REPORTER MUST TURN OVER MATERIALS TO RCMP, COURT RULES

A Vice Media reporter must give the RCMP background materials he used for three stories he wrote in 2014 about a Calgary man, Farah Shirdon, charged in absentia of various terrorism-related offences, Ontario’s top court affirmed Wednesday. In a case that pitted freedom of the press against the ability of police and prosecutors to do their work, the Ontario Court of Appeal said it found no er- rors in an earlier ruling that went against the Canadian media outlet. Reporter Ben Makuch, pictured, backed by various media and civil rights groups, had fought the RCMP’s production order, arguing police use of journalists to further criminal investigations would make sources reluctant to come forward. Vice said it might appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.