Defamation, Privacy and Media Law 2022

Course Chair
Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Dan Burnett is a Vancouver lawyer with Owen Bird Law Corporation. He has been practising primarily in the area of media law for over 30 years. He has vast experience in the areas of news advice, libel, privacy, contempt, publication bans, freedom of information, and freedom of expression issues. Dan has succeeded on a number of landmark cases that have shaped defamation law in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada decisions in WIC Radio and Crookes and the BC Court of Appeal decisions in Wilson v. Canwest, Nazerali, and Taseko v. Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

Dan is a founding member of Ad Idem (Advocates in Defence of Expression in Media) and is an adjunct professor teaching media law at the UBC graduate school of journalism.

He is honoured to be listed in both Lexpert and The Best Lawyers in Canada as a prominent BC lawyer in the areas of defamation and media law.

Faculty
Scott Dawson — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Bethany Lindsay — CBC Vancouver, Vancouver
Daniel J. Reid — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
Eve St-Laurent — Senior Legal Counsel, Media Law, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Vancouver
David F. Sutherland, KC — David F. Sutherland & Associates, Vancouver
Kathy Tomlinson — Former CBC and Globe and Mail Journalist, retired June 2021, Vancouver
Karen R. Zimmer — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:05)

Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver

Defamation 101 (9:05 – 9:45)

• a primer
• recent developments
• best practices for handling an unfolding situation

Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver
David F. Sutherland, KC — David F. Sutherland & Associates, Vancouver

BREAK (9:45 – 9:55)

SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) Applications (9:55 – 10:50)

• Ontario
• BC
• practice pointers

Daniel J. Reid — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
Eve St-Laurent — Senior Legal Counsel, Media Law, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Vancouver
Karen R. Zimmer — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:50 – 11:00)

Responsible Communications (11:00 – 11:45)

• when does the defence succeed and fail?
• what evidence to present

Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver
Kathy Tomlinson — Former CBC and Globe and Mail Journalist, retired June 2021, Vancouver

BREAK (11:45 – 11:55)

Confidential Sources (11:55 – 12:35)

• in criminal processes: the new Federal legislation and the first SCC case
• in non-criminal processes: the common law test

Scott Dawson — Farris LLP, Vancouver
David F. Sutherland, KC — David F. Sutherland & Associates, Vancouverr 

LUNCH BREAK (12:35 – 1:05)

Libel, Privacy, and the Online World (1:05 – 2:00)

• Internet smear and process for finding and stopping
• Internet privacy torts and the right to be forgotten
• jurisdictional issues and US immunity

Daniel J. Reid — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
Karen R. Zimmer — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:00 – 2:10)

Openness in the Courts (2:10 – 2:50)

• sealing orders and publication bans
• court policy constitutional challenge
• access to courts, exhibits, livestream

Scott Dawson — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Bethany Lindsay — CBC Vancouver, Vancouver
Eve St-Laurent — Senior Legal Counsel, Media Law, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Vancouver

BREAK (2:50 – 3:00)

What's Next? A High Level Round Table Discussion (3:00 – 3:55)

• a look at issues on the horizon
      
  Moderator: Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver
  Scott Dawson — Farris LLP, Vancouver
  Eve St-Laurent — Senior Legal Counsel, Media Law, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Vancouver
  Daniel J. Reid — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
  David F. Sutherland, KC — David F. Sutherland & Associates, Vancouver
  Karen R. Zimmer — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
  

Closing Remarks (3:55 – 4:00)

Daniel W. Burnett, KC — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver