Law
Brian Burke says anonymous bloggers have deliberately set out to ruin his good name. As his defamation suit against those bloggers goes forward, perhaps it is time to begin a discussion about whether internet anonymity should be restricted, writes J-Source law editor Thomas Rose.
Quebec is the latest jurisdiction to issue a protocol on the use of electronic devices by reporters and lawyers inside a courtroom, sparking some heated but predictable responses. Is this a violation of a citizen's right to stay informed? Does it impinge freedom of expression? Does it tarnish the principle of a fair and open trial?
The University of Windsor Student Alliance has pulled the plug on the print publication of the campus paper The Lance. But following student outcry and a Facebook compaign to save the newspaper, the board of directors called an emergency open meeting Monday at 4:30 p.m.
A journalist in the rural community of Clinton, Ont. claims a local councillor tried to have her banned from covering council meetings, a subject the Ontario Ombudsman deemed illegal for an in camera meeting. If the allegation is true, it would constitute an attack on the Charter-guaranteed right to freedom of the press, says one journalism expert.
The Integrity Commissioner writes that while “there is no question that there was evidence of differential treatment towards reporters for the Toronto Star,” there was no breach of conduct on the part of Mayor Rob Ford.
Ontario may be the latest province to allow the use of electronic devices in its courtrooms, but it is not necessarily a privilege enjoyed by all. Our new Law editor introduces himself and describes the complexities in the Superior Court's decision that allows journalists—but not the public—to tweet court proceedings.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has asked Fredericton police for an explanation of why a local blogger, Charles LeBlanc, is being investigated under the little-used law of criminal libel. In a Feb. 1 letter, the group seeks an explanation of why LeBlanc, "apparently a vocal critic of the police force," had his computer seized during a search of his home. The group points out that courts in at least three provinces -- Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador -- have struck down the Criminal Code's libel provisions as a violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
Read the CBC report, which includes the text of the letter.
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