Year / 2008

NewsAn email containing “malicious gossip” has cost the sender $7,800 in an out-of-court settlement, even though it was directed to only one recepient. The case is a reminder to journalists to be careful not to make or repeat unfounded accusations when seeking information and conducting interviews by e-mail. Betsy Powell reported on the case in…

NewsParliament should repeal the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s power to investigate online hate messages, leaving such probes to police, prosecutors and Internet service providers, says a report released in November 2008. “Censorship of hate speech should be limited to speech that explicitly or implicitly threatens, justifies or advocates violence against the members of an identifiable…

FeatureCanada’s major police forces have assigned officers to pose as journalists or would consider doing so to combat crime. Journalists condemn the practice, saying it undermines their credibility and threatens freedom of the press. University of King’s College journalism student Ruth Mestechkin explores the battle between the notebook and the badge in the King’s Journalism…

NewsNova Scotia’s courts have withdrawn a controversial plan to accredit journalists and mete out unspecified punishment to journalists deemed to have violated guidelines on access to hearings and documents. It marked the first time Canadian judges claimed the power to decide who’s a journalist and to punish the media outside the normal court process. Terrence…

CommentaryPrime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on a promise to lift the publication ban on the identities of young people convicted of serious violent offences. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act as it now stands, judges consider the impact on society and on the youth before deciding whether the media can name such offenders. In a…

NewsAlberta’s Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that would have ended the practice of banning publication of evidence heard at bail hearings at the request of a defendant. A lower court said the mandatory ban, which applies even when there will be no jury trial, violated the Charter’s guarantee of press freedom and judges should…