Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
38653
Roch Guimont, et al. v. Ian Bussières, et al.
(Quebec) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-16 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2021-12-16 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2021-12-16 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2021-12-16 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Québec), Number 200-09-009573-178, 2019 QCCA 280, dated February 18, 2019, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2021-08-30 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), (Included in the correspondence received from), Certified copy of judgment rendered on December 23, 2019. , (Printed version filed on 2021-08-30) | Ian Bussières |
| 2021-08-30 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Certified copy of judgment rendered on December 23, 2019., (Printed version filed on 2021-08-30) | Ian Bussières |
| 2021-07-28 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Me Bonin Lavoie, from Acting Registrar, Re: follow up to letter dated May 17, 2021 | |
| 2021-05-17 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties, by the Acting Registrar | |
| 2020-10-30 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, the parties. Letter from Acting Registrar, pursuant to Rule 92.1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada. | |
| 2019-11-07 |
Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, the parties. Letter from Registrar (RE: notice to suspend proceedings) |
|
| 2019-09-20 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Re: Notice to suspend proceedings | Roch Guimont |
| 2019-09-18 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Re: Notice to suspend proceedings | Ian Bussières |
| 2019-08-29 | Correspondence received, Notice to suspend proceedings | |
| 2019-08-12 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2019-07-31 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-07-31 | Roch Guimont |
| 2019-07-02 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Ian Bussières |
| 2019-07-02 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Ian Bussières |
| 2019-07-02 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-07-02 | Ian Bussières |
| 2019-05-30 | Letter advising parties of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2019/05/30 | |
| 2019-04-18 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an application for leave to appeal | |
| 2019-04-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Constance Guimont |
| 2019-04-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Roch Guimont |
| 2019-04-16 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-04-16 | Roch Guimont |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Guimont, Roch | Applicant | Active |
| Guimont, Constance | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bussières, Ian | Respondent | Active |
| Groupe Capitales Médias inc. (Le Soleil), Gesca (La Presse.ca) | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Guimont, Roch
This party is not represented by counsel.
Party: Guimont, Constance
This party is not represented by counsel.
Party: Bussières, Ian
Counsel
891, boulevard Charest Ouest
Québec, Quebec
G1N 2C9
Telephone: (418) 780-4321
FAX: (416) 353-1791
Email: amboninlavoie@dsavocats.ca
Party: Groupe Capitales Médias inc. (Le Soleil), Gesca (La Presse.ca)
Counsel
891, boulevard Charest Ouest
Québec, Quebec
G1N 2C9
Telephone: (418) 780-4321
FAX: (416) 353-1791
Email: amboninlavoie@dsavocats.ca
Summary
Keywords
Civil procedure — Dismissal — Application unfounded in law — Prescription — Defamation — Newspaper article — Publication on newspaper website — Whether Court of Appeal erred in finding that applicants’ action had to be dismissed as unfounded in law — Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C 25.01, art. 168 — Press Act, CQLR, c. P 19, ss. 1 3, 9 10, 12 — Newspaper Declaration Act, CQLR, c. J 1, ss. 1 2.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
The applicants complained about a newspaper article that had appeared in the Le Soleil newspaper on March 14, 2012 and been published on Gesca’s lapresse.ca website. The article concerned the dismissal of Roch Guimont’s lawsuit against the city of Québec. Mr. Guimont did not read the article, which he considered defamatory, until June 2016. He then sent the respondents a demand letter asking for a retraction or for the removal of the article from the website. On December 9, 2016, the applicants filed a judicial application against the respondents claiming $500,000 for the violation of their fundamental rights. On July 10, 2017, the Superior Court allowed the respondents’ exception to dismiss on the ground of prescription and dismissed the application. On February 18, 2019, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal. It began by finding that the Press Act could not apply to an article published on a 24 hour news website. It then concluded that the alleged facts and the exhibits, particularly the article in question, did not support the conclusions sought by the applicants and that their application was therefore unfounded in law.
Lower court rulings
Superior Court of Quebec
200-17-025173-162, 2017 QCCS 6288
Exception to dismiss allowed and judicial application dismissed with legal costs
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Québec)
200-09-009573-178, 2017 QCCA 1736
Motion to dismiss appeal dismissed without hearing and without costs
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Québec)
200-09-009573-178, 2019 QCCA 280
Appeal dismissed with legal costs
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available