Adbusters lawsuit seeks permission to go to court against networks

On Monday, the British Columbia Supreme Court will hear presentations about the merits of a lawsuit that could ultimately determine whether Global Television and the CBC -- indeed all broadcasters -- should be required to accept counter-advertising from Adbusters magazine. If the lawsuit is allowed to proceed, Adbusters will finaly see its suit, filed in 2004, come to trial. This, according to a release from the Adbusters Media Foundation.

Adbusters, which runs without any advertising, has been trying for more than 10 years to place paid TV spots that lampoon and criticise advertisers and the media oligopoly in Canada (and the U.S.) but have been blocked by the networks. (See the rejected ads and hear the network rejections.) The suit hinges on the right of all Canadian citizens to have (as stipulated by the Canadian Broadcasting Act) "a reasonable opportunity...to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern."

"This case will decide if Canadians have the right to walk into their local TV stations and buy thirty seconds of airtime for a message they want to air," says Kalle Lasn, editor-in-chief of Adbusters.

Ryan Dalziel of Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP, who is representing Adbusters, explains the special nature of this suit.

"This is not," he says, "a bare-knuckle family law dispute, nor is it a Bay Street-style war of attrition between commercial entities. It is public interest litigation, brought by a not-for-profit organization with no chance of any monetary return."