|
The Canada Supreme Court building. (Photo: Stock File)
Supreme Court will not hear BC defamation case
CANADA
Tuesday, July 07, 2009, 17:00 (GMT + 9)
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal in a British Columbia defamation case involving a Tofino-based salmon-farming company and a well-known environmentalist.
The court dismissed Creative Salmon Company Ltd's application to appeal a February 2009 British Columbia Appeal Court ruling in its defamation case against environmentalist Don Staniford, a former employee of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, and the company.
The Appeal Court had ordered a new trial in the company's case against Staniford, reports Westcoaster.
Staniford was ordered to pay CAD 85,000 (USD 73,000) in damages and legal fees to Creative Salmon by a B.C. Supreme Court justice in January 2007, over two news releases he issued in 2005. These accused Creative Salmon of misleading the public with claims that its fish are raised free of chemicals and antibiotics.
One of these press releases questioned the company’s use of malachite green, a fungicide and suspected carcinogen, on market fish.
“If malachite green contamination is confirmed, this blows out of the water Creative’s claims to be organic and chemical free,” stated the release. “Creative Salmon must come clean on malachite green.”
After the judge found that the news releases contained false claims, and ruled against Staniford, the environmentalist appealed the decision and won. The British Columbia Appeal Court ordered a new trial because of a Supreme Court of Canada decision in an unrelated defamation case, released after Staniford's loss in Supreme Court.
The high court ruling last year was in the case of radio commentator Rafe Mair, who made reference to the Ku Klux Klan and Adolf Hitler in his criticism of a local activist, and broadened the defence available in defamation cases.
Creative Salmon applied to the country's highest court to appeal the lower court ruling ordering a new trial. As is the custom, the court did not give reasons for refusing to hear the appeal.
Related articles:
- Marine Harvest pressured to green its practices
- Fish farm defamation case goes back to trial
By Michel Loubet
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
|
|
Print
