2018 December 13

Ayangma v. Saltwire Network Inc. (c.o.b. The Guardian), 2018 PESC 48

The Prince Edward Island Supreme Court summarily dismissed this defamation action concerning two newspaper articles published online (and in print), holding the lawsuit was filed too late and without advance notice required by the Defamation Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. D-5.   The Defamation Act required a plaintiff to serve notice of his claim within three months of publication (section 14) and file suit within six months of publication (section 15).   The Court held that sections 14 and 15  apply to online newspaper articles, following the decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Weiss v Sawyer (2002 CanLII 45064) and John v Gallingall (2017 ONCA 579).  The Court reasoned that to “restrict the definition of newspaper to the print version only would allow what is now often unrestrained, provocative, rude and politically incorrect commentary to run rampant [on the Internet].”