Niagara Region apologizes to reporter after seizing his equipment

The Niagara Region has apologized to a reporter for seizing equipment staff thought was being used to record a closed council session, an incident journalism organizations decried as an assault on press freedom.

The St. Catharines Standard reported that municipal staff called police Thursday night and officers forced one of the newspaper’s reporters to leave the region’s headquarters in Thorold, Ont. The paper said staff accused Bill Sawchuk of secretly recording a closed-door council meeting and took his computer and notes.

Niagara Region said in a statement Friday that staff found two electronic devices on the media table during the closed session and that one appeared to be recording, so they seized the devices to turn them over to police. ``After receiving assurances from the St. Catharines Standard’s legal counsel that their journalist, Bill Sawchuk, was not recording the closed session, the one device was returned,’’ the statement said. ``Niagara Region apologizes for this inconvenience caused to Mr. Sawchuk.’’