Christmas Classics
You know how every Christmas season the classics are shown on TV? Well that can hold for Blogs too. I throughly enjoyed preparing it a couple of years ago and intended on updating this year but the Christmas season has gotten in the way (I might be able to update it just before Christmas) but the classics are always worth repeating.
Community Funding Corp. v. Newfoundland (Department of Government Services and Lands), 2004 NLTD 236, 243 NFLD & PEIR 255.
A very Christmasy case from NL, whereby Santa made a seasonal visit to a Bingo Hall in St. John’s and in keeping with his reputation… From para 2 of the case:
Santa Claus made an appearance at the bingo hall and called two games of bingo. In keeping with his reputation and the spirit of the season, Santa Claus took it upon himself to increase the prizes for the two games in question – one by $100, and the other by $75 – thus increasing the total prize payout for the evening to $3,175.
To continue from para 6
Accordingly, on December 22, 2003, Santa Claus appeared as expected and was wildly cheered by some 275 happy patrons. …the manager of the bingo hall, invited Santa to “call” two games of bingo. Initially, Santa gave away some bingo ‘dabbers’ supplied by the hall; but before calling the game, and without any warning to [the manager], Santa ‘upped’ the jackpot of the first game by $75 to $200. [the manager] was not prepared to risk the wrath of the patrons by going to the stage and announcing that Santa had exceeded his jurisdiction by raising the jackpot. The game proceeded. Emboldened, Santa then announced, before calling his second game, that the jackpot would be increased by $100 to $200. Again, [the manager] allowed the game to continue.
So yada, yada the Department of Government Services and Lands didn’t exactly have the Christmas spirt that year, para 3
A complaint was filed with the provincial regulator, who, following an investigation, concluded that the excess payout constituted a breach of subsection 4(a) of the Lottery Regulations – “… if on reasonable and probable grounds it is believed that the conduct and management of a lottery is likely to reflect unfavourably upon the integrity of the lotter-ies program; …” The regulator suspended the Corporation’s bingo licence for one week.
At the end of the day the spirt of the season won out and in para 77 the Judge ruled,
The regulation, as presently worded, is an elephant gun; it is not an appropriate weapon with which to dispatch the Christmas mouse.
….and to all a good night!
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