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Protecting the Right to Protest: Interactive Roundtable

published by admin on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 16:33

Free Speech versus Corporate Power - Freedom of speech, assembly, information and dissent are fundamental rights protected by law in all democracies. However, the competing right to protect against defamation has been given priority in Canada. This has allowed corporations to use the courts to intimidate, silence and bankrupt ordinary citizens involved in protesting against the climate change, tar sands, unsustainable development and mines.

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Media Democracy Days
B.C. Civil Liberties Association
SFU
Linda Solomon
National Observer

STOP SLAPP SUITS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ALAN DUTTON

published by admin on Sat, 10/08/2016 - 16:49

Alan Dutton is a retired academic and human rights advocate who taught in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, First Nations and Corrections Canada University transfer programs. He has worked against racism as the National Director of the Canadian Anti-Racism Education and Research Society and as a member of the Government of B.C. Advisory Council on multiculturalism. He is a recipient of the MOSAIC Annual Human Rights Award and the Attorney General of British Columbia’s Award for Excellence in Research and Education.

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Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Stop SLAPPs
Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan

BC Hydro Suing Opponents of Site C Dam in SLAPP-style Suit, Legal Experts Say

published by admin on Wed, 05/25/2016 - 01:37

Nothing remains at the Rocky Mountain Fort site where Peace Valley farmers and First Nations camped for 60 days in the hopes of stopping clear-cut logging for the Site C dam. The camp was dismantled in March and the old-growth spruce and cottonwood forest was logged, as BC Hydro prepares to convert the Class 1 heritage site into a Site C waste rock dump.

But one notable thing still stands: the civil lawsuit BC Hydro filed in January against five campers and a supporter, a suit the B.C. Civil Liberties Association describes as a matter “of grave concern.”

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BC Hydro
Site C Dam
Tollefsen
BCCLA

Citizens Need Protection From SLAPP Suits, Says BCCLA

published by admin on Tue, 10/11/2016 - 21:21

Companies, government using costly lawsuits to silence critics, say legal experts.

Allowing wealthy corporations or powerful government agencies to launch baseless lawsuits against citizens who speak out against them is putting a chill on free expression in B.C. and there is a growing need for legislation against SLAPP suits, says the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

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BCCLA

Stop the Assault on Democratic Rights

published by admin on Fri, 07/01/2016 - 20:04

I sent a letter on behalf of over 200 people to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of BC asking that Bill M223 - Anti-SLAPP Act 2015 - proceed to second reading and Committee for discussion. We believe that Bill M223 is crucial for democracy in B.C. because it will empower courts to identify and prevent strategic lawsuits against public participation – or SLAPPs – and thereby stop the assault on democratic rights.

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BCCLA on Dutton v. Kinder Morgan

Will the Charter Protect Me?

Everyone in Canada should have the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to freely voice their concerns and to organize public demonstrations. But they don't. SLAPP suits undermine and subvert democratic rights and the democratic process. In fact, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not protect protestors and critics and the courts impose a huge burden to achieve any sort of justice and redress. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Canadian Constitution and while it is supposed to protect citizens against government it is not generally applied to disputes between private parties. Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media or communications are guaranteed by Section 2(b) of the Charter and freedom of peaceful assembly by section 2(c). However, unlike the First Amendment to the US Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies only to protection from government intervention - not private disputes for alleged defamation and protests. Read more

Sven Biggs on Wilderness v. Taseko

Will the Courts Protect Me?

The answer is almost certainly no. The courts are biased in allowing cases to proceed to trial. To have a lawsuit dismissed, a target of a SLAPP suit must prove on the balance of probabilities that a suit was filed for a malicious purpose such as to silence a person on a matter of public concern or to stop them from demonstrating. To prove malicious intent against a large corporation with almost unlimited resources is difficult at best. In short, it is very difficult and expensive to have a SLAPP suit dismissed in Canada even if there is no credible proof that a lawsuit is an abuse of process, malicious and without factual basis. This is unlike the United States where over half the States have specific anti-SLAPP legislation and First Amendment rights to free speech that provide rules for the better protection of the right to protest and speak out against government agencies and corporations. Read more

Carol Baird Ellan, former BCSC Judge on SLAPPs

Thank you!

Thanks to all our supporters. In particular, thanks to West Coast Environmental Law for two grants to develop recommendations for effective anti-SLAPP suit legislation, Dr. Jane Shin, MLA Burnaby-Lougheed for continuing to push for anti-SLAPP legislation and to students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University for continued support. Click here to read statements of support to reclaim democratic rights.

Resources

Breaking the Silence: the need for anti SLAPP legislation. EcoJustice (2010)

Report to Ontario Attorney General. Moran Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel (2010)

Recommended Legislative Measures to Counter Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation BC Civil Liberties Association (2012).

SLAPP: the BC Experience. Tollefson and Scott (2010)

Anti-SLAPP Handbook. West Coast Environmental Law (2002).

Recommendations for Anti-SLAPP Legislation with Appendices. Environmental Defense Working Group (2015).

Contact Us

Stop SLAPP suits
324-280 Nelson Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 2E2
info[at]stopslappsuits
Facebook Stop SLAPP Suits

This site provides no legal advice, and no representation is made as to the completeness or accuracy of the information presented. Links to news, commentary, and guest blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of the Stop SLAPP Suit Project.