In a unanimous 20-0 vote, Halton Region Councillors voted to send a message to Premier Kathleen Wynne, asking that she re-introduce Bill 83, An Act to Amend the Courts of Justice Act and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act in order to protect expression on matters of public interest. The Resolution reads in part: "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Regional Municipality of Halton advise the newly elected Premier of the Province of Ontario, the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, and its local members of Provincial Legislative Assembly of its support for the protection of Public Participation Act, 2014 and request that Bill 83 be re-introduced forthwith in the Legislature"
The Resolution was most likely adopted in response to two recent events: Members of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition (and Donnelly Law clients) were SLAPPed with a $100,000 defamation lawsuit for speaking out against continued dumping of large amounts of fill, contrary to Burlington’s by-laws; and Burlington Council recently also unanimously adopted a Resolution asking Queen’s Park to make anti-SLAPP legislation a priority for the new session.
Read the recent article in the Hamilton Spectator found here.