Supreme Court to weigh police needs against journalists’ ability to protect sources
Posted May 22, 2018 3:50 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Supreme Court of Canada is about to hear oral arguments in a case that has implications for the future of journalism, stemming from a series of Vice News articles in 2014.
Reporter Ben Makuch wrote three stories largely based on conversations with Calgary man suspected of going overseas to fight for ISIS.
A court later ordered Makuch to hand over some of his background documents to the RCMP. That’s when various media and free-expression groups got involved.
Caily DiPuma with the BC Civil Liberties Association says too often in cases like this lower courts tend to side with the police without fully considering freedom of the press.
“Here we’re not saying that police should never be able to get these kinds of orders,” say DiPuma. “We’re saying they should be able to get them when they really need them, and only then.”
Mounties have argued that journalists have no special rights to withhold crucial information from them, while free speech groups argued such a demand would make sources less willing to speak to journalists.
“Surely they should have to go through the process of trying to find it through other avenues than just going to a reporter who they know probably has the information,” says DiPuma.
“That onus should be on the police and that’s, you know, to protect free expression and freedom of the press.”
The hearing begins early Wednesday morning in Ottawa. A decision may be months away.
