What is qualified privilege and how can it defeat a defamation claim in Ontario?

Qualified privilege protects certain statements made in circumstances where the person making them has a legal, moral, or social duty or interest in communicating the information, and the recipient has a corresponding interest in receiving it. Common examples include employment references, complaints made through a proper internal process, and communications between people who share a legitimate, mutual interest in the subject being discussed. The privilege exists because society benefits from candid communication in these specific kinds of relationships, even where a statement later turns out to be inaccurate, provided it was made honestly and for the proper purpose the privilege is meant to protect.

This defence is called qualified because, unlike absolute privilege, it can be lost if the plaintiff proves the statement was made with malice - meaning the defendant either knew it was false, was recklessly indifferent to whether it was true, or was using the occasion for some improper purpose unrelated to the legitimate reason the privilege exists in the first place. Sharing the privileged communication more widely than was actually necessary for its legitimate purpose can also undermine and defeat the defence.