With these lawsuits Resolute Forest Products is attempting to silence legitimate public concerns, all the while ignoring scientific recommendations for the health of the forest. The company first sued Greenpeace Canada and two of its staff in 2013 for CAD$ 7million for defamation and economic interference in an attempt to silence our long standing campaign to protect the boreal forest. In 2014, Resolute also filed a lawsuit against the Rainforest Alliance, its own independent auditor, when it was about to publish an audit that found some of the company’s operations noncompliant with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards.

... In 2016 Resolute decided to pursue similar tactics outside Canada, filing a defamation and racketeering lawsuit against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Stand.earth and five staff in the United States for CAD$300million. In that attempt, Resolute went so far as to include allegations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (better known as RICO). The use of RICO is particularly egregious because the act was originally conceived to prosecute the mafia and, in allowing plaintiffs to recover triple damages, provides a uniquely powerful means to intimidate advocacy groups... [T]he case in the United States was almost entirely thrown out in January 2019 and in 2020 the company was even forced to reimburse defendants almost $1 million USD to cover attorneys’ fees and costs. The Canadian case remains pending before the courts...