Freedom of the Press

In a joint letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, World Press Freedom Canada, and the Centre for Free Expression call on the Canadian government to take even more robust action against the Government of Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko`s direct order to have a Belarusian military aircraft force a Ryanair flight traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, to land in Belarus’ capital, Minsk, to illegally arrest and imprison Roman Prot

As the meaning of "fact" continues to morph, reporters' routines and assumptions need refreshing, too. One key ingredient: humility 

Democracies need reporters who follow their curiosity, ask uninhibited questions, and tell unwelcome stories. 

The City of North Bay, Ont., has been named as the recipient of the 2020 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the municipal category.  The city is being recognized because of repeated efforts to circumvent basic transparency and accountability measures expected of democratic governments. Among the laundry list of concerns brought to the attention of the Code of Silence jury were:  

CFE et al. Intervener Factum - Supreme Court of Canada – Publication Bans

Quebec's Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks has been named as the recipient of the 2020 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the provincial category.  The provincial ministry is being recognized for its unwillingness to share lab data with scientists at Environment Canada related to four mysterious fish kills that took place during the summer of 2019. At the time, dead fish showed up in the Ottawa River, with the source believed to be the Lièvre River, east of Ottawa and Gatineau.