The plaintiff, a municipal politician, sued two journalists for unlawful means conspiracy, alleging they conspired with confidential CSIS sources to illegally leak and publish classified information portraying him as an agent of the Chinese government.
The journalists brought a motion to dismiss the action under the anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act (s. 137.1).
The court granted the motion, finding that the articles related to matters of public interest (foreign interference).
The court held that the plaintiff failed to show the conspiracy claim had substantial merit, as there was no evidence the journalists agreed to anything beyond protecting their sources' identities, nor did they engage in unlawful conduct.
Furthermore, the public interest in protecting investigative journalism and confidential sources on matters of national security outweighed the harm suffered by the plaintiff.
