The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, guaranteeing certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the policies and actions of all areas and levels of the government. It is designed to unify Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was signed into law on April 17, 1982, and the task of interpreting and enforcing the Charter falls to the courts, with the Supreme Court of Canada being the ultimate authority on the matter.
The Charter of Rights protects a number of rights and freedoms, including the right to equality and freedom of expression. The Supreme Court further codified the right of journalists to engage in responsible communication, guaranteeing their right to tell people facts that they have an interest in knowing and a right to know.
Supporting the Charter of Rights, anti-SLAPP legislation has also been implemented in multiple jurisdictions, including Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. SLAPPs – strategic lawsuits against public participation – is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. In the typical SLAPP, the plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff’s goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. However, SLAPPs are not a license to libel. Malice, gross error and recklessness will kill any anti-SLAPP defence.
I have been enjoying a sort of holiday — doing the things I need to do for my practice, and to get ready to move into new accommodations in downtown Ottawa while trying to have some family recreational time. I am working on a piece on free expression during election campaigns, and the balancing of … Read more
I was counsel in this case. I represented the newspaper publisher defendant. On Friday, I heard we won our SLAPP motion. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who are the former mayor and deputy mayor of the Town of the Blue Mountains, west of Collingwood, have been ordered to pay all of the lawyers’ bills and … Read more
For decades, rich and famous people who felt they’d been wronged by the media tried to have their libel cases heard in Canada because our courts were so plaintiff-friendly. Journalists, whether they wrote about rock stars or their local town council, lived with libel chill: being hit with long, expensive lawsuits that were usually dropped … Read more