News release – 10 November 2014
Kinder Morgan’s lawsuit another outrageous SLAPP suit filed to
silence opposition and intimidate protesters
The Seriously Free Speech Committee opposes Kinder Morgan’s SLAPP suit against Burnaby
Residents Opposing Pipeline Expansion and four protesters and joins with more than 65
community, environmental and labour groups and thousands of citizens condemning this
outrageous attack against citizens’ rights of free speech and protest, including civil
disobedience.
The Seriously Free Speech Committee was originally formed to fight this type of legal bullying
when CanWest, former owners of The Vancouver Sun, filed a SLAPP suit in 2008 in an attempt
to punish those who published a satirical critique of The Sun's pro-Zionist coverage of the
Middle East. Though Canwest went bankrupt and dropped the suit, we’ve continued to
advocate for the need to pass anti-SLAPP legislation to stop corporate giants from misusing and
abusing the legal system.
SLAPPs -- Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – are effective tools for deeppocketed interests because they force citizens to waste thousands of dollars on legal costs to
defend themselves, to spend countless hours on their legal defence rather than the issue at hand,
and to experience enormous anxiety and stress at the threat of severe financial penalties.
Besides Kinder Morgan, other high-profile SLAPPs include the McDonald’s Corp. in England
pursuing legal action for more than 10 years against two environmental activists, Daishowa Inc.
suing the Friends of Lubicon in Ontario after being criticized for engaging in genocide, and
backers of a billion dollar development on shores of Lake Simcoe, Ont. against citizens
concerned about the environment.
Quebec is the only province that has passed anti-SLAPP legislation, the result of a long citizen
struggle that began in 2005 by two groups that were victims of a $5 million lawsuit. In BC, the
NDP government passed anti-SLAPP legislation in 2001, but, unfortunately, it was soon
repealed by a later Liberal government.
In Ontario, an anti-SLAPP law received second reading, but died when the last election was
called. In the US, 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted statutory
protections against SLAPPs.
The Seriously Free Speech Committee calls on Kinder Morgan to abandon this attack on free
speech and withdraw its suit immediately. To deter corporate giants from acting like legal
bullies, BC and other provinces across Canada must follow Quebec’s lead and pass anti-SLAPP
legislation as soon as possible. Kinder Morgan’s SLAPP should be the last straw.
For more information, contact or Anne Roberts: 604 872 8926 or anne_roberts@shaw.ca
Brian Campbell: 604 254 1803 or Campbell@vcn.bc.ca