2012 April 18

Editions Ecosociete Inc. v. Banro Corp, 2012 SCC 18, dismissing an appeal from 2010 ONCA 416, affirming 2009 CanLII 7168

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the Ontario court had jurisdiction over defamation claims relating to a book published by a corporation based in Montreal, Quebec, where the evidence showed 93 copies were distributed to bookstores in Ontario, including 27 in the City of Toronto, a number of copies were available in Ontario public libraries, and the book was also available for purchase on the defendant’s website. One of the individual defendants had given a speech about the book at the University of Toronto. “The book has also been referenced by many websites and newspaper articles available and accessible in Ontario.”

The Supreme Court of Canada held that at this preliminary stage of proceedings, the “plaintiff need only allege publication and its allegations should be accepted as pleaded unless contradicted by evidence adduced by the defendants.”

On the forum conveniens issue, the Supreme Court of Canada specifically rejected defence submissions that the plaintiff must allege and prove “substantial publication” in Ontario, rejecting the approach taken by the English courts. “The defamation law of Canada has not adopted the substantial publication standard. In Canada, the evidentiary standard for proving publication remains the traditional common law standard, according to which a single instance of publication is sufficient for the tort to crystallize.” The Court noted that the importance of place of reputation has long been recognized in Canadian defamation law and that it is important to permit plaintiffs to sue for defamation in the locality where they enjoy their reputation.