It’s been 30 years since Section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms made a free press the law of the land. But, on the eve of a national conference to take stock of the state of press freedom in Canada, Ivor Shapiro sees more apathy than passion around the issue.
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…
There is a serious and troubling disconnect between the principle of open justice and the reality on the ground. Dean Jobb explains that in many jurisdictions, the bureaucrats who oversee court clerks and registrar’s offices have a habit of devising rules and policies that block access to court filings – policies that have little or…
The Ontario Court of Appeal has struck down a sweeping ban on publishing details of the divorce proceedings of convicted murderer Col. Russell Williams, confirming that “emotional distress and embarrassment” are insufficient grounds for supressing information about court cases. The ban was lifted on Feb. 7.
Six media outlets in British Columbia will hand over thousands of photos and videos of last June’s Vancouver riots to police under a court order – but not before putting them online for readers to see.
On Thursday, The Globe and Mail ran a front-page story stating that there had been a "reversal" of policy on the part of the government when it came to the legality of same-sex marriages in Canada. Outrage ensued. Commenters, social media and response columns all blasted Stephen Harper and his Conservative government for a move they considered…
Will a new libel defence bring business to self-styled experts in media practice? As Rhiannon Russell reports, that’s been the case in Quebec, and the rest of Canada may follow suit.
At 19, Heather Robertson wrote an editorial that enflamed the college jocks, sparking a career dedicated to fearless reporting. Regan Reid takes a revealing look at Canada’s feistiest journalist. This story originally appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of the Ryerson Review of Journalism.
A Toronto Star investigation into the city’s busy youth court met with resistance from judges and prosecutors, arbitrary publication bans and attempts to block access to the basic records the media needs to cover the justice system. In the words of reporter David Bruser, the paper had to fight to lift the “institutional shroud covering…
Yes, there are threats: government secrecy, terrorism, regulation of new media. Nakita Singh Hans gives us a sneak peak at next year's Press Freedom in Canada conference.