Female Mining Executive's Defamation Claim Against Government Employee Allowed To Proceed

Ontario and British Columbia are the only two common law provinces that have anti-SLAPP legislation. This legislation permits the early dismissal of claims that involve expressions on a matter of public interest. Although the legislation is designed to protect freedom of expression, the right is not absolute and a defendant must be cautious of what they say and where their words are spoken. In particular, it is unlikely that a claim for damages based on words that appear to include demeaning personal attacks which undermine professional competence, integrity and reputation will be dismissed under an anti-SLAPP motion.

In Lee-Sheriff v. Christman, 2022 BCSC 1914, a government employee's motion brought under section 4 of the BC Protection of Public Participation Act, S.B.C. 2019, c. 3 (the "Act") to dismiss the plaintiff's action for defamation was dismissed in circumstances where the alleged defamatory words involved a personal attack toward a female mining