Ontario Passes Law to Protect Freedom of Expression, Works to End Strategic Lawsuits That Stifle Free Speech

By Pepper Parr

October 27th, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

Today Ontario passed an act that protects freedom of speech on matters of public interest.

Vince Rossi, president of the Burlington Executive Air Park and believed to be the sole shareholder of the private company, met with north Burlington residents. He took all the comments made “under advisement”. He then sued three people who wrote things he didn’t like.

The Protection of Public Participation Act, 2015 will allow the public to participate more freely in public discussions without fear of retribution by giving them a better way to defend themselves against strategic lawsuits, commonly known as SLAPPs (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). The threat of a strategic lawsuit, which can be lengthy and expensive, is often used as a means to intimidate or punish opponents and discourage others from speaking out.

There are three people in Burlington who understand all too well the impact, both financially and emotionally, these lawsuits can have. Try telling your wife or husband that you are being sued for $33,000 for something you said or wrote. And then, once they have settled down at least a little – explain that the legal costs are going to cripple you for a period of time.

Were it not for the strong delegations Vanessa Warren made to both city and Regional Council there would probably be trucks running along Appleby Line with loads of landfill from who knows where with who knows what in the fill.

Vanessa Warren, Monte Denis and Pepper Parr are involved in defending themselves against a law suit filed by the Air Park. That claim, which all three parties are defending – at considerable cost – is winding its way to a court room at some point in the future.

Monte Dennis was sued for a Letter to the Editor that was published in the Hamilton Spectator – but the newspaper wasn’t sued.

The new act, which will become law in Ontario upon Royal Assent, contains a number of elements that will reduce the risk of citizens being threatened with legal action when speaking out on matters of public interest, including:

• A new fast-track review process that will allow the courts to quickly identify and deal with strategic lawsuits
• New protections for individuals from defamation lawsuits when their concerns are reported to the public through a third party, such as a blogger or a reporter
• Faster and less expensive procedures at boards and tribunals that will allow parties to make written submissions about legal costs instead of making submissions in person.

Pepper Parr, publisher of the Gazette was also sued for articles that were published in the Gazette

The rub for Denis and Warren is that while they are convinced their statements are defensible under SLAPP legislation, that legislation does not become law until it is proclaimed and even when it is proclaimed – it does not appear to be retroactive to the point in time when Vince Rossi claimed he was libeled.

In its media release the Attorney General said: “The majority of strategic lawsuits are filed in court as claims of defamation (libel or slander), have little or no merit, and are often dropped before proceeding to trial.

That might be true but the defendants still have to pay their lawyers until the case is dropped – if it is dropped.

Neither Vanessa Warren or Monte Dennis were available for comment at press time.

The Gazette does not expect Vince Rossi to drop the case