In this case, the defendant was noted in default and the judge proceeded to assess the plaintiff’s claim for damages for defamation arising from a series of postings on a multitude of websites, calling the plaintiff a racist amongst many other unflattering things.
The judge had no difficulty concluding that the postings were defamatory of the plaintiff’s character, and awarded $75,000.00 in general damages, $25,000.00 in punitive damages, and $25,000.00 in aggravated damages, plus an order to have the posting removed, and discontinued.
The court held that online postings warranted heightened damage awards because they were a widespread publication that gave rise to increased exposure to extend the level of humiliation and embarrassment to the innocent person.
Cyr v. LeBlanc, 2022 ONSC 2555
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2022/2022onsc2555/2022onsc2555.html