What is the test for defamatory language in a defamation case?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Level One Construction Ltd. v Burnham, 2018 BCSC 1354 (CanLII):

If the literal meaning of the words is at issue, it is unnecessary to go beyond the words themselves to prove they are defamatory, and evidence outside of the words themselves is inadmissible: Weaver v. Corcoran at para. 72.

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