2024 February 17

Ventilation Daniel Martel inc. c. Cossette, 2021 QCCQ 744

The Court of Quebec awarded the plaintiffs $1,000 compensatory damages and $1,500 punitive damages against the defendant restaurant owner over a post on the defendant’s personal Facebook page (which had 500 friends) which was ruled to be defamatory. Although published for only 24 hours, the post was shared more than 50 times and generated more than 20 comments. The court noted the multiplier effect of dissemination on the Internet and found the post was “irreversible” once shared by third parties.