In an open letter, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is calling on CanWest to drop its lawsuit against Mordecai Briemberg and a local publisher, Horizons Publications over an alleged trademark infringement based on a mock edition of the Vancouver Sun.

The publication, a satirical paper printed and distributed in the Lower Mainland last June, parodied the layout and look of the Vancouver Sun while mocking the paper’s perceived bias in favour of the state of Israel and against Palestinians.

The BCCLA views the CanWest lawsuit to be an ill-advised attempt by CanWest to use the courts to silence satirical criticism and constrain fair comment.

BCCLA spokesperson Tom Sandborn: “We call upon CanWest to exercise a bit of good humour and sober second thought, which will, we are confident, persuade the firm that it does not want to proceed in an action that will, if successful, look like corporate bullying. Whether successful or not, the case works against the principles of press freedom that support CanWest’s media operations across Canada. Too often, the mere threat of court action is enough to stifle public debate or satirical expression.”

The BCCLA had asked the Vancouver Sun to publish the open letter but the newspaper declined.

Read the Open Letter to CanWest Mediaworks Publications:

It’s time to drop your suit against Mordecai Briemberg, Horizon Publications and Garth Leddy

On December 7, 2007, CanWest lawyers filed a writ of summons in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, initiating legal action against a local political activist, Mordecai Briemberg and a local publisher, Horizons Publications (as well as Horizons president Garth Leddy.) At issue is a satirical paper printed and distributed in the Lower Mainland last June, a paper which parodied the layout and look of the Vancouver Sun while mocking the paper’s perceived bias in favour of the state of Israel and against Palestinians. Like other spoof editions of mainstream newspapers that have circulated within our community in years past, the pseudo-Sun poked vigorous fun at its satirical target, exaggerating and mocking CanWest editorial and news practices that some observers view as unfairly tilted in a pro-Israel direction.

However, it is hard to imagine any reasonable reader being confused into thinking she had a copy of the legitimate CanWest Vancouver Sun in hand, given the appearance in the parody of obviously satiric bylines such as “P. Rupa Ghanda” and “Cyn Shorsheep” coupled with story headlines such as “Study Shows Truth Biased against Israel.” If any doubt remained, the clear identification of the distributed material in a boxed item that asked “Who Produced this Vancouver Sun Parody and Why?” identifying it as a product of a group calling itself the “Palestine Media Collective” ought to have made abundantly clear that this was not a Vancouver Sun publication.  Nevertheless, CanWest’s statement of claim not only characterizes the motivation of those who published and distributed the fake newspaper as malicious; it suggests that the Sun’s trademark has been infringed by its use in the satirical paper. Some people, it would appear, just can’t take a joke.  

As an organization devoted to freedom of expression and the democratic debate it encourages, the BC Civil Liberties Association would like to suggest that this court action looks like an ill-advised attempt by CanWest to use the courts to silence satirical criticism and constrain fair comment. The continued health of Canadian democracy requires that we remain ever vigilant in defending freedom of expression, even when it offends the powerful. The decision by CanWest to go to court in this matter, we suggest, offends against this vital principle. Surely CanWest, a media giant that itself depends upon Canada’s cherished traditions of free expression and debate for its ongoing existence, does not want to be perceived as using the courts to censor, silence and punish its alleged critics.  (The documents filed call upon the court to exact general, special, punitive and aggravated damages from Briemberg, Horizon, Leddy and six un-named “John and Jane Doe” conspirators.) 

We call upon CanWest to exercise a bit of good humor and sober second thought, which will, we are confident, persuade the firm that it does not want to proceed in an action that will, if successful, look like corporate bullying. Whether successful or not, the case works against the principles of press freedom that support CanWest’s media operations across Canada. Too often, the mere threat of court action is enough to stifle public debate or satirical expression.

We all have bad days in which we lose our sense of humor and over-react to perceived slights, and no one can be surprised that the arrival of an irreverent parody of one of the firm’s flagship papers last summer was viewed in CanWest offices as bad news indeed. Nevertheless, two of the hallmarks of personal and corporate maturity, we would submit, are a sense of humor that permits self-reflective laughter and the serene self-confidence that trumps the impulse to punish those who laugh at us. For the sake of its own good name and repute, and for the sake of our cherished Canadian traditions of press freedom, we urge CanWest to drop its court action and get back to the business of exercising press freedom, not attacking it.