RESTAURATEUR GOES TO COURT OVER HUMAN RIGHTS RULING ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A Burlington restaurant owner is going to court
to overturn a human rights complaint over his refusal to allow a
patron with a medical marijuana licence to smoke on his property.

Ted Kindos, owner of Gator Ted's Tap and Grill, is seeking a
declaration from Ontario Superior Court that provincial laws banning
marijuana from all licensed establishments trump former patron Steve
Gibson's right to light up.

Attempts to resolve the dispute fell apart earlier this year after Mr.
Kindos refused to sign a settlement paying Mr. Gibson $2,000 and
requiring him to post a sign saying his establishment accommodated
customers with marijuana exemptions.

Mr. Gibson had complained to the Ontario Human Rights Commission that
he was discriminated against when he was not allowed to smoke his
marijuana outside the bar, which Mr. Kindos says could cost him his
liquor licence.

The case has been working its way through the commission for three
years but Mr. Kindos's lawyer, Gary Graham, said the issue needs to be
determined by a court and not by the commission.