Preface

• Author: David A. Potts; Erin Stoik
• Pages: 31-31

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Preface

The anti-SLAPP legislation, more formally known as section 137.1 of the

Courts of Justice Act in Ontario and the Protection of Public Participation Act in

British Columbia, is arguably the most inf‌luential development in Canadian

defamation law in the last f‌ifty years, aside from the advent of the internet.

It appears simple in theory. It is not simple in practice.

This text is written for judges and lawyers in Ontario and British Colum-

bia who are faced with anti-SLAPP proceedings from the Bench and the Bar. It

assumes a knowledge of civil procedure and the conduct of court proceedings.

This text is intended as a manual and a guidebook, not a general intro-

duction or an academic treatise. Our objective is to make your job easier,

whether you are a judge or a lawyer.

This text relies heavily on caselaw, with great attention to the details and

phrasing of important decisions. We have retained the original emphasis from

all cases, indicated in italics. Where we have added additional emphasis, it

is indicated in bold.

The law is stated as of 1 May 2021. Note that the text will not cover the

administrative law sections of the legislation. They are beyond our expertise

as defamation lawyers.