SLAPP in the Face of Freedom of Speech!

The British Columbia Court of Appeal today (22 July) delivered a shocking SLAPP in the face for freedom of speech. The judgment by Justices Tysoe, Bennett and Saunders included:

The judgment concluded:

"This is a SLAPP in the face," said the Defendant, Don Staniford. "This shocking judgment will have a chilling effect on all campaigners speaking out on environmental and social justice issues. The Norwegian Government, as owners in the multinational Cermaq, have effectively abused the Canadian courts to muzzle global criticism against salmon farming."

"Norwegian companies not only have a monopoly on salmon farming but this judgment sends the signal that they also own the law," continued Staniford. "The wide-ranging permanent injunction has huge implications for freedom of speech and cannot be allowed to stand. Basic statements of fact and opinion such as 'Wild Salmon Don't Do Drugs' and 'Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Farmed Salmon' are now outlawed. Newspapers will now be banned from reporting the facts: of how salmon farming kills sea lions; how salmon farming kills lobsters and how salmon farming spreads infectious diseases. Scientific journals will now have to re-write papers to comply with the Draconian terms of the permanent injunction. I will fight this Norwegian multinational all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada via an appeal. The truth always wins out in the end!"

To see the shocking scope of the permanent injunction – including a copy and the 50+ statements now banned - please read "Censorship Like A Cancer Grows"

The injunction was summarized in Cermaq's appeal as follows:

The permanent injunction would not only apply to Don Staniford and the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture but also to ANY person or company aware of the injunction i.e. the general public and the media. On the last day of the 20-day trial in 2012, Cermaq's lawyers detailed the Draconian terms of the injunction - referred to as the 'No Future Defamation Term':

Cermaq's heavy-handed lawyers at Fasken Martineau spelled out in black and white what they consider to be the 'Defamatory Words' in their Amended Notice of Civil Claim (52 statements in total):