Whatever Your Politics… George Galloway is an alarming man. When he is interviewed on television, renowned and regularly resolute broadcasters succumb to trembling in trepidation. Although he possesses a cheeky grin and charming Scottish lilt, he is loud, blunt, and, on occasion, exceptionally rude. Although some find the former Member of the British Parliament to [...]

Limits of journalistic press freedom for qualified-privilege and fair comment are hotly debated in jurisdictions around the world as courts try to balance the public interest in freedom of information with private reputational interests battling defamation. Last year, TheCourt covered Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61 (“Torstar Corp.”), a decision that ranked as the top [...]

Last weekend, both violent and peaceful political protestors gathered on the streets of Toronto to voice concerns surrounding the G20 World Leader’s Summit.  Smashed windows, police cars ablaze and billiard balls thrown at riot squads were all occurrences at the Summit … all within 5 metres of the security fence.  Demonstrators avoided this area after [...]

On January 22, 2010 the Canadian Human Rights Commission (“CHRC”) filed a memorandum (PDF link) with the Federal Court, appealing the decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) in Warman v. Lemire, 2009 CHRT 26 (PDF link). The CHRT determined that the hate speech provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, H-6 (“CHRA”) [...]

Considering putting a hyperlink on your website or blog? The case Crookes v. Newton, 2009 BCCA 392, may give you pause to reconsider. Although the British Columbia Court of Appeal held in Crookes that a website owner will not be liable for hyperlinking to defamatory sites, the decision left a number of unanswered questions that [...]

On December 22, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its judgment in Grant v. Torstar Corp. (2009 SCC 61) establishing a new “responsible communication” defence to the tort of defamation. Much has already been said about the decision in media and journalistic circles and the decision has been hailed as a win for public [...]