The CCLA appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on May 22, arguing that police search warrants and assistance orders that would force reporters to disclose information that could reveal the identity of confidential sources violate of freedom of the media, guaranteed under section 2(b) of the Charter.
Appearing on behalf of the CCLA, special counsel Jamie Cameron (Osgoode Hall Law School), Matthew Milne-Smith and John McCamus (Davies Ward Philips & Vineberg) argued that a free and vigorous press plays a vital role in democratic self-government, and that government measures that prevent media from gathering information constitute a restriction on freedom of the press. Access to news sources, CCLA stated, is a key element of the newsgathering function, and it is in the public interest that the press have access to sources that enable timely reporting and commentary on public institutions and events. It is CCLA’s position that orders that effectively require a journalist to disclose the identity of a confidential source threaten the integrity of the relationship between journalists and their sources. Although such intrusions may under some circumstances be warranted, CCLA believes that the government should have to show that such an invasion is justified. Democracy depends on eye-opening reporting, and the state should have to demonstrate that its interest in accessing an unnamed source is greater than the public interest in protecting the relationship between journalists and their confidential sources.
To see CCLA’s factum before the Supreme Court of Canada click here.
