NewsOntario journalists are being denied their right to view and copy basic court documents under questionable provincial access policies. In response, Tracey Tyler, the Toronto Star‘s legal affairs reporter, and Toronto media lawyer Tony Wong have compiled The Justice Reporter, a 14-page newsletter that explores the problem and demands solutions. A second edition, assessing the…
FeatureThe age of Internet access to court records has dawned in Canada. British Columbia is leading the way with online access to some 200,000 court documents and more to come, and the Supreme Court of Canada wants to post written arguments filed in advance of its hearings. But some fear easy access to registry files…
FeatureAnyone with Internet access could watch live video of the Ontario Court of Appeal hearing that exonerated Steven Truscott of a 1950s murder. Despite that initiative – not to mention a decade of Supreme Court of Canada broadcasts, pilot projects in several provinces and the ease of webstreamed video – camera coverage of court proceedings remains the exception,…
NewsOntario’s highest court has narrowly upheld the sweeping ban on publishing any information presented at a bail hearing, except in youth court cases and for minor offences not heard by a jury. Three of five members of the Ontario Court of Appeal say the ban ensures defendants receive a fair trial, but two dissenting judges…
FeatureAfter going incognito for her Maid for a Month series, Jan Wong faces a deceit and invasion of privacy suit. So, asks Carolyn Morris in this feature in the Ryerson Review of Journalism, does undercover journalism need to clean up its act? (Posted January 13, 2009)
ForumLegal, human rights and media experts from across Canada gathered in Halifax on November 1, 2008 to discuss the limits on what Canadians can say and publish about sensitive issues such as race, religion or sexual orientation. “The Media’s Right to Offend: Exploring Legal and Ethical Limits on Free Speech,” the 6th annual Joseph Howe…
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…