Read this story from The Canadian Press on anti-salmon farm activist Don Staniford’s legal battle with Norwegian Government-owned Cermaq, which operates in BC as Mainstream Canada. (Jan. 7, 2011)
His outspoken criticism has earned him an appearance at the Supreme Court of B.C. on Jan. 16 where he must defend himself against allegations from Mainstream Canada, the province’s second largest salmon farming company, that he defamed the organization.
The case could cost him $125,000 if he loses.
The defamation case is the second Staniford has faced in the province since 2005 and the third major legal fight of his 18-year international campaigning career.
“It’s definitely a stressful situation,” said Staniford, who is a native of Merseyside, England, near Liverpool.
“It’s obviously gearing up for a fight. It’s not a physical fight but it’s a mental fight.”
According to court documents, the case focuses on anti-salmon farming campaigns Staniford initiated on or about Jan. 31, 2011.
In those documents, Mainstream Canada’s lawyer David Wotherspoon alleges Staniford disseminated and published defamatory and false statements about the company under three titles: “The Salmon Farming Kills Campaign”, the “Silent Spring of the Sea,” and “Smoke on the Water, Cancer on the Coast.”
Read more: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/fierce-fish-farm-opponent-remains-defiant-face-b-100013817.html