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SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, and such lawsuits are restricted in many US states–but not in Canada. They should be.
A stay-at-home mother of three who created a website to alert the government about allegedly dangerous environmental problems in her southwestern Ontario neighbourhood is facing a $2 million libel suit by one of the developers she reported on.Louisette Lanteigne of Waterloo, Ont., said she grew sick of what she saw during construction in her new subdivision and what appeared to be questionable building practices and labour-code violations.
. . .
Her efforts led to letters and kudos from various government officials for reporting alleged violations. Then-environment minister Leona Dombrowsky wrote her to say, "Your advocacy on behalf of your neighbourhood is commendable and I encourage you to contact the ministry . . .to report any further incidents."Environment Ministry spokesman John Steele said work by people like Lanteigne is of great value because there aren't enough ministry workers available to spot every infraction.
The developers she blew the whistle on didn't take kindly to being exposed. Now she's being sued for libel by one of the largest developers in the area, Activa Holdings Inc., after refusing to take down her blog.
Based on the news report, one can't say for sure who is in the right, although the commendations from the provincial government are telling. In any case, the company's conduct can reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a private individual into silence. The shame of it is that, even if Ms Lanteigne is vindicated in court, she still has to pay her own legal bills. That's why Canada needs anti-SLAPP legislation.
Ms Lanteigne's blog has been swamped with traffic, but a cached version is available here. She reported violations of labour and environmental laws that led to multiple prosecutions. Unless Activa is alleging that these never happened, where's the libel?
More here.
UPDATE (15 Nov.): She's back online at Infringements. Thumbnails of the original photos are posted here.
