Harper's Government Given a Failing Grade with Regard to Freedom of Expression

Cartoon: Montreal Gazette

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world.

Recently the organization published a Review of Free Expression in Canada for 2010/2011 (Part 1)  Part 2

Topics include:

• CJFE’s Report Card: Like Sheep to the Slaughter
• About CJFE
• Still Looking for Answers: Hearings and Inquiries into the G20 Summit
• A Welcome to WikiLeaks
• Whatcott v. Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
• Iceland: Free Speech Zone
• CJFE’s Freedom of Expression Index
• CJFE: 30 Years of Fighting for Free Expression
• Canadian Journalists Abroad
• Cross-Canada Free Expression Reports
• Freedom of Expression on Trial: 2010-11
• How Access to Information Fails Journalists
• Appendix: Major Court Decisions 2010-11
• Whistleblower Protection Still in Its Infancy in Canada

A summary of the report written up by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange: The global network for free expression reports that the CJFE has given the Harper government a failing grade of F for the second year in a row.  Canada is positioned last among five leading democracies.  A number of reasons were cited:

• access information takes much longer and the information received is far more incomplete
• The Conservative party was in contempt of Parliament for failing to produce information about major spending programmes
• over 50% of the federal institutions surveyed for their performance on access to information ranked below average and five failed 
• 44% of federal access to information requests are not met within the required 30-day limit
• information complaints take an average of 395 days to resolve 
• security forces and Harper's government were given a failing grade for calling last summer's G20 Summit in Toronto an "unmitigated success" when over 1000 people were detained under the "most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history" 
• "long list of violations" of freedom of expression including repeated refusals to recognise the credentials of journalists and multiple incidents of journalist harassment and detention

NOW magazine sponsored a discussion about the state of access to information in Canada which was presented by  CJFE.  Anna Maria Tremonti, of CBC's The Current, hosted.  Panellists included Ottawa Deputy Bureau Chief Dean Beeby of the Canadian Press, former Information Commissioner John Reid and Paula Todd, investigative journalist with CTV's W5.  Excerpts from the event are available on video.

Vision
To achieve universal respect for and protection of the right to free expression and access to information.

Mission
CJFE boldly champions the free expression rights of journalists and media workers around the world. In Canada, we monitor, defend and promote free expression and access to information. We encourage and support individuals and groups to be vigilant in the protection of their own and others' free expression rights. We are active participants and builders of the global free expression community.



There is still time to register for the Banned Book Challenge. Set your own goal to read any number of banned or challenged books between February 20, 2011 and June 30, 2011. Then, send us reviews, opinions, etc.

More on the G20

Image: Government of Canada website



In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, dated July 16, 2010, the British Columbia Library Association expressed "concern over the unprecedented curtailment of civil liberties that took place at the June 2010 meeting of the G20 in Toronto."

Numerous concerns are expressed which can be read in the pdf version of the full letter. A particular concern are the allegations that a number of journalists were arrested and detailed in the course of doing their jobs. "The media play a critical role in preserving democracy by bearing witness and documenting events."

Other concerns included the mass arrests of people who "appear to have been arrested while exercising their constitutionally protected rights to freedom of assembly, association, and expression; some were random, uninvolved passers-by." The BCLA concludes that if these arrests were carried out as a method of preventative detention, they have "infring[ed] on important Charter rights with respect to due process" and that the effect was that "many individuals felt unable, or afraid, to exercise these rights."

BCLA urges the Government of Ontario to review the impact of Ontario Regulation 233/10 on intellectual freedom, including the people’s right to express their intellectual position, and its impact on the media’s right to report multiple perspectives on major international events happening within Canada.

There are a number of areas the BCLA would like to see addressed in an inquiry including "the impact of security measures on the Charter rights of citizens to freedom of assembly, association, expression, and due process."

BCLA represents over 800 library staff from all types of libraries, predominantly public and academic libraries. One of the purposes of the Association is to promote and foster the role of libraries and library workers in British Columbia through advocacy, education and leadership. A key aspect of this purpose is to ensure that the role libraries play in policy issues, ranging from literacy to intellectual freedom to copyright to equitable access to information, is communicated to the appropriate level of government.

It will be interesting to see if other provinces' library associations follow suit.

Free Expression at G20 Toronto

Photo: Government of Canada website




In the aftermath of the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, a number of people are calling for an independent inquiry into the actions that led up to the arrests of over 1,000 people. Well-respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have voiced concerns "about possible police excesses, including reports of journalists being arrested or constrained in the course of covering confrontations between police and demonstrators." Their voice is joined by many others who want answers to why "excessive acts of vandalism and other violence were carried out and on the other hand thousands of individuals felt nervous and uneasy about exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest." Read Human Rights in Canada for a full account of their position.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Constitution, guarantees a number of rights that some people believe were violated during the G20 Summit.

• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication


• freedom of peaceful assembly


• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.


• Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.


• Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.


• Everyone has the right on arrest or detention

(a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful.

Another group calling for an independent inquiry is Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)

CJFE calls upon the police to respond to questions from reporters about their treatment of journalists. Serious questions of public policy and civil liberties are raised by the number and diversity of reports of detainment and attacks against journalists. Merely urging individuals to file complaints about their treatment is an inadequate response from politically accountable security forces. We support the numerous calls for an inquiry into police tactics and security arrangements for the summit, conducted openly with its conclusions made public. Any such inquiry must include a thorough examination of police treatment of journalists covering the events.

There was a controversial use of the Public Works Protection Act which was passed without being put before legislature. Prior to the Summit, police believed that act gave them the power to search anyone within five meters of the security fence. It was later revealed that the regulation made under the Public Works Protection Act did NOT give police those kinds of search powers.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) said it was “extremely concerned” that the new measures violate constitutional safeguards. Read about the concerns of the CCLA which were expressed prior to the G20 summit. Following the G20 weekend, according to a National Post article, the Civil Liberties Association describe the G20 police force as “disproportionate, arbitrary and excessive."