The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50808
REGIONAL WRAP-UP In presenting the proposed legisla- tion June 13, Dupuis said it's designed "to prevent abusive use of the courts and promote freedom of expression and citi- zen participation in public debate." Que- bec will become the second province af- ter British Columbia to pass anti-SLAPP legislation to protect its citizens from the litigation intended to intimidate and si- lence critics or opponents by burdening them with the cost of a legal defence so that they abandon their criticism or op- position. According to the U.S.-based Anti- SLAPP Resource Center, most are ulti- mately legally unsuccessful but still of- ten succeed in the public arena because defending one, even when the legal defence is strong, requires a substan- tial investment of money, time, and re- sources. The resulting effect is a "chill" on public participation in, and open debate on, important public issues. Fearful of being the target of future litigation, others refrain from speaking on, or participating in, issues of public concern as a result. The Dupuis announcement came only two days after Quebec environ- mental groups and individuals who have been hit with such lawsuits to stop them from denouncing polluters held a demonstration outside his office at the Montreal courthouse. Some of the pro- testers wore red bandanas over their mouths with $20 bills taped to them to symbolize their stance that companies with plenty of money are using SLAPPs to gag free speech. They delivered a petition signed by representatives of 150 organizations and about 1,000 individuals demanding an anti-SLAPP law before the adjournment of the legislative session. "The conse- quences of these lawsuits are devastating for a lot of people," André Bélisle, presi- dent of the Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique, told reporters. He admitted to being quite pleasantly surprised by bill 99 pre- sented by Dupuis. Bélisle's group became the target of a $5-million SLAPP in 2005 when the American Iron & Metal Co. Inc., a Montreal-based multinational that re- cycles metals, filed one in what Bélisle 12 A UGUST 2008 www. called an attempt to stop his members' efforts to get the company to obey provincial environmental laws. AIM had built a scrap metal recovery facil- ity on the site of a former city dump in the Quebec City suburb of Lévis, and the association, as well as another environmental group headed by Bé- lisle, claimed the company was ille- gally dumping waste into the nearby Etchemin River. Although the green groups won the first two rounds in court when a tempo- rary injunction halting the Lévis opera- tion was granted, they lost a third round in 2006 when the Quebec Superior Court refused a permanent injunction. Despite the courts eventually ruling in their favour, the organizations had spent more than $100,000 on legal fees and was left struggling. At least four more SLAPPs were launched in Quebec following the AIM case. The Barreau du Québec actually tried to dissuade an anti-SLAPP law with then-bâtonnier Michel Doyon arguing before a National Assembly commit- tee studying proposed changes to the Code of Civil Procedure at the end of February that such legislation wasn't necessary. Noting SLAPPs are relative- ly rare in Quebec, Doyon told Dupuis that judges already have the power to deal with the few that are filed. "We be- lieve that the Code of Civil Procedure responds to the problem," he said. "If there are abuses and if the government sees that there are more problems, it will be time to legislate, but I think it is too early." The minister reminded Doyon that an anti-SLAPP law wasn't only backed by the opposition Action Démocratique du Québec and Parti Québécois but was also recommended last year by a com- mittee of experts headed by Roderick Macdonald, a McGill University law professor, who proposed either adopt- ing new legislation or simply amending the code. "We have to move on this," Dupuis said at the time. — MIKE KING mking@videotron.ca fter almost 40 years with one of Atlantic Canada's largest law firms, Eric Durnford has downsized. The labour lawyer, his lawyer wife Nancy Barteaux, and research assistant Amy Bradbury, have left McInnes Cooper to join Huestis Ritch, an 11-member litigation firm in downtown Halifax. Together they are establishing "a boutique within a boutique." It is, says Durnford, a unique model. "We see this as an experiment," he tells Canadian Lawyer. The experi- ment is founded on experience and best practices. "Most labour litigation firms are boutiques," notes Durnford. "That model really is the way to go. It provides enhanced specialization." Law ye rmag.com It is also, he adds, a less expensive option for clients, most of whom came with Durnford when he exited McInnes Cooper. Durnford has no doubt the mod- el will work well for Huestis Ritch, which did not have a labour litiga- tion unit, or even a lawyer practis-