Find Lawyers in Canada for Defamation and Media Law
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Defamation and Media Law - Canada
About this Practice Area
Robert Anderson practices as general counsel representing clients incourt and in alternative dispute forums. He regularly practices in a wide variety of areas of law including class actions, corporate, commercial,securities, white collar criminal matters, media and defamation, administrative, environmental, constitutional, property assessment, municipal expropriation and criminal.Mr. Anderson has appeared in all levels of the courts of British Columbia, the Federal Trial Court, the Federal Co...
Mark Bantey is a partner in the firm's Montréal office, practising in the fields of media law, civil and commercial litigation, as well as administrative and constitutional law. Specializing in media law and acting for both national and local press, Mark has extensive experience in pre-publication review, libel law, access to information law, freedom of the press issues such as publication bans and protection of journalistic sources, constitutional law, and human rights. As a litigator...
Bryan Baynham chairs the Condo Pre-Sale Litigation Group as well as the Defamation, Privacy and Media Law Group at Harper Grey. He is also the past chair of our Commercial Litigation Group. Bryan provides advice and acts as counsel with respect to corporate and commercial disputes and all issues relating to aviation, real estate, contract, tort and defamation litigation. He has extensive experience and has represented a number of financial institutions in appellate proceedings. Bryan is consi...
Gavin Cameron is a litigator in Vancouver with a focus on commercial disputes and white-collar criminal investigations. Appearing as successful counsel in more than 50 reported decisions, including more than a dozen appeals, he advises on contractual disputes, shareholders’ remedies, defamation, commercial fraud, and regulatory prosecutions.
Tamela (Tammy) Coates is a senior litigation and dispute resolution partner in Lawson Lundell’s Calgary office. Tammy brings more than 25 years of experience advising clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes and with respect to risk management. Currently, she serves clients in the energy, telecommunications, and financial and professional services sectors regarding complex claims involving commercial, environmental, and intellectual property issues and risk and reputational mana...
Scott Dawson is a partner in the litigation department and a trial lawyer experienced in the resolution of a broad range of commercial disputes. He regularly appears before British Columbia Courts as part of his business-focused civil litigation practice. His cases cover a wide variety of commercial litigation issues including supply contracts, insurance / reinsurance, directors’ fiduciary duties, international and domestic agency disputes, shareholder disputes and corporate reorganizat...
Rick Dearden, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is a senior litigation partner in the firm's Ottawa office, practising primarily in the areas of international trade, investor-state arbitration, media and defamation law, freedom of information and administrative law. Rick’s accomplishments have also been recognized in the Best Lawyers in Canada ( International Trade; Defamation and Media Law ) ; Lexpert Guide To The Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers; Be...
Don is a skilled and loyal advocate who relates to his clients on a personal level, offering practical solutions that go beyond litigating files. In his 33 years at McLennan Ross, Don has established himself as a resourceful problem-solver who can handle any dispute. His diverse practice includes Class Actions, Commercial Litigation, Construction, Insurance and Professional Liability. Through practicing in a variety of fields, Don has garnered insight into the ways in which different industri...
As a member of the administrative law team, Raymond Doray heads the information law practice and, more particularly, is involved in issues pertaining to access to information, privacy and defamation, as well as the application of the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights and freedoms. He is also specialized in constitutional law. Over the past few years, Mr. Doray has represented many public, private and media organizations before the courts in cases involving the confidentiality of document...
Ryder practises complex litigation and dispute resolution encompassing corporate-commercial disputes, securities, tax, competition, defamation and class action litigation. He has extensive courtroom experience, having appeared at every level of court in Ontario, as well as the Court of Queen's Bench in New Brunswick, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Tax Court of Canada as well as many administrative tribunals including the Competiti...
Matthew Gottlieb practises business litigation including corporate and commercial disputes, insolvency and restructuring and fraud and securities litigation. Matt’s extensive track record of success in complex, high-stakes disputes explains why he has been recognized as one of Canada’s top litigation lawyers. He has significant expertise in trials, applications, tribunals and arbitrations and regularly appears at all levels of court in Ontario and other provinces, the Federal Cour...
Robert has extensive experience in oil and gas litigation and arbitrations, construction litigation, contract breach cases, First Nations governance, pension litigation and defamation actions, and he has represented clients in professional disciplinary matters before the Alberta Securities Commission, APEGGA, CREB and the Professional Conduct Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He acts for a range of clients, from large corporations, pension funds and public institutions to indi...
Ludmila is a litigator whose practice includes corporate, commercial, resource-related and constitutional cases. Ludmila has represented clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada, arbitration tribunals and administrative tribunals including the British Columbia Utilities Commission and the Property Assessment Appeal Board. Ludmila was named female litigator of the year for British Columbia by the 2013 Benchmark Canada Litigation Guide and has repeated...
Fred Kozak carries on a civil litigation practice with an emphasis on constitutional law, media and defamation issues, and employment and administrative proceedings. He is admitted to the bar in Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Fred represents several national news organizations, and provides pre-publication advice to both print and broadcast media outlets. Fred has been counsel in several cases where the Charter has been used to strike down provincial or federal legislation, and...
In a career that has spanned more than four decades, Cliff acquired a reputation as an exceptional litigator with a quick sense of humour. He is respected throughout the profession. He is in demand as a mediator and arbitrator by clients who appreciate his extensive experience, business savvy, responsiveness and practical approach to resolving business disputes of all kinds. Chambers Global 2019 lists Cliff amongst Canada’s leading lawyers in Dispute Resolution and most in-demand arbitr...
Don Lucky is RMRF’s team leader in Construction Law. His construction law practice involves providing advice to a large international general contractor and to many public and private owners, in respect to: construction contract delivery models and negotiation; insurance and bonding; tendering and procurement; builders’ liens; litigation and alternate dispute resolution. Don has provided advice to Contractors and Owners in numerous construction mega projects. These include power p...
Brian N. Radnoff is a partner at Lerners LLP in Toronto, in its Commercial Litigation Group. He is the practice group leader of the Appellate Practice Group. Mr. Radnoff’s practice involves work in many facets of commercial and complex litigation. He acts as counsel for clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes, including securities litigation, shareholder disputes, contractual disputes, professional liability, employment claims, administrative law, defamation claims, estate liti...
Michael Skene is a partner at the Vancouver office of BLG. His degrees are from the University of Cambridge (LL.M.), University of Toronto (J.D.) and UBC (B. Commerce (Hons.)). Michael practices media law and defamation, construction and surety law, and commercial litigation. He has successfully represented clients before various tribunals, provincial and superior courts and in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Richard Vachon practices mainly in the fields of commercial litigation, class actions, litigation in securities, defamation, and employment law. He pleads regularly before the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal of Quebec as well as arbitration tribunals. He also acts as strategic advisor to many of his clients. Notable representative clients, among others, include: Chrysler Canada Inc.; Quebecor Inc.; Groupe TVA Inc.; Desjardins Securities Inc.; Member of the Liaison Committee w...
Marko practices civil and commercial litigation with a focus on class actions, defamation, securities litigation, copyright, product liability cases, and commercial arbitrations. He has appeared as lead counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, at all levels of court in British Columbia, and as defence counsel before the British Columbia Securities Commission. Marko was the head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Lawson Lundell. Marko is a regular...
Wendy Wagner is a partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office and leader of the firm's Privacy & Data Protection Group. Her practice focuses on international trade law, as well as privacy, access to information and defamation law. In her international trade law practice, Wendy represents the firm’s clients in matters involving trade and investment agreements, export controls and sanctions/embargos, and all aspects of customs compliance (tariff classification, origin, valuation, and Admin...
Mr. Winkler has a well-deserved reputation in the Ontario legal community for good judgment and his practical, fair approach to conflict resolution. Mr. Winkler is Certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. Mr. Winkler regularly represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex factual and legal disputes both at trial and at all levels of Appeal. Mr. Winkler specializes in the area of media and defamation law. For media clients this includes the pre-screen...
James A. Woods , senior partner of the firm, practises in litigation and arbitration and pleads at all levels of federal and provincial courts in Ontario and Québec including the Supreme Court of Canada. Once again, named by Lexpert® 2017 as one of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada – Montreal, Corporate and Commercial Litigation. Recognized by the Best Lawyers Directory since 2006 for his expertise in the fields of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Corporat...
Defamation and Media Law Definition
Defamation and Media Law involves two separate, but related, areas of practice. Most important is defamation law, which is a cause of action designed to protect and vindicate a person’s reputation. There are two types of defamation, libel, which is written, and slander, which is spoken. In common-law Canada, defamation is governed by long-established common law principles, but there is provincial legislation in most of the provinces, such as the Ontario Libel and Slander Act, that also governs some aspects of defamation law. Canada is generally considered a “plaintiff-friendly” defamation jurisdiction as it is easier for plaintiffs to establish defamation compared to jurisdictions such as the United States. However, damage awards for defamation tend to be relatively small in Canada compared to other jurisdictions. Defamation is considered a fairly technical area of practice that has more strict pleading rules than other causes of action.
In order to succeed in an action for defamation, the plaintiff must prove: that the words in question would tend to lower the plaintiff’s reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person; the words referred to the plaintiff; and the words were communicated to at least one other person than the plaintiff. Falsity and damages are presumed. The defendant has the onus of establishing a defence to the defamation claim, such as truth or justification, absolute privilege, qualified privilege, or fair comment. Absolute privilege refers to occasions when individuals have absolute immunity from defamation claims, such as statements made in the legislature or in court. Qualified privilege refers to a person acting under a legal, moral, or social duty to communicate the impugned information to a person who has a corresponding duty or interest in receiving the communication, such as a regulatory body. Fair comment applies when words are expressions of opinion on a matter of public interest. Journalists have an additional defence, responsible communication, relating to fair and responsible reports on issues of public interest. Other than truth, malice, or ill-will can defeat these defences.
Before or after trial, plaintiffs can seek injunctions to have defamatory material removed from publication or posting. Such injunctions can be quite broad, including providing that that the defendant cannot publish anything about the plaintiff by any means. Interlocutory injunctive relief for defamation, because of its interference with freedom of expression, is considered an extraordinary remedy and is only granted in the clearest of cases. Once the defendant has been found liable for defamation, injunctive relief is more easily obtained if the plaintiff can show the defendant will continue to publish defamatory statements or where there is a real possibility the plaintiff will not receive compensation.
The proliferation of electronic communication has introduced new issues into the law of defamation. One of the most important is the question of when Canadian courts can take jurisdiction over defamation claims where the defendant is located in another jurisdiction. Recent decisions from the Supreme Court of Canada have determined that it is sufficient that defamatory material is read or downloaded in Canada. There is no requirement that the communication be substantially published in Canada. Therefore, Canadian courts take a liberal approach to defamation jurisdiction. However, a plaintiff’s damages may be affected by the decision to commence an action in a jurisdiction where a relatively small number of people read or downloaded the publication.
Regarding the media, in most provinces, there are strict notice requirements and shorter limitation period when dealing with defamation actions against media defendants. There are still questions about the scope of the application of these statutory requirements to non-traditional media and electronic publications. Media law also refers to non-defamation related issues involving the media, such as the protection of sources and public access to and reporting on the court system, particularly publication bans. Publication bans create a conflict between freedom of expression and the right of an accused to a fair trial and are consequently the subject of much litigation in high profile cases.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
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