Statement following the Supreme Court of Canada dismissal

Statement from Don Staniford, Global Coordinator of GAAIA (14 February):

"Cermaq's SLAPP suit is a slap in the face of public dissent and freedom of speech. Shame on the Norwegian Government – as owner of the plaintiff, Mainstream Canada (now re-named Cermaq Canada) – for bankrolling such Draconian legal action. Norway may have a monopoly on salmon farming globally but Norwegian corporations surely cannot be allowed to own the law? That the Canadian legal system has given the Norwegian Government free reign to muzzle freedom of speech speaks volumes of how undemocratic Canada has become under the Harper Government. Freedom of speech and critical dissent is a basic democratic right."

If Cermaq's lawyers and the Kafkaesque Canadian courts want to silence me they will have to drag me kicking and screaming the truth from cyberspace. Thanks to everyone who has supported me financially in this legal battle. To support the ongoing campaign against Norwegian corporations spreading infectious diseases, draining the world's oceans of wild fish and killing free speech around the globe please Go Fund Me – I promise that not a single cent or kroner will go to fill the coffers of Cermaq, Mainstream Canada or EWOS Canada. The plaintiff's corporate name-changing smacks of a crooked shell game and begs the question: to whom do I write the cheque?"

For more background listen to a CBC podcast from the Early Edition's show (13 February):

Listen to the podcast online here

Download statement in full with more background details online here