The question of whether Ontario law recognizes a tort cause of action for invasion/breach of privacy has long been a contentious one - but it has finally been definitively settled in the affirmative. The Ontario Court of Appeal has confirmed in the case of Jones v Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 that Ontario law admits a separate cause of action for what the court terms "intrusion upon seclusion". (As discussed in this post, the trial decision in Jones v Tsige had flatly declared that "there is no tort of invasion of privacy in Ontario".)

A number of other commentators have already opined on the decision (see Ha-Redeye, Sookman, Hayes, Gannon), so I would like to just summarize the highlights and then comment on the importance of the decision for entertainment lawyers. (I'd also like to give a shout-out to colleague John Craig, whose article "Invasion of Privacy and Charter Values: The Common Law Tort Awakens" 42 McGill Law Journal 355 was cited by the court in it reasons).

Please see full article below for further information.