Law

Criminal libel probe of N.B. blogger questioned

Feb 08, 2012 - Posted by Dean Jobb

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has asked Fredericton police for an explanation of why a local blogger, Charles LeBlanc, is being investigated under the little-used law of criminal libel. In a Feb. 1 letter, the group seeks an explanation of why LeBlanc, "apparently a vocal critic of the police force," had his computer seized during a search of his home. The group points out that courts in at least three provinces -- Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador -- have struck down the Criminal Code's libel provisions as a violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.

Read the CBC report, which includes the text of the letter.

Court rulings dissect responsible communication defence

Sep 24, 2011 - Posted by Dean Jobb

It has been almost two years since the Supreme Court of Canada created the libel defence of responsible communication on matters of public interest -- long enough for at least three courts to weigh in on what journalists must do to meet its criteria. In this column in the upcoming issue of the CAJ's Media magazine, J-Source's law section editor Dean Jobb explores how the new defence is being interpreted.

Ruling relaxes libel rules for political bloggers

Sep 13, 2011 - Posted by Dean Jobb

An Ontario judge has tossed a libel action against three political bloggers, arguing that web-based political discussions are forums for “the parry and thrust” of vigorous debate and participants whose reputations have been attacked should fight back with words, not legal action.

New wiki proposes elements of "responsible" journalism

Jan 11, 2011

What is "responsible" journalism? Celebrating the first anniversary of an epochal Canadian libel judgment that will see this question litigated for years to come, a group of graduate students has launched a wiki to help journalists themselves define their profession's best practices. Ryerson professors Brian MacLeod Rogers and Ivor Shapiro explain.

Ontario news website wins responsible journalism libel verdict

Sep 20, 2010 - Posted by Dean Jobb

News
The new responsible journalism defence has helped an Ontario news website defeat a libel action launched by a man named in a police fraud alert. In one of the first applications of the defence (created by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009), a jury ruled SooToday.com acted responsibly when it published the alert, even though it contained erroneous information about a man with a criminal record for fraud.

The case shows that journalists must make serious efforts to verify a story before publication, in order for the defence to apply. SooToday, an independent web-only news outlet in Sault Ste. Marie, consulted more than 20 sources, commissioned an independent accounting analysis that cast doubt on the man’s investment scheme, and made efforts to locate him for comment.
Read the SooToday.com story on the case.

Libel reform: Be careful what you wish for

Dec 26, 2009 - Posted by Dean Jobb

Commentary
Jeffrey Dvorkin

The new defence of responsible communication is good news for the media, but Ryerson University's Jeffrey A. Dvorkin doubts it will usher in a new wave investigative journalism. As layoffs continue and newsrooms are pared down to the editorial bone, the ability of news organizations to engage in deep, contextual investigative journalism is far from what it once was, or what it should be.

And lawyer Alan Shanoff, who teaches media law at Humber College, cautions the devil will be in the details as judges and juries apply the court's broad definitions of public interest and responsible journalism to stories targetted with libel suits. Read Shanoff's columns in The Law Times and the Toronto Sun.

The responsible communication defence: What's in it for journalists?

Dec 23, 2009 - Posted by Dean Jobb

New defences to libel actions don’t come along every day, so what exactly does the pair of Supreme Court of Canada rulings handed down December 22 mean for journalists? An expanded definition of "public interest," a list of the steps journalists should take to produce a solid, libel-proof story, and good news for bloggers. Dean Jobb breaks down the rulings in Grant v. Torstar Corp. and Quan v. Cusson.

SCC creates new libel defence of responsible communication

Dec 22, 2009 - Posted by Dean Jobb

News
The Supreme Court of Canada has created a new libel defence – the defence of responsible communication on matters of public interest. In a landmark ruling that orders new trials in libel actions against two Ontario newspapers, the court introduced the British defence of responsible journalism with a new name and some made-in-Canada modifications. The defence is based on the conduct of the journalists and editors who produce the story, and can defeat a libel claim even if some facts and allegations published or broadcast turn out to be wrong or false.

The court established a broad definition of the public interest, saying it is not limited to stories on politics and can apply to stories of interest to a limited audience if the subject is of public importance. The rulings set seven criteria for judging whether journalists acted responsibly, including the seriousness of the allegations, the reliability of sources and whether the person defamed was given a chance to respond. There are two other important aspects to the ruling...

Metroland fights court's call for reporter to testify

Aug 12, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray

Jennifer Stone, a reporter for This Week, a community newspaper in the Durham region of Ontario, was served a subpoena in July requiring she testify in a case she's been covering and now her bosses are fighting the court order. This Week, owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd., has filed a motion to quash the subpoena. Stone was covering the case...

Top court judges to draw line on protecting sources

May 24, 2009 - Posted by Dean Jobb

Supreme Court of Canada judges appeared inclined to give more protection to journalists’ sources as they heard the National Post’s appeal of a ruling that could expose a key source for reporter Andrew McIntosh’s investigation into connections between federal loans and grants and former prime minister Jean Chretien.

The court, which was cool to the idea of a blanket immunity for sources, reserved decision on a case that should strike a balance between the Charter guarantee of press freedom and police efforts to investigate crime. Janice Tibbetts of Canwest News Service reports in the National Post.