Summary

The Defamation Consequential Amendments Act, 2025 updates terminology in three existing Saskatchewan statutes by replacing the separate terms 'libel' and 'slander' with the single term 'defamation.' The bill amends The Jury Act, 1998, The Legislative Assembly Act, 2007, and The Small Claims Act, 2016 to align their language with The Defamation Act.

Saskatchewan is consolidating its defamation law under a new statute called The Defamation Act. Historically, defamation law distinguished between libel (written defamation) and slander (spoken defamation), and older Saskatchewan statutes used both terms. This bill performs housekeeping work: it goes through three existing laws and replaces every instance of 'libel' or 'slander' with the unified term 'defamation.' The changes affect provisions in jury legislation, the rules governing the Legislative Assembly, and the small claims court system. This is a technical update to ensure consistency across Saskatchewan's statute books once The Defamation Act comes into force. The bill does not create new rights, obligations, or procedures; it only standardizes the terminology used to refer to defamation in existing laws.