Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog is trying to get protection for people who might be targeted by lawsuits, just to scare them off protesting against a particular project or government policy.
It’s a tactic known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation” or SLAPP. And Krog says they can have a chilling effect on public dialogue on controversial issues.
Krog tabled an “Anti SLAPP Act” at the Legislature this week… but it’s by no means certain the bill will ever get as far as becoming law.
“Sometimes this public expression is inconvenient and problematic for companies and governments too. But it is not acceptable that a wealthy party pushing a particular agenda can try to shut down that expression or intimidate the public,” he says.
