Canadian Blogs.net

Ezra Levant must be shaking in his boots now, knowing that, based on this finding by the Ontario Court of Appeal, his non-existent "defence" against upcoming lawsuits against him for defamation has just been declared "rubbish", while Warren Kinsella is probably rubbing his hands with glee (emphasis added): Meanwhile, Mr. Warman said that his victory, "sends the message that those who try to use the cloak of free speech to poison other people's reputations through lies and defamation do so at their own peril."Hate propaganda and defaming people are both illegal on the Internet, just the same as they...

It seems that the goons and thugs brainwashed by Ezra Levant and his libellous ways are out in full force – somebody had better round them up, put them all back in the mental asylum where they belong and bolt the doors. Having lost the ability to think for themselves, they are unable to see that libel and defamation are not the "pillars of free speech", even though that's what Levant would like it to be. Levant doesn't believe in free speech. He is only interested in defaming those he doesn't like (Muslims, individuals, etc.) and then milk his...

The latest in a long lawsuit saga: Michael Ignatieff's campaign aide, Warren Kinsella, is threatening to sue me for writing about his involvement in Adscam. [...] But I don't want to cooperate in my own destruction. Because Kinsella and Warman are bullies, who are abusing the law as a political weapon. They're censors, who would rather sue me into silence than debate me. And, in Kinsella's case, it's especially ominous – he thinks he can shut down legitimate political criticism of himself, the Liberals and Michael Ignatieff, about the core issue of political corruption. Not on my watch. I'm...

This open letter to Ezra Levant has also been posted as a comment to his blog at www.ezralevant.com. However, the self-anointed "pope of unfettered free speech" moderates comments on his site and does not post any comments that disagree with his view of the world. Dear Ezra, You have become a disgrace to the free-speech movement. In fact, you are doing it more harm than good. Your blog has become an online rant that specializes in name-calling and libel – neither of which is necessarily free speech. In recent posts you have referred to Warren Kinsella as an "Adscammer",...

Ezra Levant must have a death wish: Kinsella was a key figure in Adscam. The judicial inquiry into the matter, in a chapter titled "Who is responsible?" mentioned Kinsella by name over and over again, calling his conduct "highly inappropriate". In short, Kinsella was a political staffer at the time, and he wrote to a senior member of the public service demanding that government advertising and polling contracts be steered through Chuck Guite. Guite was later convicted on five counts of fraud, as the central figure in the scam. Warren Kinsella has successfully sued others before for implying that...

Here's section 298 of Canada's Criminal Code: 298. (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published. Mode of expression (2) A defamatory libel may be expressed directly or by insinuation or irony (a) in words legibly marked on any substance; or (b) by any object signifying a defamatory libel otherwise than by words.Apart from a civil defamation lawsuit, there is the possibility...

This just doesn't compute. How can anyone denounce someone else as the "stupidest man in Canadian politics" (which is clearly libellous, including under the Criminal Code s. 298), but then sue others for their name-calling? Just a little Law 101 refresher regarding s. 298 of the Criminal Code: A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published. Clearly, what Ezra Levant has written about...

Warren Kinsella is suing Ezra Levant for defamation – yawn! These two make you wish that Paul Martin's national daycare program had been implemented, because both require around-the-clock adult supervision while blogging. Levant expends an exorbitant amount of time blogging about free speech, while Kinsella uses his blog, among other things, for slagging off journalists, columnists, politicians, etc. he doesn't like. Both should be entered in a mandatory make-work program, as they seem to have too much free time on their hands. Levant is wrong when he says that Kinsella's lawsuit is frivolous; everyone has the right to defend...

Jon Newton, who runs the Canadian peer-to-peer news site p2pnet, says a British Columbia judge has ruled in his favour in a defamation lawsuit launched by a former Green Party official. This official argued that by linking to articles which he claimed were defamatory, p2pnet also engaged in defamation — and he sued half a dozen other websites for linking to the same material, and reportedly threatened to sue even more to force them to remove the links and references. According to B.C. Supreme Court judge Stephen Kelleher, however, linking by itself is not sufficient to make a case for defamation. Kelleher said: “Without proof that persons other than the plaintiff visited the defendant’s website, clicked on the hyperlinks, and read the articles complained of, there cannot be...

by Werner Patels Survey after survey confirms that journalists and lawyers are the least respected professions – even less so than politicians. Now the two will meet up in a courtroom over libel and defamation offences committed by a Canadian columnist. Don Martin, a CanWest columnist, has been sued by Arthur Kent, a former Alberta Tory candidate in this spring's provincial election. He lost the election and now claims that Martin's defamatory column damaged his reputation. It is hard not to sympathize with Mr. Kent. Martin described him "as an arrogant and high-handed individual who is unworthy of trust...

It seems to have become a new sport in Canada: libel lawsuits flying like crazy back and forth among bloggers, journalists, writers, etc. Ezra Levant, for example, provides details of the latest round in this new national sport. Ezra actually makes a key observation: There is a rough and tumble -- even rude -- nature to the Internet, but netiquette (and common sense) suggests that if someone complains with merit, those complaints are often incorporated. It's the whole Web 2.0 thing -- interactive. Unfortunately, the Internet is what it is. It is a very useful tool, but it is...

From the "Corrections" section in today's National Post: A "fact box" in the paper on May 10 wrongly described the reasons for a libel notice filed by Canadian Human Rights Commission lawyer Giacomo Vigna against blogger Ezra Levant. Mr. Vigna's notice is in response to alleged, repeated defamatory statements against him on Mr. Levant's Web site. The sidebar also wrongly described Mr. Vigna's role at a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal hearing. Mr. Vigna had asked for a one-day postponement of the hearing due to health reasons while acting as commission counsel. The National Post apologizes to Mr. Vigna for the errors. Oh dear, does that mean that the Post was faced, yet again, with the threat of legal action in connection with Levant's usual antics and had to publish this retraction? When...

by Werner Patels When blogs first became popular, it did not take very long for bloggers to start using their sites for nefarious purposes, such as spreading lies about others. It may have started with some school kids who figured that using a blog for bullying mates off school property made perfect sense. But it certainly did not stop there. Soon people who should know better would start acting like schoolyard brats slinging mud at each other. And not too long thereafter, the first few lawyers began cashing in their retainer cheques from clients seeking legal redress for having been libelled and defamed. Nowadays, this trend has become par for the course and has even been "honoured" with its own moniker: Libel Chill. Most of these libel actions between bloggers are simply childish and...

I hope his Lordship wins every dollar. This so called authour's book is no more than a long gossip piece. The attacks on Lady Black are truly revolting. I hope this authour and his publishers lose their shirts and pants!Black slaps author with $11-million libel suitClaims biography portrayed Lady Black as 'hectoring, slatternly ... and a harridan'PAUL WALDIE AND PATRICIA BESTFrom Tuesday's Globe and MailConrad Black has hit British author Tom Bower with a libel suit in Canada that alleges the writer's conduct has been “vindictive, high-handed, contemptuous, sadistic, pathologically mendacious and malicious.”Lord Black is seeking $11-million in damages and alleges Mr. Bower's 436-page book — Conrad & Lady Black Dancing on the Edge — portrays him as “evil and devoid of any...