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Guitouni c. Societe Radio-Canada
June 12, 2003
The Supreme Court of Canada refused Mr. Guitouni leave to appeal
the Quebec Court of Appeal's substantial reduction of his damage
award against Radio-Canada.
The Court of Appeal acknowledged the right of journalists to express
opinions on matters of public interest in news stories, and re-stated
the fair comment test in Quebec to ensure courts permit defence
of opinions that they may not share. The Court of Appeal stated
the applicable test as requiring proof of the following: 1) the
existence of public interest, 2) the intention to serve a just cause,
and 3) the honest expression of an opinion. For the third element
of the test, Quebec courts traditionally required the opinion to
be "reasonably tenable respecting the facts presented".
While Quebec courts continue to use this latter phrase, they now
analyze it so that they don't substitute their opinion for that
of the speaker.
See: Guitouni
c. Societe Radio-Canada
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