S.L.A.P.P Lawsuits

Subway v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2020 ONSC 1263 (CanLII)

[1] This case arises from the February 24, 2017 broadcast of an investigative report on the show Marketplace (the “Marketplace Report”), created, aired, and published online by the Defendant, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and its employees the Defendants, Charlsie Agro, Kathleen Coughlin, Eric Szeto (collectively “CBC”). The subject matter of the Marketplace Report was a comparison of the chicken sandwiches sold by the Plaintiffs (collectively “Subway”) and four other fast food chains in Canada.

[5] Broadly speaking, section 137.1 of the CJA is designed to protect free expression in the face of a libel or similar action aimed at matters of public interest:

The purpose of the statute is to expand the democratic benefits of broad participation in public affairs and to reduce the risk that such participation will be unduly hampered by fear of legal action. It would seek to accomplish these purposes by encouraging the responsible exercise of free expression by members of the public on matters of public interest and by discouraging litigation and related legal conduct that interferes unduly with such expression.