Media@McGill and Parole Citoyenne / CitizenShift present:
La Parole citoyenne SLAPPée
20 May 2009, 6h30pm
Centre d'archives de Montréal
535, avenue Viger Est (Auditorium) (map)
Film presentation by Julien Fréchette
Moderator: J-C Lauzon
Invited participants:
Serge GALIPEAU, Cantley citizen
Normand LANDRY, PhD candidate, McGill
Pierre NOREAU, Full Professor of Law, Université de Montréal
Chris TOLLEFSON, Law Professor, University of Victoria
Elizabeth J. WEIR, ex-leader of the NDP, Nouveau-Brunswick.
Background
In an era marked by the explosion of interactive communications, citizen journalism and the democratization of information, can we finally celebrate the victory of citizen expression over censorship? What should we make of this freedom of expression, when the justice system actively penalizes citizen activism and expression?
This event will critically detail the practice of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
Be sure to visit the Parole Citoyenne site.
A citizen's information guide to SLAPPs is available: 
slapp_guide_0.pdf. It has been produced by Normand Landry, a doctoral student in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies. According to the author, the 20-page document serves as a general introduction to SLAPPs, while at the same time offering a 'survival guide' for citizens that find themselves subject to this abusive practice.