Winkler Dispute Resolution

Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada

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AdvocateDaily.com Staff

Pilot’s victory classic application of anti-SLAPP law: Winkler

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The dismissal of an airline’s $10-million defamation claim against a former pilot is a textbook case of anti-SLAPP legislation in action, says Toronto litigator and mediator Howard Winkler, who acted for the pilot.

As the National Post reports, the airline sued its former employee after he self-published a book that was critical of the company’s safety record.

But Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun O’Brien threw out the case under relatively new provisions of the province’s Courts of Justice Act designed to deal with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), which allow for the dismissal of actions involving comments on a “matter of public interest.”   

Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, tells AdvocateDaily.com that his client was extremely relieved by the decision.

Read the full article  Pilot’s victory classic application of anti-SLAPP law: Winkler on the AdvocateDaily.com website.

Everyone loses in cautionary New Brunswick defamation case

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A recent New Brunswick decision is a cautionary tale for all involved in defamation claims, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells AdvocateDaily.com.

The case involved a gallery owner who won $3,000 in damages and costs from an artist who badmouthed her online during a dispute over payment.

But Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, says the gallery owner’s victory rang somewhat hollow, considering the small recovery, as well as the time and cost of bringing the action, seeking between $25,000 and $50,000 in general damages alone.

“This decision is a cautionary tale in several respects,” Winkler says. “Not only should people be careful about what they post online, but they must also be careful when deciding what to sue someone over.”

Read the full article  Everyone loses in cautionary New Brunswick defamation case on the AdvocateDaily.com website.

Supreme Court decision not such a dark day for journalists: Winkler

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Free press advocates are overreacting to a Supreme Court of Canada decision that forced a journalist to hand over materials to police, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells AdvocateDaily.com.

All nine judges upheld a previous judgment ordering a Vice Media Canada reporter to turn over messages he exchanged with a Canadian citizen allegedly involved with ISIS, prompting a number of commentaries, including by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) which called it a dark day for journalists in the country.  

“This ruling is a serious setback for press freedom in Canada. It creates a chill for anyone who wants to speak truth to power or expose government wrongdoing,” the CAJ said in a statement to media.

But Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, says the sentiment reflects an “exaggeration” of the ruling’s impact.

Read the full article  Supreme Court decision not such a dark day for journalists: Winkler on the AdvocateDaily.com website.

Howard Winkler’s media roundup

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler is frequently called upon by the media as a trusted source for their news stories, particularly for his focus on defamation and privacy issues.

See the complete list below:

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells La Presse the Liberal government’s endorsement of a contentious article in the new free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada will give immunity to social media companies in Canadian courts even if they knowingly disseminate fake, false and defamatory statements of their members.

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By signing on to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Liberal government agreed to significantly alter the existing common law of defamation, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler writes in Law Times.

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A former member of Parliament’s unsuccessful defamation case against a major B.C. newspaper underscores a recent trend by the courts to balance interests more towards freedom of expression rather than protection of a person’s reputation, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells The Lawyer’s Daily.

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells Global’s 640 Toronto he’s concerned the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) may have overstepped its authority by requesting Twitter delete what it said was a fake account impersonating Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.

Read the complete Howard Winkler’s media roundup on AdvocateDaily.com.

The trouble with USMCA’s defamation provisions

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By signing on to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Liberal government agreed to significantly alter the existing common law of defamation, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler writes in Law Times.

The winners are companies like Google and Facebook, which facilitate online communication, says Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution.

“The loser is the common law protection of reputation and victims of anonymous false and defamatory online statements, such as untraceable comments on rate-my-professional types of sites or Google business reviews,” he writes. “This should be of particular concern to all Ontario lawyers whose reputations are so important and so easily destroyed, as well as to their clients, whose livelihood often depends on their online presence.”

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Failed U.K. privacy breach action would fare better in Canada

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Canadian consumers have a better set of legal tools to hold companies responsible for privacy breaches than their U.K. counterparts, judging by a recent ruling involving an internet search engine, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells AdvocateDaily.com.

The CBC recently reported on the refusal of the High Court of England and Wales to certify a class action against the search engine giant over claims the company illegally accessed iPhone users’ internet history data.

Despite describing the company’s actions in bypassing privacy settings on smartphone users’ internet browsers as “wrongful, and a breach of duty” the British judge ruled the action could not proceed because the claimants had failed to prove any damages.

Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, says members of the consumer coalition who brought the action may have had a better chance of success in Canadian courts.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Australian courts lead the way in fighting online defamation: Winkler

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Australian courts continue to lead the way when it comes to online defamation and the liability of secondary publishers, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells AdvocateDaily.com.

In a recent decision, the District Court of South Australia held the author of a defamatory Facebook posting liable for subsequent slanderous comments on the post by other social media users.

“At first blush, it seems extreme, but what the decision really does is it recognizes the importance of reputation and imposes a responsibility on those using social media to take care with what they write,” says Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution.

“This will have a far-reaching impact,” he adds, noting that its significance extends beyond Australia’s borders because the country — like Canada — is a common-law jurisdiction.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Privacy commissioner misses mark on de-indexing

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Canada’s privacy commissioner oversimplifies the situation to suggest that “de-indexing” online links to potentially defamatory or erroneous information is possible in Canada under existing laws, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells AdvocateDaily.com.

In a recently released draft policy position, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien said provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), could be combined to force companies such as Google to remove links from search results if they include inaccurate information about an individual.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Did the PMO overstep by asking Twitter to delete parody account?

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells Global’s 640 Toronto he’s concerned the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) may have overstepped its authority by requesting Twitter delete what it said was a fake account impersonating Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.

At the heart of the matter was whether the account was a parody or an impersonation, but either way, the optics don’t look good, says Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution.

“I’m always concerned when the government becomes involved in attempting to persuade parties they have influence over — through their legislative power — to act in a way that’s politically beneficial to the government,” he says. “I would think that the government likely should have a hands-off policy with respect to trying to influence the content on social media.”

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Vital to pick right forum for multi-jurisdictional defamation cases

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A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in a case involving an alleged multi-jurisdictional internet defamation reinforces the fact that for Ontario to be regarded as the appropriate forum, the statement of claim must sufficiently focus on the plaintiff’s Canadian reputation and damage to it in Ontario, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler and lawyer Eryn Pond write in the Toronto Law Journal.

In the matter, a newspaper that publishes in print in Israel and online worldwide appealed the lower court decisions that allowed a Canadian resident and business owner to sue the paper for libel in Ontario, the article says.

As Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, and Pond, a lawyer with the firm, explain, while almost all judges agreed that Ontario courts had jurisdiction over the proceeding, the majority allowed the Israeli defendant’s appeal, finding that Israel was clearly the more appropriate forum.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Aussie’s successful bid to sue Google may inform Canadian courts

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The case of an Australian man who recently won his battle to sue Google puts the search engine giant on notice it may be liable for any defamatory content it facilitates, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells Newstalk 610.

In a matter that dates back to 2004, the Australian High Court unanimously ruled in favour of the man, supporting his allegation that a Google search of his name might suggest he was associated with the Melbourne criminal underworld, reports CBS.

Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution, says doing a search of a new friend or potential business partner has become a routine way of researching people in modern society.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Vindication for ‘Scud Stud’ comes at a cost: Winkler

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While a former war correspondent achieved vindication in his defamation suit against one of Canada’s biggest media companies, it came at a great expense, Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells The Lawyer’s Daily.

The legal publication reports the Alberta Court of Appeal increased the costs awarded to journalist Arthur Kent in his successful defamation case against Postmedia, “saying the trial judge erred when she said allegations of intentional concealment of documents were unproven.”

Kent, who gained notoriety in 1991 as the ‘Scud Stud’ while reporting on the first Persian Gulf War, ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Alberta legislature in 2008.

During his bid for office, a reporter wrote a critical article about Kent. At trial, Justice Jo’Ann Strekaf noted, “the overall tenor of the article is that Arthur Kent is a politically naïve arrogant has-been journalist with a huge ego whose election campaign is in disarray and who is doomed to become an ineffective MLA if elected.”

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Does PIPEDA protect social media personal data?

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Companies like Facebook and Google — which have come under intense criticism for their handling of personal information — need to enter into a new social contract with their users or risk having one imposed by governments, says Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler.

“It’s time for a change in the social contract that Google and Facebook have with their users. It shouldn’t necessarily have to be the subject of legislation,” says Winkler, principal and founder of Winkler Dispute Resolution.

“I think that Google, Facebook and others should recognize that there are limits users want to put on the use and sale of their data. They should contemplate what those limits are, and give people an opportunity to opt out of certain uses of their data,” he tells AdvocateDaily.com.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

Winkler backs Brown’s effort to ‘expose the truth’ in new book

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells the Globe and Mail he supports former provincial Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown’s plan to set the record straight in a new book about his ‘sensational political assassination.”

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“I support Mr. Brown’s initiative, especially in light of the fact that the legal system does not provide the kind of timely disclosure of the truth that can be achieved through his proposed book,” Winkler says, adding he expects the book will be reviewed prior to publication to ensure the content can be defended.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.

‘Unprecedented’ damages sought in historic defamation case: Winkler

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Toronto lawyer and mediator Howard Winkler tells various news outlets that in his view CTV’s reporting on former provincial conservative Leader Patrick Brown represents the “most egregious” defamation in Canadian history. See Global News, Sun Media, Toronto Star, Yahoo News

Brown has launched an $8-million action against CTV, claiming the broadcaster defamed him by airing a news report detailing allegations of sexual misconduct by two women. Brown denied the claims but was forced to resign his leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party.

“Regrettably, it is unlikely that the harm done by CTV will ever be fully repaired,” Winkler told Global News.

Read the full article on AdvocateDaily.com.