Participation from the deep freeze: "Chilling" by SLAPP suits

True democracy rests on a number of fundamental tenets, including the right of the public to actively and effectively engage in governance. This article explores one of the impediments to exercising public participation rights - namely, the litigious tactic of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, known as "SLAPP suits". The SLAPP suit is engaged by powerful and usually well-resourced parties to stifle public opinion against unpopular proposals and developments. SLAPP suits are used in a number of different areas, such as trade practices, consumer and animal protection rights; however, this article examines their use in the environmental context with reference to recent developments such as anti-SLAPP legislation and "SLAPP-backs" to counteract their "chilling" effect.