Sue
By Eric Dowd
Toronto – Dog owners are threatening to sue Ontario’s Liberal government, but they will have to stand in line.
Individuals and organizations with many causes are queuing to challenge in court what they see as intrusions in their lives and a march toward a `nanny state.’
Premier Dalton McGuinty may have to slip furtively out of side doors to avoid someone slapping another writ on him.
Dog owners and breeders who oppose legislation to ban pit bulls have warned if it becomes law they will launch a court action to have it declared unconstitutional.
The
group says among many flaws the legislation does not define clearly what a
pit bull is and the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to laws
they can understand.
The Liberals have designated a large area of south-central Ontario as greenbelt, preventing development on it for what they consider the public good. But owners seeing their values, and for some their future pensions, fall are demanding compensation and threatening to sue if refused.
The Liberals are stuck without an exit in their legal fight to limit toll increases on Highway 407 northwest of Toronto, which the previous Progressive Conservative government sold to private owners.
A court has ruled there is nothing in the sales contract that requires the private owners to obtain government approval to raise tolls, but McGuinty promised a rollback and has declared his lawsuit will continue.
Parents of autistic children have launched an action claiming the province is failing to fund adequately expensive therapy essential to give them a meaningful education.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has lost a suit in which it claimed McGuinty breached a contract because he signed an agreement with it in the 2003 election not to increase taxes, but raised them in his first budget.
Government lawyers countered he was well-intentioned in making his promise, but could not have known the Tory government would leave him a huge deficit, although everyone else saw it coming, and an election promise is not a legal contract anyway.
A business association has warned legislation under which the environment ministry could impose fines up to $100,000 a day on companies that allow pollutants to get in waterways is ripe for legal challenge.
It would levy penalties without waiting for courts to determine blame and the group says this presumption of guilt could breach the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Legislation to ban smoking in bars among other public places from 2006 has upset owners who spent lavishly providing designated smoking areas that municipalities led them to believe would be adequate and they now warn this `will likely result in legal action.’
Restaurants are poised to call their lawyers over the Liberals’ plan to allow diners to take their own wine to restaurants, an attempt to divert attention from real issues like Liberal broken promises.
Restaurants are legally liable for acts by customers who drink too much and those who bring bottles will be more difficult to supervise and, if they cause problems, restaurants will itch to put the blame where it belongs.
The Liberals have said they will ban hunts of deer and other wildlife in fenced-in areas because they are unethical and unsporting and operators are demanding compensation and threatening to sue if they are forced out of business.
Defence lawyers are trying to take the government to court on the claim it violates human rights by forcing prisoners to sleep on floors and restricting their access to exercise and legal counsel in overcrowded jails, but the government is countering courts cannot micro-manage jails.
Courts already are clogged and judges and lawyers are complaining this is causing unfair delays in hearing cases.
Lawyers also say in a new survey legal fees have increased tremendously over the past decade and out of proportion to the costs of other products and services.
The Liberals are not making everyone happy, but a lot of lawyers are licking their lips.
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