Criminal libel probe of N.B. blogger questioned

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 during a search of his home. The group points out that courts in at least three provinces — Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador — have struck down the Criminal Code's libel provisions as a violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.

Read the CBC report, which includes the text of the letter.