Resources > News and Publications > Safe to Slander City Hall? Ontario Court Bars Defamation Suits by Government Bodies

Safe to Slander City Hall? Ontario Court Bars Defamation Suits by Government Bodies

View Document

31.12.08

Marko Vesely and Chris M. Dafoe

Two recent Ontario decisions have broken with the precedent in which a municipal corporation had the same powers as any other corporate body, including the right to protect its reputation by suing in defamation in its own right. These two decisions have left in doubt whether municipal goverments (outside Ontario) can sue for defamation.