Court rules for journalists' access to Fairy Creek protests
The Canadian Journalists for Free Expression was part of a coalition of media partners that successfully took the RCMP to court to ensure journalists’ right to access to enforcement activities in the Fairy Creek injunction zone, and to establish that access must not be restricted unless there is a good faith operational reason for doing so.
The B.C. Superior Court judge said his ruling should serve as a reminder to the police “….to keep in mind the media’s special role in a free and democratic society, and the necessity of avoiding undue and unnecessary interference with the journalistic function.”
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CJFE Expresses Concern at Ban on Journalist Thomas Rohner Visiting Nunavut Correctional Facilities
The Honourable Jeannie Hakongak Ehaloak,Minister of Justice
Dear Minister Ehaloak,
We write on behalf of the Canadian Journalists For Free Expression (CJFE) because Vice freelance Journalist Thomas Rohner has been denied access to visit inmates in any of Nunavut’s Correctional Facilities by Jean-Pierre Deroy, Director of Corrections for the Department of Justice.
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Federal aid for the media: CJFE calls on government to launch a transparent public process
The federal government has announced a number of measures to provide almost $600 million to support journalism in Canada to both non-profit and for-profit news organizations to assist the industry during a period of significant disruption and negative financial pressures. CJFE joins in supporting those changes which will allow non-profit news media to operate with charitable status, and those which provide non-refundable tax credits to subscribers of digital news media.
However, CJFE has principled concerns about how the government implements any direct funding of media. Accordingly, as these measures are implemented, CJFE calls on the government to commit to the following principles:
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CJFE Condemns the Conviction and Sentencing of Turkish Journalist Pelin Unker
CJFE condemns the conviction and sentencing of Turkish journalist Pelin Unker to 13 months’ imprisonment and a fine of US$1,615 for “defamation and insult”, based on her reporting of undisputed facts uncovered by the International Consortium of Journalists’ “Paradise Papers” investigation.
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Ambulance New Brunswick is Canada’s most secretive government agency in 2018
OTTAWA / Nov. 19, 2018 / CNW — Ambulance New Brunswick is the 2018 recipient of the Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the provincial category.
The award is given annually by The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University (CFE), News Media Canada and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) to call public attention to government departments and agencies that put extra effort into denying public access to government information to which the public has a right under access to information legislation.
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CJFE will act as an intervener this month in the case of Radio-Canada journalist Marie-Maude Denis
CJFE will act as an intervener this month in the case of Radio-Canada journalist Marie-Maude Denis, the very first case before the Supreme Court regarding confidential journalistic sources since the new federal legislation was passed in Ottawa in 2017. CJFE will co-intervene with Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ).
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When the Cops Come Calling: An Expert Workshop for Journalists
Peter Jacobsen, a CJFE director whose clients include the Globe and Mail, CTV, Corus and other media, will discuss the current state of media law with Susan Harada, head of journalism at Carleton University on October 10th at the Canada 2020 Studio at 35 O’Connor St., Suite 300. Admission is free.
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