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Quebec Government Introduces Anti-SLAPP Legislation

Slaw reports that Quebec is the first Canadian Province to recognize the importance of free speech critical of commercial enterprises, by introducing Anti-Slapp Legislation.

"Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs for short, typically take the form of defamation actions brought by large corporate actors in an attempt to shut down criticism by non-governmental organizations or local citizens.

The actions are seen by critics as an abuse of process, or a form of legal bullying by interests with deep pockets who try to bankrupt opponents or intimidate them into silence.

Bill 99 will amend the Quebec Code of Civil Procedure to authorize courts to "promptly dismiss a proceeding that is abusive. It specifies what may constitute an abuse of procedure and authorizes the reversal of the burden of proof if the abuse of procedure is obvious."

Barry Minkow made good use of the California Anti-Slapp law in defending himself against a frivolous action by USANA.

As the Judge in the USANA stated:

"The hallmark of a SLAPP suit is that it lacks merit, and is brought with the goals of obtaining an economic advantage over a citizen party by increasing the cost of litigation to the point that the citizen party's case will be weakened or abandoned, and of deterring future litigation."

This is an important development in the law of defamation regarding commercial entities, and hopefully the other provinces will see the value of the legislation.

Related articles

• Quebec introduces anti-SLAPP bill [via Zemanta]
• Court Dismisses Lawsuit Filed Against Blogger For Criticizing Company [via Zemanta]
• California Looks To Strengthen Anti-SLAPP Laws; Protect Online Anonymity [via Zemanta]
• Unfree Speech in Canada [via Zemanta]

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on June 18, 2008 (boomark / email).