2021 December 15

Muzik v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation et al, 2021 MBQB 263

The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench awarded the plaintiff investment advisor defamation damages aggregating $1,659,403 over two CBC television news broadcasts in 2012 plus related articles still posted on the CBC website in May, 2021.   The award was broken down into $400,000 general damages; $400,000 aggravated damages; $250,000 punitive damages; and $609,403 for income loss.   The trial judge noted that “[t]he CBC has considerable resources and a wide audience as a national broadcaster.  It also has a large footprint on the internet through its website.”  “It will be something that lives on forever even if the CBC removes the News Stories from its website.  Anyone with a web browser will be able to find or stumble across the defamatory expression, and in that sense, [the plaintiff] will never be able to escape the reach of the defamatory expression.”