News Release/Commmunique
February 19, 1998

Adult sex video convictions deliver a strong message, says Tsubouchi

"Films and videos must be reviewed, approved and classified by the Ontario Film Review Board before they can be distributed," Tsubouchi said. "If the content is adult sex, the video must carry a sticker to assure the public the video meets community standards. Failure to meet these requirements will continue to be met with vigorous enforcement under the law."

Dominic Martino of mississauga, and his company, 979492 Ontario Ltd., carrying on business as Best Adult Video, 2430 Bathurst Street, Toronto, were fined a total of $6,500 on February 10 after pleading guilty in Provincial Court in Toronto to five charges under the Theatres Act.

Michael Cooke, a principal of 9032-8203 Quebec Inc., of Montreal, carrying on business as Tri-X Video, was fined a total of $2,000 on February 6 after pleading guilty in Provincial Court in Scarborough to two charges.

The court heard that inspectors from the Theatres Branch of the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations visited Best Adult Video on several occasions and found violations of the approval and stickering requirements. In an unrelated incident, inspectors found Tri-X Video was the distributor of a video that had not received approval and classification.

The Ontario Film Review Board reviews, classifies and approves films and videos for exhibition and distribution. Board members represent different regions, occupations, ages and racial and ethnic backgrounds and their classification decisions are expected to reflect the standards of their communities.

00040(02/98)