Defences To The Tort Of Defamation

This article was previously published in the Canadian Bar Association's BarTalk on August 1, 2014.

Absolute privilege outside the courtroom

Absolute privilege is one of the most powerful defences in the law of defamation. The privilege is "absolute" because it cannot be defeated even if the plaintiff proves that the defendant spoke the words with actual malice and knowing them to be false. The occasions on which the privilege arise include communications made by executive officers of state, parliamentary and legislative officials (e.g., Guergis v. Novak, 2012 ONSC 4579), or persons - including lawyers - involved in the furtherance of judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings (e.g., Monument Mining Ltd. v. Balendran Chong & Bodi, 2012 BCSC 1769).

In two very recent decisions, our courts have had the opportunity to test how far the defence will be...