explicitly or implicitly indicated within the publication itself or the facts must be so requirement that the facts support the comment, in the sense of confirming its truth. At trial, H need not demonstrate that N is bigoted, transphobic, or promoted hatred, as the question is merely whether the statement can be tethered to an adequate factual basis so the reader can be an informed judge. N’s original online post could provide the requisite factual basis for most statements at issue, as N’s views were available to readers and grounded H’s statements. Additionally, this was a high-profile local controversy that spanned over a year, involving two public figures. N’s statements had likely achieved a level of notoriety such that they would have been known to the reading audience. Furthermore, the chambers judge was entitled to find that the sting of H’s statements was comment and it would have been understood as such by readers. For expression to constitute fair comment, the statement must be one that would be understood by a reasonable reader as a comment, rather than a statement of fact. Context is essential in distinguishing comment from fact. N has not shown grounds to believe that H’s statements would not be seen as a comment in the context of the instant case. An allegation of bias or prejudice is a debatable assertion as to a state of mind and will typically be classified as a comment. Similarly, an allegation that a politician has not lived up to their obligations is generally understood to be a critique, not a declaration of fact. Finally, accusations of hate speech would not necessarily be understood by ordinary readers as referring to a Criminal Code offence. Such 2023 SCC 14 (CanLII) notorious as to be already understood by the audience. There is, however, no