58 | LEXPERT December 2016 | www.lexpert.ca
DEFAMATION AND MEDIA
Downard, Peter A., Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Toronto - (416) 865-4369 - pdownard@fasken.com
Senior litigation counsel and Fasken Martineau's principal Toronto contact for defamation matters. Peter
Downard has acted as defamation counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada, Ontario Court of Appeal, trials
and many mediations and advisory matters. He is author of the legal text Libel (third edition, 2014; second
edition, 2010; first edition, 2003), referred to as authority in numerous court decisions and sole author of the
volume Defamation in Halsbury's Laws of Canada (2009 and 2013 Reissue). In 2010 he was appointed as one
of three members of the Ontario Attorney General's Advisory Panel on Strategic Litigation Against Public
Participation (SLAPP), resulting in the enactment of the Ontario Protection of Public Participation Act. He
also has extensive experience in commercial litigation and public inquiries. Included in e Canadian Legal
Lexpert® Directory 2010-2016 for Litigation Defamation & Media.
Dearden, Richard G., Gowling WLG Ottawa - (613) 786-0135 - richard.dearden@gowlingwlg.com
Rick Dearden, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is a senior litigation partner at Gowling
WLG, practicing primarily in the areas of international trade, investor-state arbitration, media and defama-
tion law, freedom of information, and administrative law. His accomplishments are recognized by Lexpert®,
e Best Lawyers in Canada, Who's Who Legal: Trade and Customs, Benchmark Canada, Who's Who Legal:
Canada, Chambers Canada and Chambers Global. He acted as counsel for the Ottawa Citizen before the
Supreme Court of Canada in the seminal cases of Cusson v. Quan and Grant v. Torstar that created the "public
interest responsible communication" defense to libel actions. Dearden has also acted as counsel at all levels of
court in Ontario, the Federal Courts, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and investor-state arbitration
tribunals under NAFTA. He served as Chair of a sowood lumber panel under Chapter 19 of the Canada-
U.S. Free Trade Agreement and provides strategic advice on NAFTA and WTO disputes, particularly intel-
lectual property matters.
Bantey, Mark, Gowling WLG Montréal - (514) 392-9501 - mark.bantey@gowlingwlg.com
Mark Bantey practices media law, civil and commercial litigation, and administrative and constitutional law.
Specialized in media law, acting for both national and local press, Bantey has extensive experience in pre-
publication review, libel law, access to information law, freedom of the press issues such as publication bans
and protection of journalistic sources, constitutional law and human rights. As a litigator in media law and
commercial law, he acts before courts of all jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Bantey
has lectured in media law at Concordia University at the bachelor and master's levels. Frequently called upon
to give seminars on both the theoretical aspects of media law and practical difficulties facing journalists, he
participates regularly in media law seminars. He has been recognized as a leading practitioner in defamation
and media law by e Best Lawyers in Canada since its inception in 2006 and consistently in e Canadian
Legal Lexpert® Directory.
McDowell, William C. Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP Toronto - (416) 865-2949
wmcdowell@litigate.com -
Partner. Will McDowell's wide-ranging practice has included many landmark cases,
most notably in the Supreme Court of Canada. He appears in commercial litigation, libel and public law cases.
From 2005 to 2008, he was Canada's Associate Deputy Minister of Justice, with responsibility for civil litiga-
tion, national security and issues involving central agencies. He subsequently served as amicus to the Superior
Court with regard to land occupations in Brantford and was chief counsel to the City of Mississauga Judicial
Inquiry. He acted for the Chief of Police of Toronto, the Chief Adjudicator of the Independent Assessment
Process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and as amicus to the Superior Court in relation to
Aboriginal land occupations in Brantford. McDowell's work in resolving the landmark Arar v. Canada case
was honored by a Department of Justice National Award. McDowell is an elected Bencher of the Law Society
of Upper Canada.
