GLOBE & MAIL– The Supreme Court of Canada slammed the door shut Friday on a concerted attempt by the press to broaden its rights to protect confidential sources.
In an 8-1 ruling, the court said that in an age of blogging, Twittering and long-range microphones, the media are too amorphous to enjoy such a right and too ungovernable to exercise it properly.
“The bottom line is that no journalist can give a source a total assurance of confidentially,” the majority said. “All such arrangements necessarily carry an element of risk that the source’s identity will eventually be revealed.”
Mr. Justice Ian Binnie said it was a “simplistic proposition” to suggest that a journalist should be able to decide on his or her own whether to grant blanket immunity to a source.
To grant a right to administer blanket immunity to a trade that has no professional regulation and vastly differing ethical standards, “would blow a giant hole in law enforcement and other constitutionally recognized values such as privacy,” the majority said.
“Journalistic privilege is very context specific,” it added. “The public interest in free expression will always weigh heavily in the balance.”
The ruling means that the National Post and reporter Andrew McIntosh may now have to hand over an envelope sent by a confidential source, assuming police still wish to learn the source’s identity.
While Friday’s decision dealt primarily with physical evidence – such as letters or notebooks – its implications extend to information journalists obtain verbally from confidential sources.
The court recognized that many vital public issues have been enhanced by investigative reporting and that confidential sources in these sort of cases will very possibly win court approval in future for confidentiality arrangements.
But it said that confidentiality would be routinely requested and granted if it were made too easy to obtain.
“The public interest in freedom of expression is of immense importance but it is not absolute and, in circumstances such as the present, it must be balanced against other important interests – including the investigation and suppression of crime,” Judge Binnie said.
Continue reading about the Canadian Supreme Court Saying there is No Right for Press to Protect Sources.
© COPYRIGHT GLOBE & MAIL, 2010
