ABSTRACT
Small claims courts aim to improve access to justice by creating quicker, less formal modes of adjudication. Typically, defamation claims have been excluded from small claims courts’ jurisdiction in common law countries, though Ontario is an exception. This article examines the suitability of small claims adjudication of defamation actions and is grounded in both principle and in a study of Ontario’s reported small claims defamation case law. It concludes that while defamation litigation poses particular challenges for small claims adjudication, Ontario’s experience suggests they are not insurmountable, and it is feasible — at least where certain civil procedure is retained — to allow such actions in small claims courts.
The article also contributes to scholarship on small claims courts’ subject matter jurisdiction generally. It could help inform when complex causes of action can be made simpler without unduly risking an unjust outcome, and whether the access to justice crisis shifts the balance between the need for procedurally full, superior court adjudication and ‘good enough’ simpler litigation.
Hilary Young, The Suitability of Defamation Actions to Small Claims Adjudication (2026) 57(2) Ottawa Law Review 255. Published 26 August 2026.
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