Protecting Against Reputational Harm

On August 30, 2018 the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued six long-awaited decisions on legislation targeting strategic lawsuits against public participation. The seminal judgments are the first appellate comment on Ontario's so-called anti-SLAPP legislation and have significant implications for defamation suits brought to protect against threats to reputational damage.

In November 2015, Ontario enacted legislation creating a powerful pretrial procedure allowing defendants to seek dismissal of claims made against them that "arise from an expression...that relates to a matter of public interest." As the then-attorney general explained, the legislation was designed with the aim of preventing the strategic use of lawsuits by deep-pocketed plaintiffs to stifle free expression.

The legislation created sections 137.1 to 137.5 of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C. 43 (the Provisions). The Provisions were soon invoked in dozens of defamation and other cases by defendants who had been sued for making...