Can a statement be defamatory on the basis of its innuendo meaning?

A statement can be defamatory on the basis of the meaning that would reasonably have been ascribed to it by an ordinary person in light of generally known facts. This includes both the actual words and what would have been inferred from them by an ordinary person. The overall circumstances and context within which the statements were made and would have been understood must be considered. Alternatively, a statement can be found to have a defamatory meaning in light of the special circumstances, facts or knowledge that were present at the time of its publication, if the statement is reasonably capable of supporting that meaning and it was received by at least one person who was aware of that special information. This is often described as the statement’s “legal” or “true” innuendo meaning: Botiuk v. Toronto Free Press Publications Ltd., 1995 CanLII 60 (SCC), [1995] 3 S.C.R. 3 at para. 62; Lawson v. Baines, 2012 BCCA 117 at para. 13.