Step up on press freedom
Asenior official of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service made a worrisome admission this past week. He acknowledged that the agency may in fact have spied on the communications of Canadian journalists in the past.
That’s all the more troubling since it runs counter to previous assurances from a host of top figures — including the public safety minister, the head of the RCMP and the prime minister himself — that federal agencies do not target journalists.
And it’s even more of a concern since it follows on the heels of revelations that at least 10 reporters in Quebec have had their cellphone communication secretly put under surveillance by police over the past few years.
In all those cases, the journalist wasn’t suspected of doing anything wrong. Police obtained warrants to spy on them in order to identify whistleblowers and intimidate those who might feed information to journalists in the future. It amounted to a straightforward chill on freedom of the press.
At least in Quebec the concern has gone beyond journalistic circles. After a flurry of public outrage, the provincial government announced that it intends to set up an inquiry into press freedom and police surveillance of journalists.
On the federal level, though, there’s a disappointing lack of official interest in the issue.
An independent senator from Quebec, André Pratte, proposed a review of federal legislation to improve protection for journalists and their sources. He suggested a parliamentary committee be set up to study possible changes to the law.
Pratte, once a senior journalist with La Presse in Montreal, told the Senate this past week that the Trudeau government initially seemed open to the idea. The terms of reference for a committee were agreed on and a press release to announce this was even drafted. But, he said, the Conservatives objected and the government didn’t want a fight over the issue. So it dropped the idea, “thus letting freedom of the press down.”
The Conservatives apparently prefer to let one of their own, Sen. Claude Carignan, deal with the issue through a private member’s bill. Called the Journalistic Sources Protection Act, Carignan’s proposed law would seek to “protect the privilege of journalistic sources and secrecy.”
Specifically, it would make it harder for police to obtain warrants to spy on journalists’ communications. Warrants would have to be issued by a high court judge, not simply a justice of the peace.
And if such information was obtained, it would be sealed and the news organization would have a chance to argue in court that it should be kept sealed and returned unopened.
It’s a promising approach, but private member’s bills rarely make it into law. It would be far better if the Trudeau government put its muscle behind a full review of the law and showed it takes these concerns seriously.
This is a national issue, with implications that go beyond the borders of Quebec. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled journalists should be able to protect their sources if they can show it is in the national interest. But the current law is weak and should be updated for the digital age.
There’s a much greater chance of that happening if the government leads on the issue rather than using Carignan’s bill as an excuse to stand on the sidelines. It should change its approach.
Police obtained warrants to spy on journalists in order to identify whistleblowers. . . . It amounted to a straightforward chill on freedom of the press