Can a defendant rely on objective honest belief as part of their fair comment defence?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Galloway v A.B, 2021 BCSC 2344 (CanLII):
Malice is a state of mind: Smith v. Cross, 2009 BCCA 529, at para. 42. Even where a defendant relies on objective honest belief as part of a fair comment defence, the defence can still be defeated by proof that subjective malice was the dominant motive of the particular comment: WIC, at para. 53.
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