Questions and Answers

Ask Me Anything About Galloway v. A.B.

Dear Readers, thank you again for all your support and to all who wrote to me after the last post, Mentoring Towards Malice. It’s always wonderful receiving your notes and I’m heartened by a common sentiment that people are yearning to build back what we once had, which is to say a literary community that we can be proud to belong to. There’s still a lot of work to do but I’m particularly thankful for those that understand that this newsletter is, in part, an effort to help get us back there.

I’m currently at work on another substantive post that I will publish shortly. In the meantime, I’d like to answer a question that a number of you have asked: when do we expect a decision on the SLAPP motion to dismiss?

Before I answer that, I’d also like to offer to answer any further questions you may have. If you have any specific questions about the Galloway case then please email them to me at truthandconsequences@substack.com by this Monday June 21st at noon and I will put together a post answering your questions as best I can. Unless you specifically ask me to include your name I will publish the questions anonymously.

Priority will be given to paid subscribers.

Now back to the most common question I’ve received so far: when can we expect a decision?

The answer unfortunately is that we do not know and we need to be prepared to be (very) patient. This is a complicated case, with eleven applicants and involving relatively new legislation (although many precedents have already been set in Ontario where anti-SLAPP legislation was introduced in 2015). The courts are also backlogged due to COVID which could mean that the wait time is longer than normal, which would likely be 60-90 days. As well, sometimes even the hardest-working judges take holidays in July and August. Having said that, Madam Justice Adair also acted as a case management judge on this case and she’s of course well aware of the delays to date, due to various applications and appeals.

This could mean she will prioritize this decision and we may hear back sooner but there really is no way to know how any of the unusual factors of the case (and the current state of the courts) will effect the timing of her decision. My best guess is that Madam Justice Adair will prioritize writing her decision and get it out as soon as she reasonably can, juggling what is no doubt a full judicial calendar in interesting times.

In the meantime I’ll keep posting updates about the hearing and will let you know the moment a decision is forthcoming.

Keep an eye on your inbox for the next post and please do send any questions if you have them.

All the best,

Brad