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ARTICLE · 29 JANUARY 2021

Defamation Action Against Ontario Premier Dismissed Under Courts Of Justice Act

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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Early last year, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, in a highly sensationalized lawsuit was sued for defamation by a former Deputy Commissioner and interim Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Gavin Tighe
Gavin Tighe
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Early last year, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, in  a highly sensationalized lawsuit was sued for defamation by a former Deputy Commissioner and interim Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police for comments that the former officer had broken the  Police Services Act (“PSA”). The damages sought by the then former Deputy Commissioner was $5 million. The commencement of the action was the subject of national media attention at the time, along with numerous other stories, between December 1, 2018 and April 1, 2019, related to an investigation by the Ontario Integrity Commissioner into whether the Ontario Premier had breached the  Members' Integrity Act during the process to hire a new OPP Commissioner, a judicial review application brought the former officer against the Ombudsman of Ontario to compel the Ombudsman to investigate whether there was political interference in that hiring process and the termination of the officer.

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