Category / Law and ethics

The government of British Columbia breaks its own law on meeting freedom of information requests nearly half the time, reports a legal study on freedom of information. Or, in the words of…

CommentaryThe new defence of responsible communication is good news for the media, but Ryerson University’s Jeffrey A. Dvorkin doubts it will usher in a new wave investigative journalism. As layoffs continue and…

New defences to libel actions don’t come along every day, so what exactly does the pair of Supreme Court of Canada rulings handed down December 22 mean for journalists? An expanded definition…

NewsThe Supreme Court of Canada has created a new libel defence – the defence of responsible communication on matters of public interest. In a landmark ruling that orders new trials in libel…

“Is Stephen Harper going too far in trying to control his image?” asks The Globe and Mail.  “The Prime Minister’s Office is sending out a steady stream of publicity photos in the…

CommentaryLegal 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…

NewsA tribunal has struck down a controversial provision of Canada’s Human Rights Act that bans hate speech on the Internet. Section 13, already the target of an independent review into its broad…

CommentaryDo journalists have the right to protect a confidential source? Can a news outlet be sued for libel if it made every effort to get the story right? Does publicizing a crime…

News The Canadian Press has been fined $4,000 for contempt of court for breaching a publication ban imposed at a British Columbia murder trial last year. The wire service circulated a report…

NewsOntario journalists have compiled a second edition of The Justice Reporter, a newsletter that explores the openness of the province’s courts. Despite the attorney general’s decision in April to rescind a policy…