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Page 4 February 3, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com their appeal. By press time, the web site had raised $1,307. "We have to do this ap- peal, and we have two other hearings coming up before the end of March. We des- perately need help with our legal expenses so we can keep up all of these fights," the Fourniers wrote. Barbara Kulaszka, coun- sel for the defendants, says her clients are awaiting the final judgment in the case in order to review their op- tions for an appeal. Defama- tion laws, she adds, could also benefit from a review. "Defamation cases arising on the Internet present unique and challeng- ing problems and it would certainly be helpful for the legislature to review the law with a view to providing statutory remedies that fit those problems," she notes. "ere needs to be a consultation with the stakeholders, such as bloggers, forum opera- tors, ISPs, and so on, to truly understand the problems arising in a digital environment and so the remedies." Toronto Internet and defamation lawyer Gil Zvulony says what stood out to him was the size of the cost award since it was higher than the amount recovered in damages. "It goes contrary to the trend [that] you got to keep your legal costs in line and in propor- tion with the damages at issue," he says. "You're not going to see that anywhere other than a defamation case." When it comes to online defamation, defendants who fight to the bitter end will usually end up paying more unless they're absolutely certain they can prove their statements are true, according to Zvulony. While his case against freedominion.ca has come to an end for now, Warman still has several other ongo- ing libel matters. In 2008, he went aer Sun Media columnist Ezra Levant for publishing a post on his web site that allegedly de- famed him. In the post, Levant suggested Warman "spreads hate in the name of human rights," according to his statement of claim. Since 2001, Warman has filed several human rights complaints related to hate speech on the Internet. But as of this June, s. 13 of the Human Rights Act, which deals with hate speech, will no longer be in effect aer a private member's bill to amend the legislation received Royal assent last year. Still, Warman says he hasn't given up on that portion of the legislation. "I think the first thing to remember is that governments don't last forever and that it was only through the sleight of hand of Conserva- tive party members' backbench bill that this government repealed this section," he says. "It was opposed by every member of the op- position except one, so I think there's reason to hope that when there's a new government, the section will be reinstated." Meanwhile, "as lawyers, one of the things we learn is we use the tools that are available to us." LT Crowdfunding sought for appeal NEWS U of T Faculty of Law invites you to a special evening panel discussion on: "Diversity on Canadian Corporate Boards" Leading experts will discuss the changing face of corporate boards in Canada, as well as hurdles and opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups. Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter and in partnership with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business. Date: Monday March 3, 2014 Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm Location: Alumni Hall, Victoria College (Old Vic) 91 Charles Street West, Toronto Cost: $15 (incl. wine and cheese) RSVP: By Feb. 21: 416-978-1400 / gpllm@utoronto.ca This event will count towards CPD requirements. http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html UofT-GPLLM_LT_Feb3_14.indd 1 14-01-30 2:36 PM Continued from page 1 Cost savings touted While the current proposal is lim- ited in scope, Mosley sees the pro- posed change as the first step towards an eventual electronic filing system for the two federal courts. "I would like to see us have a full- fledged e-filing system in place. at, however, requires additional funding resources that the Courts Administra- tion Service does not have at present because the rule changes are only part of a move in this direction. ey have to be coupled with having the adequate infra- structure that requires an investment." However, Mosley argues that in- vesting in an electronic filing system would save money in the end. "e re- turn on the investment would be con- siderable both for the government, which is the single greatest litigator in our court, and for the private sector." e large number of tax certificates filed in the court for enforcement is also an area where moving to elec- tronic filing would save the govern- ment a lot of money, he says. Mosley says he's already relying on electronic copies of documents in his own cases. "Right now, when I have a major case, I ask for all of the pleadings to be provided by the parties in electronic form and that is all I use. I rarely, if ever, go to the paper. I will only go to the paper if for some reason it could not be reproduced electronically." e Federal Court's move comes as Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General has dropped plans to imple- ment its planned Court Information Management System. Mosley, however, argues that moving to electronic filing would bring the fed- eral courts into step with other courts. "A number of the tribunals that op- erate in Ottawa and Gatineau and are subject to review by this court or by the Federal Court of Appeal already are functioning in an electronic environ- ment and their records, rather than be- ing printed off and delivered to us on paper, should be delivered to us elec- tronically and ultimately there should be a seamless transition [in electronic form] from the lowest decision-maker right up to the Supreme Court of Can- ada if the case gets that far." Even if the court moves to electronic filing, there will still be a need for staff to help people like unrepresented litigants who don't have access to a computer or the Internet and who come to the coun- ter with a stack of papers, says Mosley. As for lawyers, Mosley notes some are embracing technological changes more rapidly than others. "e intel- lectual property bar, for example, is very far advanced, as you might imagine, in the use of technology. Other bars are less but are moving in that direction." Paul Harquail, chairman of the Ca- nadian Bar Association's federal courts bench and bar liaison committee and a lawyer with Stewart McKelvey's Saint John, N.B., office, describes the pro- posed changes as "a step forward" that could save lawyers money in time and things like the cost of paper. "Really, it reflects the reality that we do so much electronically these days that it makes sense." LT Continued from page 1 The cost award was noteworthy since it was higher than the amount recovered in damages, says Gil Zvulony. Photo: Laura Pedersen

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