Yearly Archives: 2020

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is pleased to announce the launch of the 2020 Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey—Canada’s first representative survey of diversity in media.  The survey comes following three years of consultations with experts in survey design and media diversity and will help tell a story—with hard data—about who works in Canadian media.  “The glaring lack of diversity in Canadian newsrooms is no secret,” said CAJ past president Karyn Pugliese. “But without sufficient data collection, it is impossible to understand the full scope of the problem and, ultimately, work towards a Canadian media landscape that reflects the society [...]

HALIFAX, TORONTO—As the COVID-19 pandemic’s second-wave continues to sweep across much of the country, the federal government has maintained a very cavalier approach to meeting its legal obligations under Canada’s Access to Information Act.  According to a 21 October report in the Winnipeg Free Press, less than half of federal access to information offices are currently operating at full capacity. This is because many departments have de-prioritised the processing of access to information requests, which has not been treated as “a critical service”, resulting in serious backlogs and no clear guidelines about when requests will be answered.  The pandemic is [...]

A proposal to change the way the US manages visas for foreign journalists threatens to seriously jeopardise the exercise of journalistic freedom. We, the undersigned, urge the Department of Homeland Security to drop this proposal.   The “I visa” is required for all foreign journalists operating in the US, whether they are there for one week or five years. Once issued it is valid for up to five years, allowing journalists to work there continuously or travel in and out of the US for assignments. The proposal by the Department of Homeland Security to limit the visa to 240 days, with [...]

On Oct. 7, 2020 Winnipeg Police Service officer Const. Rob Carver, a member of the public information office, interfered with a journalist’s ability to report after police shot a man. Winnipeg Free Press reporter Ryan Thorpe was in the process of procuring a video from a bystander to the shooting when Const. Carver took the phone from Thorpe, preventing the video from being made public.  The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) condemns the actions of the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). The police have no right to bar a member of the public from communicating with a journalist, particularly when that [...]

This International Right to Know Day, we call on all governments and public authorities to ensure that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is not a pretext for limiting citizens’ right to information. Legal and practical processes for accessing information should now be restored to pre-pandemic levels and even improved upon. The transparent and timely sharing of information with the public, on both a proactive and reactive basis, is crucial for protecting public health, preventing corruption, safeguarding democratic institutions and improving policy and-decision-making. However, more than six months after the declaration of the pandemic, while many governments have found ways to return [...]

TORONTO, Sept. 4, 2020 /CNW/ —The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the Ontario Provincial Police’s decision to arrest and lay charges against an award-winning Indigenous journalist.  On September 2, Karl Dockstader, the co-recipient of the 2020 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, was arrested and charged with mischief, and failure to comply with a court order. Dockstader was covering a land dispute between members of Six Nations, the band council, and a development company, on land known as the Haldimand Tract. The arrest bans him from the site under [...]

TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2020 /CNW/ -This past Sunday, the national board of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) gathered for a regular meeting. One of our main agenda items was to discuss the recent news of the Alberta Legislative Press Gallery’s refusal to issue memberships to employees of Rebel News.  Late last week, Postmedia announced its extraordinary decision to pull its newspapers from the press gallery. While the CAJ respects their prerogative to operate their newsrooms as they see fit, we are concerned this decision could place its journalists in a difficult position to adequately serve the public.  Press galleries [...]

TORONTO, July 31, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is alarmed to learn the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has threatened CBC reporter Colin Butler with harassment charges while performing his reporting duties. "Responsible, ethical, reporting requires that journalists seek out comments from individuals who are subjects of investigations," said CAJ president Brent Jolly. "Trying to intimidate journalists for doing their job is completely unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime." The CAJ demands that the OPP retract its threat to lay charges against a reporter conducting an investigation, clarify that it will not intervene in normal reporting practices, [...]

OTTAWA, July 28, 2020/CNW/ — The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) condemns the attacks against journalists covering anti-mask protests in Quebec City and Montreal this past weekend and calls on police to sanction all behaviour by protesters that intentionally put journalists’ health and safety at risk.  “The physical assault, harassment and intimidation of journalists have no place in a democratic society and constitute attacks against freedom of the press, which cannot be ignored,” said Brent Jolly, president of the CAJ.  On Sunday, TVA journalist Kariane Bourassa was assaulted by two protesters who “hugged'' her against her will while she was [...]

Update: An earlier version of this press release stated that Global had laid off 70 journalists from across its operations. Global claims that number is incorrect but declined to say how many people were laid off. TORONTO, July 23, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) was dismayed to learn that multiple journalists, predominantly employed in Global News' digital operations, lost their jobs yesterday.  The decision, according to a memo obtained by J-Source, largely eliminated Global's lifestyle, entertainment and social media teams. Global's daily news podcast Wait, There's More was also cancelled abruptly, with managers giving the team [...]