What is the defence of fair comment in the context of defamation cases?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Wiebe v. Bouchard, 2008 BCSC 249 (CanLII):
In Slim v. Daily Telegraph, Lord Denning said, at page 170: …in considering a plea of fair comment, it is not correct to canvass all the various imputations which different readers may put upon the words. The important thing is to determine whether or not the writer was actuated by malice. If he was an honest man expressing his genuine opinion on a matter of public interest, then no matter that his words conveyed derogatory imputations; no matter that his opinion was wrong, or exaggerated or prejudiced; and no matter that it was badly expressed so that other people read all sorts of innuendoes into it; nevertheless, he has a good defence of fair comment. His honesty is the cardinal test. He must honestly express his real view… I stress this because the right of fair comment is one of the essential elements that go to make up or freedom of speech. We must ever maintain this right intact. It must not be whittled down by legal refinements.
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