Petra Pure applied for a job with Calmer Inc. Her potential employer asked one of her previous employers for a reference and was told that there was suspicion rendered that she had been stealing during her time with the company. Petra did not get the job for which she had applied and later learned about the statement made by her former boss. In fact, the real thief had been caught a few weeks after the young woman had left the company.

Source Canadian Business Law, Weir

1. Can she sue her former employer for defamation?
2. Is Petra likely to succeed in her action against her former employee, If so, why ?
3. What defenses, if any, are available to the previous employers?