Is there a qualified privilege in the defence of defamation?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Hazel v Rainy River First Nations, 2016 ONSC 5875 (CanLII):
Defamation is the intentional publication of an injurious false statement. While it is true that an actual intention to defame is not necessary to impose liability on a defendant, the intention to do so is nevertheless inferred from the publication of the defamatory statement. This gives rise to the presumption of malice which may be displaced by the existence of a qualified privilege (Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, 1995 CanLII 59 (SCC), [1995] 2 S.C.R. 1130 S.C.C. at para. 170).
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