Press freedom is critical for society

Re: “Quebec tightens rules for monitoring of journalists” (Montreal Gazette, Nov. 2) We at the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers are concerned by the recent news of Quebec journalists who found themselves either under state surveillance or targeted by search or electronic surveillance warrants when the journalists were not the target of a police inquiry.

Freedom of the press is a constitutionally protected freedom in Canada, one that has been defined and endorsed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

A free and independent press is a cornerstone of a real democracy. Investigative journalism has proven its value in calling the state to account for its actions.

We and our clients sometimes have concerns with how the press handles some issues in our cases, and we have reminded the press of basic principles such as the presumption of innocence. Nonetheless, we support wholeheartedly the constitutional right of the press to operate in total freedom from state interference.

Judges and justices of the peace play an important role in ensuring law-enforcement authorities do not go beyond what the law and the Constitution permit them to do.

We denounce the use of state or police power to attempt to coerce journalists to reveal their sources, a constitutionally protected privilege, or to intimidate journalists so as to discourage them from carrying out their role, which is so important to our democracy. Isabel J. Schurman, Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers, Montreal