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Is it fair game for politicians to sue other politicians for libel?

What happens when politicians threaten to sue? As Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne threatens libel action against the leader of the province's Official Opposition, we look at past cases of litigious politicians. Is it justified? Or a way to muzzle the critics?...
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The Current22:00Is it fair game for politicians to sue other politicians for libel? - April 1, 2014
What happens when politicians threaten to sue? As Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne threatens libel action against the leader of the province's Official Opposition, we look at past cases of litigious politicians. Is it justified? Or a way to muzzle the critics?

I have sought and obtained legal advice regarding your comments, and if steps are not taken immediately, I will have no choice but to take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure your false statements are corrected.Excerpt from open letter Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne released Sunday.

In an open letter, Ontario Premier threatens to take legal action against Opposition Leader Tim Hudak for his statements about the Ontario gas plant scandal. But despite the threat, opposition MLA Lisa MacLeod didn't seem too worried when she spoke with reporters:


Today we have not received a letter from any lawyer. We are going to continue to hold this Liberal government to account and we will not be muzzled. We will not be facing chill whether that is the intent or not by Kathleen Wynne. We certainly know this is a pattern of behaviour by her. We are simply doing what the opposition does, which is holding the government to account.Opposition Energy Critic Lisa MacLeod

Well, Mr. Hudak has not retracted his statements, and Ms. Wynne has not yet sued. But the Premier was successful in sparking a debate about how far politicians can and should go to defend their reputations. Today we're asking if it's fair game for politicians to sue other politicians when they feel they have been defamed.

To help us understand what's happening in Ontario, we were joined first by Karen Howlett. She is a reporter with the Globe and Mail who covered the Ontario legislature for seven years and has been watching this scandal closely.

For their thoughts on what happens when politicians take each other to court, we were joined by three people.

  • Peter Jacobsen is a defamation and media lawyer and a founding partner at Bersenas Jacobsen Chouest Thomson in Toronto.


  • Stockwell Day is a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister. He was in Vancouver.

Share your thoughts with us on this discussion.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal and Idella Sturino.

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