British Columbia: A civil lawsuit has been launched against four manufacturers of gas fireplaces alleging their products are “defective and dangerous.” The lawsuit was filed in B.C. Supreme Court by Craig and Charity Cantlie. Their one-year-old son Owen suffered second-degree burns to his right hand when he touched their fireplace’s glass front.
Saskatchewan: Five inmates at Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, serving sentences for murders, rapes and home invasions, are suing the federal government, arguing their detentions are “inflicting extreme stress and nervous shock.” The group, seeking damages of $50,000, cites grievances such as sleep deprivation and a lack of a barber.
Manitoba: In 2011 Rodney McKnight was in a wheelchair inside the Brandon Regional Health Centre when a man jumped from a balcony four stories above and landed on him. The jumper later died, while McKnight claims in a lawsuit filed in December he suffered mental trauma and physical injuries. McKnight claims the hospital failed to make the area safe after a woman fell to her death from the same spot seven months before.
Ontario: Marineland, the Niagara Falls attraction hit by allegations of animal abuse last summer, filed a $1.25-million defamation suit against a former trainer turned critic. The suit alleges Christine Santos, who had worked at Marineland for 12 years before being fired, made false claims to the media about the abuse and neglect of Kiska, an Orca whale, and then refused to retract her comments when confronted by the company.
Quebec: A Montreal wine collector who stored his collection at a facility operated by the Société des Alcools du Québec filed a $1-million suit against the agency alleging it ruined his collection. Robert Chiraz stored 3,000 bottles at the facility in 2009, but the next year he discovered mould and harmful bacteria around the cellar and on the bottles, making them unsaleable. Jason Kirby