Law Times

Law Times • January 16, 2012 NEWS Omnibus crime bill on Gerretsen's agenda Continued from page 1 court system across the province. Th e province already has 17 unifi ed family courts in places like Barrie, Hamilton, London, and Peterborough, Ont. But Gerretsen says the time to con- sider the system's expansion across the entire province has come. "Of course, there will be issues that we'll have to look at in trying to change the system, as with anything," he says. "But I think the important thing to re- member is that it would allow us to focus on the goal of providing what's best for the people using the system." Gerretsen notes he'll also be focusing on "getting a handle on" funding for victims of crime and tackling the federal government's omnibus crime bill this year. "We'll be looking to put more funding and resources into those victimized groups and will see whether or not the programs' funding can be enhanced," he says. "Traditionally, the judicial system hasn't been very much concerned about victims, and I think we could be doing more to make sure the system is fair to both the victims and the accused." Other areas expected to get funding in 2012 include legal aid, according to Gerretsen, who notes the program has become less available in recent years due to changing eligibility criteria. He notes the government will continue improvements to legal aid with an extra $15 million possibly available for it this year. An additional area of concern is the omnibus crime bill that will toughen up laws and pro- vide for longer sentences for of- fenders. Th e province, Gerretsen says, will go into talks this month with the federal government on the bill. His main concern, he points out, will be making sure the province isn't "unduly bur- dened" by the additional costs of jailing more off enders for longer periods of time. LT PAGE 5 Continued from page 1 his comments and debate later ensued among Law Union members over the tone and nature of Cor- rigan's e-mails, the plaintiff took the matter fi rst to the organization and then to court, where he later fi led more than 50 letters of support and several pages of articles to disprove Hechter's claims that he was anti-Semitic. "In this case, not defending Israeli government politics does not mean one is against the Jews or is anti-Semitic," wrote Portugal Supreme Court Justice Antonio Colaco in a letter of support fi led by Corrigan in the case. "I do not mix their interest with state interests, although the government has the duty to fulfi l its people's will." But in Hechter's statement of defence, he alleges Corrigan went further than failing to defend Israeli politics and instead claimed the plaintiff was an "obsessive contributor" to the Law Union's mailing list on the subject of Israeli-Palestinian politics. "Th e opinions he expresses to the LUO List (Law Union of Ontario mailing list) member- ship on the subject are always critical of Israel," Hechter wrote in his statement of defence. "He is routinely the initiator of debate, and also persistently engages in, invites, and partici- pates in debate and argument via the LUO List on the Israeli- Palestinian issue." Hechter added that the content, volume, and nature of Corrigan's e-mails had off end- ed many of the Law Union's members. "I blocked Ed Corrigan's e-mails," court documents 'It's really hard to know how often digital defa- mation claims happen,' says Michael Smith. quote Law Union member Cathy Pike as saying in an e-mail to the organization's mailing list three days aſt er Corrigan's messages that June. "I found an article en- titled 'Zionist Distortion of History,' I believe. I found it anti-Semitic in tone. I think the volume and tenor of the postings does suggest anti-Semitism." But Corrigan argued in his statement of claim that he was simply off ering a diff erent viewpoint on Israeli politics. He alleged Hechter's e-mail was "off ensive, slanderous, and, of course, inaccurate." None of the al- legations have been proven in court. Corrigan also claimed the news articles he had shared in his three June 2010 e-mails to the Law Union mailing list provided commentary on Israe- li-Palestinian relations rather than statements that were anti-Semitic in nature. "Th e vast majority of my articles published on the Israel-Palestine issue has been quoting Jewish and Israeli authors in de- fence of Palestinian human rights," Corrigan told Law Times in an e-mail. "Quoting Jewish writers can hardly be considered anti-Semitic. Th e rest of my published articles are on immigration and refu- gee issues or other political matters." Prior to launching the lawsuit, Corrigan had forwarded an article by Globe and Mail columnist Rick Salutin that was critical of Israeli politics to several Law Union members. He also mentioned writer Margaret Atwood's article "Th e shadow over Israel." Hechter alleged in his statement of defence that Corrigan's reference to Salutin, along with several other notes about writers' religions, was anti-Se- mitic in nature. He also responded to Corrigan's e- mail on the Law Union mailing list by making the allegedly libellous comments in question. But he defended himself on the grounds that his alleged remarks were fair comment on a matter of public interest; were subject to qualifi ed privilege given that the e-mails went only to members of the Law Union's mailing list; and didn't carry a defamatory meaning. Speaking about the case, Ellyn Law LLP found- ing partner Igor Ellyn notes that the nature and reach of the Internet and other forms of digital communication have complicated cases involv- ing online defamation. "Th e Internet has become so pervasive that many libel claims now involve a person who is alleging a defamatory statement on a web site, chat room, e-mail or an online newspaper," says Ellyn. "Th e defamatory state- ment could be something that was reprinted from another source. A defamatory state- ment can seriously aff ect a person's reputation or career, especially if it appears on the Internet where it can be wide- ly accessed in a rather short period of time." But Tony Wong, a partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, says that despite the circum- stances surrounding the case, the outcome may be nothing new in libel and defamation law. "Damages on digital defamation and online defamation are defi nitely new territory," says Wong. "But notwithstanding new media, the results will likely be the same and the general principles of libel and defamation law may still apply." Still, online defamation cases highlight the need for Ontario courts to off er guidance, says Michael Smith of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. "It's really hard to know how oſt en digital defama- tion claims happen. I would not be at all surprised if they did occur fairly frequently but they oſt en settle relatively quickly — many before a state- ment of claim is fi led — so there are a lot that you do not hear anything about unless you are direct- ly involved. "Many victims of defamation just want the defa- mation to stop and for the off ending articles to be removed, so many cases can be resolved quickly with the defendant retracting the statement and/or apologizing." Th e result, says Smith, is little guidance and an even greater hunger for direction among lawyers specializing in defamation and libel law. "Th ose of us practising in this area are excited to read Inter- net defamation decisions precisely because there are so few of them and we're looking for guidance as to how to handle the cases," says Smith. "Sixteen or 17 years aſt er the Internet became publicly avail- able, it's still the Wild West and there are a lot of un- answered questions out there." LT www.lawtimesnews.com DRAFT TAX-EFFECTIVE WILLS TAX PLANNED WILL PRECEDENTS, FOURTH EDITION ALISON SCOTT BUTLER, Q.C., LL.B., LL.M. Tax Planned Will Precedents, Fourth Edition gives you everything you need to confidently handle even the most complicated estates. You get easy-to-use, clearly worded precedents prepared by a estate-planning expert. These are combined with commentary explaining the issues and how they are dealt with in the precedents. 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