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36. It can also be seen from the case law that Quebec courts have traditionally exercised restraint in assessing non‑pecuniary damages for defamation. They have generally awarded amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000: Imprimerie Populaire Ltée v. Hon. L. A. Taschereau (1922), 34 K.B. 554‑‑$1,000, or publication of the judgment and $500; Langlois v. Drapeau, [1962] Q.B. 277‑‑$2,000; Flamand v. Bienvenue, [1971] R.P. 49 (Sup. Ct.)‑‑$2,000; Lachapelle v. Véronneau, [1980] C.S. 1136‑‑$2,000; Blanchet v. Corneau, [1985] C.S. 299‑‑$4,500; Trahan v. Imprimerie Gagné Ltée, [1987] R.J.Q. 2417 (Sup. Ct.)‑‑$2,000. Moreover, the highest awards rarely exceed $20,000: Flamand v. Bonneville, [1976] C.S. 1580‑‑$12,000 (appealed; settled out of court); Desrosiers v. Publications Claude Daigneault Inc., [1982] C.S. 613‑‑$20,000; Goupil v. Publications Photo‑Police Inc., [1983] C.S. 875‑‑$15,000 (appealed; settled out of court); Poirier v. Leblanc, [1983] C.S. 1214‑‑$10,000; Côté v. Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs municipaux de la ville de Gaspé, J.E. 87‑720 (Sup. Ct.)‑‑$10,000; McGregor v. Montreal Gazette Ltd., [1982] C.S. 900‑‑$50,000 (appealed; settled out of court); Dimanche‑Matin Ltée v. Fabien, J.E. 83‑971 (C.A.)‑‑$35,000. Apart from rare exceptions, the amounts awarded fall within a quite limited range. As the assessment of non‑pecuniary loss is arbitrary, judges seem to instinctively recognize a limit which they are not prepared to exceed. This limit is generally quite low.
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