On October 17, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its landmark decision in Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47, affirming 2009 BCCA 392 and 2008 BCSC 1424. At issue was whether creating an internet hyperlink to defamatory material constitutes “publication” of the material for the purposes of defamation law. The case challenged the Court [...]

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Simpson v. Mair, (indexed as WIC Radio v. Simpson 2008 SCC 40) is, without a doubt, a major victory for advocates of freedom of expression. By both clarifying and broadening the scope of the fair comment defence to defamation, Mair is sure to generate a thaw in journalistic expression, especially [...]

For the first time in thirty years, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled on the fair comment defence in Canada. The Court’s ruling in Simpson v. Mair 2008 SCC 40 broadens the scope of the fair comment defence and brings it in line with modern freedom of expression values protected by the Canadian Charter [...]

“When there is a sea of change in the accepted wisdom of society,” confided Madame Justice Southin of the B.C. Court of Appeal in the opening paragraph of Simpson v. Mair (2006), 55 B.C.L.R. (4th) 30, “those who have adhered to the attitudes of the past, what I call the “old wisdom”, in a very [...]