This legal tool of the rich and powerful is being used by anti-vaxxers in Canada, says lawyer

An Ontario lawyer in the eye of a $1-million libel suit launched by an anti-vaccine nursing group says vexatious lawsuits are increasingly being used as tools by special interest groups looking to silence critics when it comes to medical misinformation.

Paul Champ, a human rights and labour lawyer based in Ottawa, spoke to CBC News about the lawsuit filed last fall by three Ontario nurses. 

Kristen Nagle, of London, Kristal Pitter of Tillsonburg and Sarah Choujounian of Toronto have been investigated by the province’s nursing regulator for allegedly spreading medical misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media. They’re seeking $1 million in damages for “embarrassment and humiliation” over separate online editorials published