Court Submission
April 24, 2026
CFE Intervener Factum in the Supreme Court of Canada – This appeal is a significant test of Ontario’s anti-SLAPP legislation, balancing corporate reputation with the right of consumers to share online feedback. Originally the homeowners’ anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the defamation suit brought by Benchwood Builders (the plaintiff) was granted, but later it was revered by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The crucial “weighing” test under the legislation is that the plaintiff, to avoid having the case dismissed, must show that the harm caused by the expression at issue is “sufficiently serious” to outweigh the public interest in protecting the defendant's expression. The plaintiff must also meet a “merits” test satisfying the court that it was seriously harmed by the expression and that the defendant has “no valid defense.” The merits stage often requires a complex and resource-intensive analysis.
The Centre for Free Expression was granted leave to intervene. CFE submits that the motion’s judge can expedite anti-SLAPP cases, once the required public interest test has been met by the defendant in the underlying case, by addressing the “weighing” test first. If it is not found in the plaintiff’s favour, the motions judge can be relieved, or can deal with more cursorily, with the often more complex and resource-intensive merits-based analysis. CFE also submits that corporate plaintiffs alleging defamation must show a link between the impugned expression and pecuniary loss to meet their burden of demonstrative “serious harm.”
