Canada MP Han Dong’s defamation suit against Global News over Beijing claim can proceed
- Han Dong was slandered when broadcast company reported on his communication with Beijing about two Canadians held in China, says judge
Chinese-Canadian lawmaker Han Dong secured a legal victory this week as a judge in Ontario found it “indisputable” that Canadian broadcaster Global News had slandered Dong in its reporting about his involvement with the Chinese government, allowing his defamation suit against the company to proceed.
The judgment, dated Wednesday, rejected Global News’ attempt to have Dong’s suit dismissed and ordered the company to cover his legal costs for its failed motion.
Dong, who is seeking C$15 million (US$11 million) in damages, had filed the lawsuit last year after a Global News article alleged, citing unnamed national security sources, that he advised the Chinese consulate in Toronto in 2021 to delay the release of two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, then held in China. The pair were known in the press as the “two Michaels”.
“The defendants have no tangible and no documentary corroboration of the information derived from the confidential sources about the conversation between Dong and the Chinese Consul General,” Paul Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said on Wednesday.
Global News, which reported the incident in March 2023, had argued that Dong filed a “strategic lawsuit against public participation”, a type of legal action meant to suppress dissent and criticism. The judge disagreed, saying that Dong had no purpose beyond restoring his reputation.
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Perell said it was of “considerable public interest” that there be a trial, adding that it was “indisputable” that the reporting caused “immense damage” to Dong’s reputation and career prospects.
