Archive
25 Feb

Journalists, lock up your cellphones

<p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 15.994318008422852px;">Journalists who use their cellphones may want to get into the habit of password-protecting their devices in the wake of a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal which found police do not need a warrant to </span><a href="http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2013/2013ONCA0106.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 15.994318008422852px; color: rgb(192, 2, 2); text-dec

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23 Jan

Media outlets post Vancouver riot photos online before handing over to police

<p>Six media outlets in British Columbia will hand over thousands of photos and videos of last June’s Vancouver riot to police under a court order – but not before some put them online for readers to see.</p>

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11 Dec

Exploring the media’s right to offend

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 […]

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11 Dec

Undercover cops cripple press freedom

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 […]

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23 Jun

Spectator photo ruling “patronizing”

By Dean Jobb Memo to the police: Next time, bring your own cameras. A judge has authorized the seizure of 170 photos from the Hamilton Spectator to help the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) prosecute native protestors who threatened officers in the latest violent flare-up at Caledonia. Why such a blatant intrusion on the media’s right […]

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7 Apr

Tight-lipped reporter vindicated

By Tracey TylerLegal Affairs Reporter Toronto StarToronto (March 18, 2008) — Courts should be extremely cautious about using their contempt powers against journalists who refuse to identify a confidential source, the Ontario Court of Appeal said yesterday in setting aside a trial judge’s hefty sanctions against a Hamilton Spectator reporter. “I think it’s an important […]

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7 Apr

Courts and sources

Commentary April 7, 2008 – The National Post’s Andrew McIntosh is not entitled to protect the identity of a key source who aided his investigation into former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s financial affairs. Ken Peters of the Hamilton Spectator defies a court order to protect one of his sources, yet cannot be punished for contempt […]

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10 Mar

Post appeals ruling that curbs source protection

NewsOntario’s highest court has overturned a ruling — the first of its kind in Canada — that granted a journalist the right to protect a confidential source. The Feb. 29, 2008 judgment of the province’s Court of Appeal authorizes the seizure of a loan document the National Post used as part of its “Shawinigate” investigation […]

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29 Jan

Protect sources, CAJ urges

NewsThe Canadian Association of Journalists is speaking out against court rulings that could compel journalists in Quebec and Ontario to reveal their sources. On Jan. 22, 2008 a federal court judge ordered two La Presse reporters to reveal the source of a document leaked about a suspect being held on a security certificate. CAJ president […]

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21 Feb

Journalists off hook if ban breached

Journalists who reveal banned evidence in news stories can only be convicted of a crime if there’s proof they intentionally set out to violate a publication ban, the Ontario Court of Appeal has concluded. In R. v. Helsdon, one of the few a rulings to explore who’s criminally responsible when a news outlet runs afoul […]

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