Freedom of the Press

More on our initiatives for
Defending Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press, a fundamental freedom under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is the right of media to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction, censorship, or prior restraint. The ability of journalists to report freely on matters of public interest is crucial to a genuinely democratic society.

Featured Blog Events
Upcoming Event

Trump’s War on Truth

Wed May 7, 7:00pm
Online
The return of Donald Trump to the White House has seen not only an unprecedented assault on media freedoms, including lawsuits, personal denunciations of reporters, and stripping news organizations of their credentials.
Freedom of the Press
News February 13, 2025

CFE Co-sponsoring Colloquium on “Reporting News in a Disbelieving Age”

The manifold crises besetting journalism in Canada and internationally includes the growing public disdain for journalists and the media.  In an effort to address what can be done, the Centre for Free Expression is hosting and co-sponsoring a colloquium at Toronto Metropolitan University on June 5 and 6, 2025, titled: “Reporting News in a Disbelieving Age: Standards of practice amid the crisis in journalism's credibility.”
Freedom of the Press
News June 19, 2024

Charter Rights Under Threat if Senate Fails to Fix Foreign Interference Bill: If they don’t act, we will, say CFE and 9 other civil society groups

In its rush to do, and to be seen to do, something about the very real problem of foreign interference, the House of Commons hurried through — in hours — a well-intentioned but deeply flawed Bill C-70: Countering Foreign Interference Act. Under enormous pressure, it appears the Senate will do likewise today.
Privacy & Surveillance, Academic Freedom, Freedom of the Press
Policy Submission February 9, 2024

CFE Closing Submission to the Foreign Interference Commission

CFE urged the Commission to act on the testimony of expert panels and witnesses that there is an immense public interest in transparency regarding foreign interference. "The Commission cannot defer to the Government of Canada’s conclusions on what can and cannot be disclosed [but must] be prepared to seek recourse in Federal Court on an expedited basis" in the event the Government attempts to overly restrict public access to essential documents about foreign interference.
Access-to-Information, Freedom of the Press