in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 13 ,2 01 9 | 32 At last year's Skate Onta- rio Sectionals in Oakville, there were just three pairs entered in the junior divi- sion. And that was a bounty. In the senior, novice and pre-novice division, there was only a single entry. Some might see the de- cline in the number of pairs skaters as a cause for con- cern. Skate Oakville's Joni McPhail chose to see it as an opportunity. At the same competition, there were 157 female sin- gles skaters across the four divisions and 44 male sin- gles skaters. "Singles skaters, it's hard to claw your way to the top and compete in nationals or international competi- tions," said the club's skat- ing director. "With the num- bers in pairs, we have a chance to give them those opportunities." McPhail had already started working with the sport's governing bodies to help promote pairs skating when an opportunity came up that could help jumpstart the initiative at her own club. Among the people she was working with was two- time world champion pairs skater Meagan Duhamel. Since retiring after the Pyeongchang Olympics, where she won the pairs bronze with partner Eric Radford and team gold with Canada, Duhamel had been touring internationally. She and her husband Bruno Marcotte, a pairs coach and former pairs skater, wereformer pairs skater, weref looking to relocate and be- gin coaching together. "We shared the same views," said McPhail. "It was an opportunity we couldn't let pass by." Duhamel and Marcotte will be coming on board at Skate Oakville to create a pairs training program. McPhail said often the biggest challenge in putting together successful pairs teams is geography. Quite often, one of the skaters has to relocate. McPhail hopes that by developing more pairs skaters in Oakville, and with the town being cen- trally located, they can elim- inate the need to relocate. Duhamel and Marcotte are also well-known in the skating world and should at- tract more pairs skaters to train in Oakville. "There are not a lot of pairs coaches out there. It's a whole different discipline," McPhail said. "They bring experience, knowledge and passion for pairs skating." Throughout her career, Duhamel always pushed the boundaries for pairs skat- ing. With Radford, they were the first pair to land a quadruple throw jump in Olympic competition. With her previous partner, Ryan Arnold, they were first to land a side-by-side triple Lutz in competition and the first to land a throw triplefirst to land a throw triplef Lutz in international com- petition. A three-time Olympic medallist, having earned a silver in the team competi- tion with Canada in Sochi, Duhamel is also certified ho- listic nutritionist. As a skater, Marcotte won a bronze medal in pairs at the world junior champi- onships. He coaches the cur- rent Canadian pairs cham- pions, Kristen Moore-Tow- ers and Michael Marinaro, American national silver medallists Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran, Olympi- ans Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek of Italy and Duhamel and Radford prior to their retirement. COMMUNITY OLYMPIC MEDALLIST, COACH JOIN SKATE OAKVILLE TO LEAD PAIRS PROGRAM DUHAMEL, MARCOTTE TO OVERSEE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Three-time Olympic medallist Meagan Duhamel and coach Bruno Marcotte will be joining Skate Oakville to lead the club's pairs development program. Metroland file photo NOTICE OF CERTIFICATION THIS NOTICE IS TO ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO RECEIVED DENTAL SERVICES PRIOR TO JUNE 9, 2017 AT THE OFFICE OF DR. VIVEK (VICK) HANDA AND UPPER MIDDLE DENTAL, LOCATED AT 1900 WALKERS LINE IN BURLINGTON, ONTARIO LEGAL NOTICE OF CERTIFICATION AS A CLASS PROCEEDING This Notice may affect your rights. Please read it carefully. 1. What is this lawsuit about? A representative plaintiff, Lina Rizzi, has commenced a Class Proceeding against DR. VIVEK (VICK) HANDA, UPPER MIDDLE DENTAL and VICK HANDA DENTISTRY PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ("the Defendants"), seeking damages on behalf of individuals who received dental services prior to June 9, 2017, and their family members, as a result of being exposed to the risk of infection of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from improperly sterilized dental equipment, devices and instruments used by the Defendants. The Class Proceeding was certified on March 20, 2019. Flaherty McCarthy LLP represents the class ("Class Counsel"). The purpose of this document is to provide notice to Class Members that the Class Proceeding has been certified and of your rights to remain in the action or to opt-out of the action. 2. Am I a member of the Class? You are a member of the Class and entitled to participate in the proceeding if you are one of the following: 1. Patients of Upper Middle Dental prior to June 9, 2017, who had a positive laboratory test for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and/or HIV after receiving treatment from Upper Middle Dental (the "Infected Class"); 2. All person who contracted Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and/or HIV from an Infected Class Member (the "Cross-Infected Class"); 3. Patients of Upper Middle Dental prior to June 9, 2017, who were notified by a health authority, or were otherwise advised by a health authority that they were put at risk of contracting Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and/or HIV, after receiving treatment from Upper Middle Dental (the "Exposed Class"); 4. All living parents, grandparents, children, siblings and spouses within the meaning of section 61 of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.F-3, as amended, of the persons described in paragraphs (a) and (b) above (the "FLA Class"). 3. How does this Class Proceeding affect you? If you are a Class Member, and you wish to participate in the proceeding, then you do not need to do anything more at this stage. You are automatically included in the Class. There is no cost to you to participate in the class action. You will have no responsibility to pay any legal fees. Class Counsel will only be paid in the event that the action succeeds at trial or there is a settlement. Class Counsel have entered into a contingency fee agreement with the representative plaintiff. The agreement provides for a contingency fee of 30% of the amount recovered in the Class Proceeding to be paid to Class Counsel, along with reimbursement of all disbursements and taxes. The court must first approve Class Counsel's legal fees before they will be paid. A Class Member who does not opt-out of the Class Proceeding will be bound by the terms of any judgment or any settlement approved by the Court. Each Class Member may be entitled to share in the amount of any judgment awarded or settlement reached in the Class Proceeding. A judgment (including an approved settlement), whether favourable or not, will bind all Class Members who do not opt-out of the Class. 4. Class Members may Opt Out of the Proceeding. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE in this Class Proceeding and/or you want to sue the Defendants based on claims this proceeding will resolve, you must take steps to opt-out of the Class. If you opt-out of the Class, you will not be eligible to recover any benefits under a settlement or award in this Class Proceeding. Members of the Class may exercise their right to opt-out of the Class by submitting a letter by mail stating that you wish to opt-out of the Settlement. Your "Opt-Out Form" must include: 1. The name of this proceeding (Rizzi v. Handa), or similar identifying words; 2. Your full name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number; 3. Your signature or the signature of your legal agent, acting with your instructions; and 4. A brief statement that you understand you will be excluded from any judgment (including an approved settlement), if any. No person may opt-out a minor or mentally incapable member of the class without permission of the court after notice to the Children's Lawyer and/or the Public Guardian and Trustee, as appropriate. An Opt-Out Form can be obtained by visiting the Class Proceeding website (WWW.HANDADENTALCLASSACTION.COM).An Opt-Out Form can be obtained by visiting the Class Proceeding website (WWW.HANDADENTALCLASSACTION.COM). This form must be printed out and delivered by regular mail or courier. Your Opt-Out Form must be postmarked for regular mail or submitted to courier for delivery to the address below, by no later than August 12, 2019: Handa Dental Opt Out Administrator c/o RicePoint Administration Inc. P.O. Box 4454, Toronto Station A 25 The Esplanade Toronto, ON M5W 4B1 You cannot exclude yourself by telephone or email. You cannot exclude yourself by mailing a notification to any other location or if your Opt-Out Form is postmarked or submitted to courier after the deadline of August 12, 2019. 5. Additional Information Any questions about the matters in this notice should be addressed to Class Counsel. The certification order and other information regarding the Class Proceeding is available on the Class Proceeding website: (WWW.HANDADENTALCLASSACTION.COM).website: (WWW.HANDADENTALCLASSACTION.COM). Requests for further information or questions for Class Counsel should be directed to: SEAN A. BROWN FLAHERTY MCCARTHY LLP Toronto-Dominion Centre 95 Wellington Street West 10th Floor, Suite 1000 Toronto, ON M5J 2N7 info@handadentalclassaction.com