The plaintiff, an OPP officer, sued the defendant newspaper and its reporters for defamation over articles criticizing his conduct during the 9/11 rescue efforts in New York.
At trial, the defendants relied on the traditional defence of qualified privilege, which the trial judge rejected for two of the articles.
The jury awarded the plaintiff $125,000 in damages.
On appeal, the defendants argued for the adoption of the public interest responsible journalism defence.
The Court of Appeal recognized the new defence as part of Ontario law, holding that it strikes an appropriate balance between freedom of expression and protection of reputation.
However, the court dismissed the appeal because the defendants had not pleaded or litigated the responsible journalism standard at trial.
