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 that used the first name of an undercover RCMP officer whose identity was protected under a court-ordered ban. The CP reporter covering the…
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 that blocked access to criminal case files after a publication ban was imposed, court officials continue to throw up roadblocks to access. The…
News Ottawa Citizen reporter Glen McGregor filed a steady stream of tweets from Ottawa mayor Larry O’Brien’s recent bribery trial. Kate Dubinski of the London Free Press did the same at the Bandidos biker gang murder trial. Is twitter in the courtroom a fad or a new way to cover trials? Luigi Benetton weighs the…
CommentaryAs the Supreme Court of Canada prepares for this fall’s review of the publication ban on bail hearings, Law Times columnist Alan Shanoff argues the public is entitled to more information about why offenders are released or held pending trial. The justice system, he argues in a June 8 column, has nothing to fear from…
The media should tone down coverage that pressures police to solve crimes and devote more effort to reporting on trials and investigating cases that result in wrongful convictions, says lawyer-crusdader James Lockyer. Melissa Wilson reports.
Canada’s highest court has agreed to review conflicting Ontario and Alberta rulings on whether a publication ban should be routinely imposed on bail hearings. The Supreme Court agreed May 28 to hear a Toronto Star and CBC challenge of an Ontario ruling in the Toronto 18 terrorism case, which limits the ban to cases heard…
Supreme Court of Canada judges appeared inclined to give more protection to journalists’ sources as they heard the National Post’s appeal of a ruling that could expose a key source for reporter Andrew McIntosh’s investigation into connections between federal loans and grants and former prime minister Jean Chretien. The court, which was cool to the…
Ottawa (May 21) – The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether a Globe and Mail reporter can be forced to reveal his confidential sources in the federal sponsorship scandal. At the heart of the appeal is a controversial Quebec Superior Court decision last August that allowed lawyers for an advertising firm, La Groupe Polygone, to…
NewsToronto (April 1, 2009) – The Ontario government has reversed a controversial policy that blocked access to court files in cases subject to a publication ban. Journalists objected to the policy for years, arguing it made it difficult to fully and accurately cover criminal cases. In announcing the change, Attorney General Chris Bentley said openness…
AnalysisCanadian journalists need a shield law to protect their confidential sources and ensure the free flow of information. That’s the conclusion of Diana Ginsberg, a graduate student in media law at London’s City University who examined how courts in Canada and Britain deal with attempts to expose media sources. While finding no conclusive proof sources…