In 2008, a test-case seeking to affirm that local Quebec municipalities can indeed sue for "alleged civil defamation on a Government" was initiated by small town of Rawdon, Quebec with funding and other material support from the "Union des municipalités du Québec" against certain internet bloggers and others. If successful, the mere threat of such litigation would thus remain a tool for local municipal councils to silence and intimidate critics, where such actions would be strictly prohibited in every other Canadian province.