ACCESS TO COURT VITAL
Why should you care that media were blocked from proceedings regarding the La Loche school shooter?
It’s not for the sake of the news outlets involved, although reporters were forced to wait in the cold for four hours. No, the public should care because transparency is extremely important to the proper administration of justice.
Both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Supreme Court of Canada have made it clear that the media plays a vital, protected role in reporting on the justice system. Without it, there is opportunity for corruption and for the process to become one that members of the general public do not understand or feel works for them.
On Friday, a judge announced the high school student who opened fire at the school in La Loche in 2016 will be sentenced as an adult for his crimes. There is much public interest across the country in this case, but the media who showed up to cover the hearing were not even allowed to enter the courthouse, let alone the courtroom. Just how this decision was made is still unclear. At least 90 minutes after proceedings had begun, a single pool reporter was allowed into the small courtroom.
Some are saying journalists should have just attended a feed of the proceedings in Meadow Lake. This was never a real choice for organizations wanting to give full coverage to the public. A feed only shows a very small amount going on at the front of the courtroom — really only what the judge is doing. Reporters need to report on the actions of the accused, the lawyers and people in the gallery. Reporters knew family members would get priority seating, but had no indication they would have absolutely no access to the proceedings. Judges do not usually comment publicly on court proceedings, but Judge Janet McIvor later made it clear she had no idea the media had been kept from observing until after her decision was passed down.
Another reason to care about the limited media access to Friday’s proceedings lies with the victims of the shooting who could not attend. As shooting victim Charlene Klyne said, “How is that fair to the people who couldn’t be there that are victims and stuff ? This is ridiculous.”
The RCMP have, so far, been unwilling to talk about their part in this situation. A spokesperson simply said the doors were not locked by RCMP, and would not answer reasonable questions, including whether or not the RCMP will review the events that led to the media’s exclusion from the courtroom.
When the media are shut out, so are average citizens. This situation must be addressed to keep it from happening again.