Cross-Canada Reports
Cross-Canada
Free Expression Reports Compiled by Taryn Blanchard
British Columbia
Commissioner reports on province’s failing ATI system
On Sept. 23, 2014, the British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, released a scathing report that details the province’s failing access to information system. This is in sharp contrast to the commissioner’s previous report, which found that the B.C. government’s ATI performance had actually improved. The 2013/14 report outlines substantial and systemic issues that have contributed to the B.C. government’s inability to respond to ATI requests. Commissioner Denham emphasized the ongoing “duty to document,” pointing to the trend of government employees communicating via personal emails through private back channels, which are insulated from public scrutiny.
Free speech restricted on University of Victoria campus
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and a member of the University of Victoria pro-life club, Youth Protecting Youth, named the university and its Student Society in a constitutional lawsuit that seeks relief from persistent, illegal censorship of civil, peaceful expression of
pro-life opinion on campus. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled that decision-making about the use of space by students on campus is reserved to the university and should not be subject to governmental power. The BCCLA stated that it stands strongly for students’ right to express themselves in university environments, regardless of their opinions.
Alberta
Internal emails censored at TransCanada Corporation
When Evan Vokes filed an access to information request with his former employer, TransCanada Corporation, he received censored emails. While employed by TransCanada, Vokes made several unsuccessful attempts to bring attention to safety concerns related to company projects, and he was dismissed in May 2012. He then requested personal records from the company to use as evidence of its wrongdoing, but he received files with large parts blacked out.
Saskatchewan
Professor fired after speaking out, then partially reinstated
Prof. Robert Buckingham was unceremoniously
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removed from his tenured position at the University of Saskatchewan on May 14, 2014, after speaking out against the school’s restructuring plans. The following day, he was reinstated without his position as the dean of the School of Public Health, a position he had held since 2009. After Buckingham’s reinstatement, the president of the university, Ilene Busch-Vishniac, issued an apology and referred to his dismissal as a blunder. In a press release, however, BuschVishniac said the professor was relieved from his deanship for “acting contrary to the expectations of his leadership role.”
Journalist placed in custody for refusing to surrender notebooks
Jason Warick, a reporter for Saskatoon newspaper The StarPhoenix, was taken into custody at the beginning of March 2015 after refusing a judge’s order to hand over his notebooks to the court during a murder trial. Journalists’ notes are crucial to their investigative reporting, and the confidentiality of information contained in their notes is essential to protecting and keeping the trust of sources. Warick remained in custody over the trial’s noon hour and was then released, but his notebooks were seized and sealed except by further order of the court.
Manitoba
Canadian Museum of Human Rights accused of censorship
In August 2014, the Manitoba Metis Federation accused the Canadian Museum of Human Rights of censorship and voted to boycott the institution after it excluded decorated Métis musician Ray St. Germain from its grand opening ceremonies. The Federation criticized the museum for trying to control information about Métis culture when it rejected the Federation’s choice of performer in favour of a younger artist. The president of the Federation, David Chartrand, told The Globe and Mail: “We took a very strong offence to that. Who are you to tell us how to promote our culture? This is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Did they forget their mandate? They start to tell us how we’re going to advance our identity or description of who we are to the world?”
Ontario
Ontario reintroduces anti-SLAPP legislation
In December 2014, the Ontario government once again introduced antiSLAPP legislation. Widely seen as an attempt to stifle free speech, SLAPPs
(strategic lawsuits against public participation) are frequently launched by well-resourced individuals or corporate entities in an attempt to silence and intimidate defendants. While the lawsuits (typically for libel or slander) rarely have merit, the defendants usually cannot afford the legal fees, time and potential payments for damages. At press time, Ontario’s proposed legislation had been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy following its second reading.
Quebec
The right to photograph under threat in Quebec media case
The Superior Court of Quebec convicted a reporter and editor of the newspaper Les immigrants de la Capitale for publishing a photo of a woman and her family in a public place. The reporter of the article had not asked for their consent before publishing the photograph. The newspaper had judged the photo to be in the public interest, but the main subject of the photograph, a woman wearing a veil and accompanied by her husband and their child, decided to sue for loss of enjoyment of life and injury to her religious freedom, dignity and reputation.
Journalist loses column over critical opinion
Pierre Allard found himself short a column in June 2014. The loss followed his blog post, which critiqued the parent company of the Gesca newspaper chain for announcing its plans to potentially stop production of the print editions of their publications. The blog post, titled “Le silence assourdissant des salles de rédaction,” (“The deafening silence of newsrooms”) was published on Allard’s personal blog on May 19, 2014. In the following weeks, he was dropped from his regular column with Gesca-owned Le Droit.
New Brunswick
New book challenges Irving media monopoly in Atlantic Canada
The Irving family is one of the wealthiest families in Canada, and their ownership of most of New Brunswick’s newspapers has raised many questions about how their businesses are covered in the press. In Irving vs. Irving: Canada’s Feuding Billionaires and the Stories They Won’t Tell, journalist Jacques Poitras argues that the Irvings have created a chill on public scrutiny for their businesses by taking control of nearly all of the province’s newspapers. The Irvings’ relationship to their newspapers has become more complicated in recent years, with many observers suggesting that the family resents its media monopoly because they receive so much criticism for it.
Nova Scotia
Publication ban on Rehtaeh Parsons’ name no longer enforced Rehtaeh Parsons’ family won the battle to allow her name to be published respectfully. Parsons, the victim of an alleged gang rape, committed suicide in 2013 after months of severe harassment, during which a photo linked to the allegations was circulated. The publication ban stemmed from a law that prohibits the release of any information that could identify victims of child pornography. As soon as charges were laid, Parsons’ name was dropped from media coverage because she was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. In December 2014, Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service was instructed to not prosecute anyone who chooses to publish Parsons’ name so long as her name is not used in a derogatory way.
Boundaries of free speech tested by Halifax hot-dog vendor
In January 2015, shortly after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in France, a Halifax hot-dog vendor attempted to make a point about free speech by posting inflammatory remarks about Jewish people, the Holocaust and the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on social media. Jerry Reddick, a.k.a. The Dawgfather, defended his actions, saying he was pointing out the existence of a double standard in free speech rights. Reddick, a devout Muslim, has continued to post offensive content on his Twitter and Facebook pages, prompting an investigation by Halifax Regional Police.
Prince Edward Island
P.E.I. Liberal leadership hopeful defends pulling newspapers
Wade MacLauchlan, the lone candidate running for P.E.I.’s Liberal leadership in December 2014, defended his February 2006 decision to pull an issue of The Cadre, the University of P.E.I.’s student newspaper, that featured a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. McLauchlan was president of UPEI at the time. His censorship of The Cadre was publicized by Jackson Doughart, who wrote an opinion article for Charlottetown’s The Guardian after MacLauchlan announced his candidacy. In response, MacLauchlan cited the pulled issue as “a choice between freedom of the press and concerns of discrimination against certain religious and cultural beliefs.” He became premier in February 2015.
many restrictions that the current Act imposes on ATI. The recommendations of the report entail a complete overhaul of the legislation and go a long way to upholding the public interest.
Former premier sues The Telegram for defamation
Danny Williams, former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, launched a lawsuit against St. John’s The Telegram in retaliation for an editorial that accused him of buying political influence. This is the latest in a series of lawsuits that the former premier, who is also a businessman and lawyer, has launched or supported, suggesting a pattern of attempts to impinge on the right to free expression of both the news media and private citizens. Others targeted by these lawsuits include Sierra Club Canada, environmentalist Bruno Marcocchio, political blogger Brad Cabana and another former premier, Roger Grimes.
Yukon
Newfoundland and Labrador
Provincial government commits to improving ATI legislation A year after former premier Tom Marshall announced a full, independent review of the province’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA), the government has committed to implementing all of the review commission’s recommendations. The commission’s report was released on March 3, 2015, and it delivered a scathing account of the
Proposed whistleblower law tentatively approved After years of debates, a whistleblower law was finally tabled and tentatively approved by Yukon’s political parties in October 2014. A previous discussion document about the legislation was heavily criticized for only allowing the Yukon Ombudsman, who would investigate whistleblower cases, to recommend protections for at-risk employees. Employers would still have been free to reject the recommendations. This flaw was addressed, and the proposed legislation now allows
for the appointment of an arbitrator, who could make a binding ruling. The employer would be required to reinstate the whistleblower at work, provide compensation for lost wages or provide other remedies. If passed, the new legislation will take effect in 2015.
Northwest Territories & NUNAVUT
Part-time information and privacy commissioner shouldering full caseloads of two territories
On Sept. 18, 2014, Elaine Keenan Bengts, the parttime information and privacy commissioner for both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, released a report detailing her growing caseload of ATI and privacy requests. Commissioner Bengts takes the unprecedented number of requests to be a positive sign, indicating the public is becoming more aware of ATI and privacy issues. However, the growing caseload also means she requires additional resources to address the requests in a timely manner. (Currently, there is one full-time administrative assistant, shared with two other departments.) Bengts has recommended that planning must begin for a permanent office with a full-time commissioner and staff.
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