Background: The plaintiffs commenced the action based on defamatory statements made by the defendants online. They claimed these statements harmed their reputations as chief, councillors, and administrators of the Upper Nicola Band.

Legal Arguments/Issues:

• The plaintiffs filed for an interim injunction to compel the defendants to remove and retract the defamatory statements from the internet.
• The defendants resisted and applied to dismiss the plaintiffs' action under the Protection of Public Participation Act (PPPA), S.B.C. 2019, c. 3, arguing it was a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).
• In a prior judgment (2024 BCSC 991), the court denied the plaintiffs' injunction application and dismissed the action under section 4 of the PPPA.
• The court addressed the issue of costs as per section 7 of the PPPA, which generally awards full indemnity costs to the successful applicant unless deemed inappropriate.

Costs Awarded: The court awarded full indemnity costs to the defendants due to the absence of submissions from the plaintiffs. This included costs for the application to dismiss the action, the plaintiffs' injunction application, and the proceedings. The specific total amount of costs was not detailed in the document but was to be assessed on a full indemnity basis.

Conclusion: Justice D.K. Hori concluded that the defendants were entitled to full indemnity costs as the default position under section 7(1) of the PPPA, due to the lack of compelling reasons to rule otherwise.