2008 March 11

Wiebe v. Bouchard, 2008 BCSC 249

The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed a defamation action brought by the creator of a website called B.C. Fathers against the authors of a research paper published by a federal government agency which used an image taken from the plaintiff’s website as an example of internet “hate messages”. The alleged defamation was contained in a lengthy report which was the result of a research project funded by the Status of Women Canada. The report contained only two direct references to the plaintiff or his website. The Court concluded that the passages at issue were matters of comment, as opposed to statements of fact, and that they were protected by the defence of fair comment. “In this case, the defendants reproduced an image that the plaintiff admits was on his website. The defendants made statements about that image and what they considered to be its symbolic meaning and underlying message. For the purpose of the defence of fair comment, the “facts” on which the comment is based consist of the image itself and the fact that it appeared on the plaintiff’s website. Some readers looking at the image may agree with what the defendants say about it. Others may fail to see who the defendants drew those conclusions, while still others may think the defendants have misinterpreted and over-reacted to an attempt at humour or satire. The point is that the image is there for readers to consider in light of what the defendants may say about it. In my view, this makes it a classic example of a comment based on true, clearly stated facts.” The Court found that the subject was of public interest, reasoning that by creating a website and posting material on it, the plaintiff obviously decided the material was of public interest and related to social or political issues. “Any response to or comment upon it must be of equal public interest.”