200 signatures were received, but that
about half were taken off because of what he deemed inappropriate
comments.

The site has already been taken down, he said.

"I was disappointed that some of that came through the site. He's got
kids," said Kindos.

Gibson told the Post the case put him and his family under pressure
as well.

He said if it wasn't teenagers bugging his son at school to get pot
for them, it was people calling his house or going to his residence
and leaving threatening notes. He said the threats ranged from
burning his house to death. Gibson said he never contacted police
about it.