Torts & Defamation, Defences, Justification and Public interest responsible journalism

Dong v. Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. et al. 2024 ONSC 3532

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Torts — Defamation — Defences — Justification — Public interest responsible journalism — Plaintiff politician forced to resign from caucus after publication of article alleging that he tried to influence Chinese government to delay release of Canadian prisoners — Plaintiff commencing defamation action — Defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion dismissed — It was conceivable that defences of truth or justification and responsible communication were not valid — Questions of whether plaintiff was villain or wrongfully accused not to be decided on technical grounds — Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 137.1.

For the purposes of the anti-SLAPP motion, it was necessary to examine only the matter of the plaintiff’s telephone conversation regarding the alleged betrayal of the two prisoners. That was the matter which most disgraced his morality, his character, his reputation and his livelihood.

The plaintiff’s action was a pure defamation action with no ulterior strategic purpose, and exposed him to considerable litigation and reputational risk.

The sting of the article was not that some confidential sources thought that the plaintiff was a villainous traitor, but that he was indeed a villainous traitor.?