Shield law debate at Red River College
The Manitoba Press Council is sponsoring a debate for journalism students at Red River College on Nov. 1 on the issue of legislative protection for journalists and their sources. Veteran Winnipeg lawyer and newspaper columnist Harold Buchwald and Chair of the Manitoba Press Council, John Cochrane, will present the pros and cons of the issue.
Generally, such legislative protection is known as a shield law. The proposal which prompted the current debate came from Serge Menard, a Quebec MP, who presented to the last Parliament a private member’s resolution, which, if it had passed, would have amended the Canada Evidence Act. His action has the strong support of the Quebec Press Council and journalists in Quebec .
Backers of the proposal argue that it balances two fundamental rights in Canada - the free movement of information and the right to a fair and eqitable trial.
The bill sought to establish the principle that journalists cannot be forced to disclose in court unpublished notes from a story unless they are “of a decisive importance” for the resolution of litigation, and only if there is no other means of providing the evidence. The decision on this would be made by a judge, not the police or Crown prosecutors.
The bill would also have provided protection for confidential sources. Disclosing these sources also would be up to a judge, who would first need to ascertain that such disclosure would be in the public interest by taking into account a variety of factors including the conclusion of litigation and the consequencdes to the source of his or her identity being disclosed.
Finally, the bill would have put additional constraints on police searches of the homes of media members.
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