Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Marriage contrary to law

295 Everyone who, being lawfully authorized to solemnize marriage, knowingly solemnizes a marriage in contravention of federal law or the laws of the province in which the marriage is solemnized is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

296 [Repealed, 2018, c. 29, s. 30]

Defamatory Libel

Definition of newspaper

297 In sections 303, 304 and 308, newspaper means any paper, magazine or periodical containing public news, intelligence or reports of events, or any remarks or observations thereon, printed for sale and published periodically or in parts or numbers, at intervals not exceeding thirty-one days between the publication of any two such papers, parts or numbers, and any paper, magazine or periodical printed in order to be dispersed and made public, weekly or more often, or at intervals not exceeding thirty-one days, that contains advertisements, exclusively or principally.

Marginal note:Definition

• 298 (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published.

• Marginal note:Mode of expression

  (2) A defamatory libel may be expressed directly or by insinuation or irony

  • (a) in words legibly marked on any substance; or

  • (b) by any object signifying a defamatory libel otherwise than by words.

Marginal note:Publishing

299 A person publishes a libel when he

• (a) exhibits it in public;

• (b) causes it to be read or seen; or

• (c) shows or delivers it, or causes it to be shown or delivered, with intent that it should be read or seen by any person other than the person whom it defames.

Marginal note:Punishment of libel known to be false

300 Every one who publishes a defamatory libel that he knows is false is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Marginal note:Punishment for defamatory libel

301 Every one who publishes a defamatory libel is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

Marginal note:Extortion by libel

• 302 (1) Every one commits an offence who, with intent

  • (a) to extort money from any person, or

  • (b) to induce a person to confer on or procure for another person an appointment or office of profit or trust,

  publishes or threatens to publish or offers to abstain from publishing or to prevent the publication of a defamatory libel.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Every one commits an offence who, as the result of the refusal of any person to permit money to be extorted or to confer or procure an appointment or office of profit or trust, publishes or threatens to publish a defamatory libel.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (3) Every one who commits an offence under this section is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Marginal note:Proprietor of newspaper presumed responsible

• 303 (1) The proprietor of a newspaper shall be deemed to publish defamatory matter that is inserted and published therein, unless he proves that the defamatory matter was inserted in the newspaper without his knowledge and without negligence on his part.

• Marginal note:General authority to manager when negligence

  (2) Where the proprietor of a newspaper gives to a person general authority to manage or conduct the newspaper as editor or otherwise, the insertion by that person of defamatory matter in the newspaper shall, for the purposes of subsection (1), be deemed not to be negligence on the part of the proprietor unless it is proved that

  • (a) he intended the general authority to include authority to insert defamatory matter in the newspaper; or

  • (b) he continued to confer general authority after he knew that it had been exercised by the insertion of defamatory matter in the newspaper.

• Marginal note:Selling newspapers

  (3) No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he sells a number or part of a newspaper that contains a defamatory libel, unless he knows that the number or part contains defamatory matter or that defamatory matter is habitually contained in the newspaper.

Marginal note:Selling book containing defamatory libel

• 304 (1) No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he sells a book, magazine, pamphlet or other thing, other than a newspaper that contains defamatory matter, if, at the time of the sale, he does not know that it contains the defamatory matter.

• Marginal note:Sale by servant

  (2) Where a servant, in the course of his employment, sells a book, magazine, pamphlet or other thing, other than a newspaper, the employer shall be deemed not to publish any defamatory matter contained therein unless it is proved that the employer authorized the sale knowing that

  • (a) defamatory matter was contained therein; or

  • (b) defamatory matter was habitually contained therein, in the case of a periodical.

Marginal note:Publishing proceedings of courts of justice

305 No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter

• (a) in a proceeding held before or under the authority of a court exercising judicial authority; or

• (b) in an inquiry made under the authority of an Act or by order of Her Majesty, or under the authority of a public department or a department of the government of a province.

Marginal note:Parliamentary papers

306 No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he

• (a) publishes to the Senate or House of Commons or to the legislature of a province defamatory matter contained in a petition to the Senate or House of Commons or to the legislature of a province, as the case may be;

• (b) publishes by order or under the authority of the Senate or House of Commons or of the legislature of a province a paper containing defamatory matter; or

• (c) publishes, in good faith and without ill-will to the person defamed, an extract from or abstract of a petition or paper mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

Marginal note:Fair reports of parliamentary or judicial proceedings

• 307 (1) No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes in good faith, for the information of the public, a fair report of the proceedings of the Senate or House of Commons or the legislature of a province, or a committee thereof, or of the public proceedings before a court exercising judicial authority, or publishes, in good faith, any fair comment on any such proceedings.

• Marginal note:Divorce proceedings an exception

  (2) This section does not apply to a person who publishes a report of evidence taken or offered in any proceeding before the Senate or House of Commons or any committee thereof, on a petition or bill relating to any matter of marriage or divorce, if the report is published without authority from or leave of the House in which the proceeding is held or is contrary to any rule, order or practice of that House.

Marginal note:Fair report of public meeting

308 No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes in good faith, in a newspaper, a fair report of the proceedings of any public meeting if

• (a) the meeting is lawfully convened for a lawful purpose and is open to the public;

• (b) the report is fair and accurate;

• (c) the publication of the matter complained of is for the public benefit; and

• (d) he does not refuse to publish in a conspicuous place in the newspaper a reasonable explanation or contradiction by the person defamed in respect of the defamatory matter.