Protecting sources, serving justice

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Legal battles to identify confidential sources used by investigative reporters Andrew McIntosh and Daniel Leblanc will force the Supreme Court of Canada to address a question that strikes at the heart of press freedom: Where to draw a line between a journalist’s ethical duty to protect sources — sources who may be risking their careers or personal safety to expose corruption and wrongdoing — and society’s need to punish crime and resolve legal disputes. J-Source law editor Dean Jobb explores the issues at stake in a commentary in The Lawyer Weekly.

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