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regional wrap-up VLT CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT IMMINENT A hearing is scheduled in Quebec City this month to determine whether a tentative multimillion- dollar, out-of-court settlement between the provincial gaming corporation and problem gamblers will be accepted by the plaintiffs. The deal was reached in mid-De- cember, almost eight years aſter legal aid lawyer Jean Brochu launched a class action lawsuit against Loto-Québec on behalf of fellow compulsive video lottery terminal (VLT) players. His suit, filed in May 2001 and autho- rized one year later, originally sought more than $625 million to cover the cost of treatment for as many as 125,000 other Quebeckers believed to have become pathological gamblers between 1994 and 2002 aſter Loto-Québec introduced its network of VLTs in 1993. The Quebec Superior Court hearing before Justice Gratien Duchesne began in Quebec City in September 2008; there were 124 days of hearings before the pro- posed settlement was reached Dec. 15. The lead plaintiff testified that when the VLTs arrived in his favourite pub in 1997, he was soon spending most lunch hours in front of the machines — drop- ping up to $500 a day. He claimed he was "robbed blind for years by bandits," or VLTs, for a total estimated loss of about $100,000 of his own money. The addiction also eventually led Brochu to siphon close to $50,000 from his union to cover gambling debts, a move that was discovered in 1999 and resulted in his firing, a three-month sus- pension, and a criminal conviction. He was later rehired and acquitted of the conviction aſter getting treatment and repaying the money. Brochu said it was that incident that forced him to confront the gambling problem and sparked the lawsuit. His lawyers argued that government and Loto-Québec officials knew of the dangers of VLT gambling before 1993, but chose profits over public health. The agreement, full details of which weren't available at press time, has the government prepared to reimburse 10 M ARCH 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com therapy costs incurred by those addicted to all forms of gambling between 1994 and 2002. Loto-Québec spokesman Jean- Pierre Roy would only say that people who had undergone therapy from 1994 to 2002 must file supporting documents with their claims for reimbursement. Another known part of the proposed settlement is that the plaintiffs admit the VLTs don't cause gambling. Once the Quebec deal is ratified, it could have ramifications in similar cases pending in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Ontario. — MK Legal aid lawyer stunner major case management office. The move came as controversy continued to surround the fledgling office, O whose staff the criminal bar is labelling public defenders. The CLA argues its creation was just another tactic by the province designed to crush the legal aid protest in which defence counsel refused to take on major cases. But now, even with the stalemate broken and a provincial commitment to a private criminal bar formalized, the office remains open for business. That one of those staff lawyers was a former CLA regional director and vocal advocate for the boycott adds to the intrigue. Last November, in the sixth month of the boycott, LAO posted a job ad for criminal counsel. At the top of the list of job duties was to "conduct litigation of serious criminal trials and appeals" for legal aid clients. Subsequently, it entered into retainer agreements with two private members of the bar. Criminal defence lawyers in Sudbury, Ont., were stunned to learn the following month that Fleming, their CLA representative, had accepted a job with LAO. In rallying the small, close-knit criminal bar in Sudbury, Fleming decried years of political neglect by the province and the burden placed on the poorest accused while insisting on the need for an injection of money, according to his former colleagues. He was the first local lawyer to formally support the boycott and encouraged his fellow practitioners to do the same, says John Saſtic, another Sudbury criminal defence lawyer. Another area criminal lawyer, Glenn Sandberg, says the change of allegiances prompted shock and disappointment. "Mr. Fleming changed teams," he says. "The rest of the bar held firm." As an LAO employee, Fleming said he couldn't discuss the matter. For its part, legal aid provided a short e-mailed response that noted two staff lawyers had joined the office in Toronto. "Legal Aid Ontario is moving forward with the establishment of a major case management office to provide effective oversight of the defence of publicly funded serious criminal cases, help avoid unnecessary court proceedings, litigate serious cases if required, and ensure the efficient use of taxpayer dollars," wrote spokesman Kristian Justesen. — TIM SHUFELT tshufelt@clbmedia.ca n the same January day the Ontario government settled its dispute with the Criminal Lawyers' Association, Craig Fleming, a former leader of the legal aid boycott, was getting set to start a new job with Legal Aid Ontario's new