The Plaintiffs (Subway) sought a sealing order for 10 documents in a defamation action, comprising six financial documents and four private contracts.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) opposed the motion, citing the open courts principle.
The court applied the Sierra Club test, requiring a serious risk to an important interest and a balancing of salutary and deleterious effects.
The court found that the financial documents met the test due to detailed, commercially sensitive sales data that could provide competitors with an unearned advantage, and ordered them sealed.
However, the four private agreements (supplier and internal corporate structure agreements) were not sealed, as the potential harm from their disclosure was deemed speculative and did not outweigh the public interest in open courts.
No costs were awarded due to the mixed success and public interest nature of the opposition.