Consumer Reports (Credit Reports)

Spencer v. Equifax Canada Inc., 2011 ONSC 7284 (CanLII)

[28] Regarding defamation, in my view such a claim is not applicable in the present case because the provision of a credit report falls within the realm of qualified privilege. In the case of Cusson v. Quan, 2007 ONCA 771, at paragraphs 38, 39, and 40, the OCA found that communications such as employee references, business reports, credit reports, and complaints to public authorities are subject to qualified privilege as they are statements made by persons who have a duty or interest in making the statements and the persons to whom they are made have a corresponding duty or interest to receive them. Where there is qualified privilege, the plaintiff can only succeed if the plaintiff proves malice. There is no evidence of malice in this case.

[29] Therefore, this action may proceed only as a negligence claim, and I will analyze it in that context.

[20] Equifax is a consumer reporting agency within the meaning of the Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.33, (hereinafter called the “CRA”). Any credit report distributed by Equifax falls within the CRA definition of a consumer report. It should be noted that the phrases “consumer report” and “credit report” are often used interchangeably.