Category / Read / Law and ethics

AnalysisRoger McConchie, a Vancouver lawyer who specializes in libel and privacy issues, has compiled detailed summaries of Canadian court rulings on Internet libel.

Book ReviewJoseph Howe, the courageous editor of the Novascotian, has long been the poster-boy for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Canada. His exposes of government corruption in Halifax in 1835, his prosecution on a trumped-up libel charge, the eloquent six-hour speech that won his acquittal – these are the stuff of…

AnalysisAvoiding a defamation suit can be a tricky business. But a series of rulings, including an influential precedent from Britain’s House of Lords, promises to give the Canadian media more leeway to publish or broadcast serious allegations — even unproven ones — in the public interest. The best defence may be good, solid journalism. By…

NewsThe Toronto Star is appealing a northern Ontario jury’s $1.475 million libel award –one of the highest in Canadian history – over an article describing a wealthy local businessman’s plans to expand his personal lakeside golf course. The Star argues the June 2001 article should be protected by the defence of “qualified privilege,” which gives…

FeatureWhen a Toronto broker sues a national newspaper for libel, no one leaves the room smiling. Mary Findlater explores the case of Mark McQueen versus the National Post in the Ryerson Review of Journalism.

CommentaryThe Supreme Court of Canada has denied leave to appeal from the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in the case of Bangoura v. Washington Post. The decision finally decides that Bangoura’s Internet-libel claim cannot proceed in Ontario and cements an important precedent against libel-tourism in Ontario. The Washington Post‘s lawyers, Paul Schabas and Ryder Gilliland,…

FeatureCharles LeBlanc fights for bloggers to share press privileges– and rights. Vanessa Green, writing in the King’s Journalism Review, explores how the Internet is changing the definition of journalist.

NewsTwo San Francisco Chronicle reporters have been cleared of contempt of court for refusing to name a source who leaked secret grand jury testimony about steroid use by major league baseball players. The reporters still refuse to identify their source but a lawyer faces fines or jail after admitting he allowed the journalists to take…

Quick Reference The Criminal Code of Canada bans the publication or broadcast of certain information as a criminal case proceeds through the courts, including the identities of some witnesses and pre-trial evidence that could taint a jury. Roger McConchie, who practices media law in Vancouver, has assembled a list of the relevant provisions.

CommentaryIn the wake of the Maher Arar case, Toronto Star columnist Kelly Toughill looks at the pitfalls reporters and editors face when using anonymous sources. Respected news outlets printed false allegations about Arar gleaned from anonymous sources. There have been calls for journalists to “out” anonymous sources who mislead themand the public, but Toughill argues…