A defamation lawsuit against the former president of the BC teachers鈥� union by a Chilliwack school trustee has been dismissed before it even got to trial.
Trustee Barry Neufeld had filed a defamation suit against Glen Hansman, who at the time was the president of the B.C. Teachers鈥� Federation. He launched the suit in October 2018 after Hansman responded in the media to Neufeld鈥檚 statements on the controversial SOGI 123.
In response, Hansman filed his own suit through the Protection of Public Participation Act (PPPA), claiming Neufeld is a public figure and was open to being criticized without threat of defamation. That was heard in July 2o19, and a court date for the defamation suit was tentatively set for this December.
But that case won鈥檛 be happening now.
Justice A. Ross on Wednesday, saying that his decision has 鈥渘othing to do with 鈥榗orrectness鈥� of either party鈥檚 position on that issue (SOGI 123).鈥�
He noted the intent of the PPPA legislation is 鈥渢o screen out actions that have the effect of limiting a defendant鈥檚 participation in public debate. In that respect, the PPPA seeks to balance the rights of individuals to protect their reputations against the obvious benefit to a democratic society of protecting free speech and rigorous debate on issues of public interest.鈥�
Hansman argued that he had every right to speak out against Neufeld鈥檚 comments, which he said harmed him and the LGBTQ community. Hansman is openly gay. Neufeld said that Hansman鈥檚 comments were made in malice, and harmed him as well.
Neufeld did not prove to the court, the judge stated, that substantial damage had been done to his reputation. He called Neufeld鈥檚 evidence 鈥渟keletal at best.鈥� Neufeld did also win a following election and remains on the Chilliwack school board.
Furthermore, one of the most controversial statements made by Neufeld were on a Facebook post in which he concedes he was posting 鈥渁t the risk of being labelled a bigotted homophobe.鈥�
Some of the things Hansman said about Neufeld in the time of the SOGI 123 debates included calling him transphobic, saying he should be removed from public office, and nowhere near students.
But in the end, Ross sided with Hansman鈥檚 argument for public debate.
鈥淚 have further found that the PPPA requires me to balance the seriousness of the harm suffered by the plaintiff (Neufeld) and the public interest in continuing the proceeding against the public interest in protecting the defendant鈥檚 (Hansman) expression. The plaintiff has an interest in claiming damages and clearing his good name. However, the public has an interest in protecting expressions that relate to public debate. In balancing those interests, I find that the interest in public debate outweighs the interest in continuing the proceeding on these facts.鈥�
Ross鈥檚 decision now means that Neufeld鈥檚 defamation case will not go through. This was reportedly the first time the so called 鈥渁nti-SLAPP鈥� legislation has been tested in court.
Story is developing. More to come.
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