SK Court of Appeals hears Indigenous identity defamation appeal

The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan heard an appeal of a $70K defamation judgment from University of Ottawa researcher Darryl Leroux. Leroux was ordered to pay $70K to University of Regina associate professor Michelle Coupal for a series of comments made in 2021 and 2022. Lawyers representing the two parties were heard by a three-judge panel on Friday. Leroux’s appeal argued that he used strong words to imply Coupal knew her professional claims to Indigenous identity were likely false; Coupal’s lawyer argued that the comment did not meet the conditions of the defence of fair comment. The appeal court reserved its decision on whether to overturn the judgment.