{"id":15283,"date":"2021-05-26T14:10:57","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T18:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caj.ca\/?p=15283"},"modified":"2022-11-17T14:14:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T19:14:51","slug":"caj-cjfe-coalition-of-news-organizations-challenge-rcmp-injunction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caj.ca\/fr\/caj-cjfe-coalition-of-news-organizations-challenge-rcmp-injunction\/","title":{"rendered":"CAJ, CJFE, coalition of news organizations challenge RCMP injunction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A coalition of news organizations and press freedom groups, including the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), plan to file a legal application seeking the court\u2019s assistance to allow journalists substantive access to cover a demonstration against the logging of an old-growth forest currently taking place in the Fairy Creek watershed, near Port Renfrew, B.C.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the CAJ, the coalition includes Ricochet Media, The Narwhal, Capital Daily, Canada\u2019s National Observer, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), The Discourse and IndigiNews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past week, we\u2019ve repeatedly seen the RCMP shift the goal posts on how it plans to allow journalists access in order to cover this important public interest story,\u201d said Brent Jolly, CAJ president. \u201cEvery day is a new day with new excuses from the RCMP about why access is limited. Enough is enough.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe RCMP have been using broad exclusion zones to interfere with members of the media for at least eight years, across multiple provinces,\u201d said Ethan Cox, an editor with Ricochet Media. \u201cLegal precedent and the RCMP\u2019s own oversight body say doing so is beyond the authority of the force, but it keeps happening. What\u2019s at stake here is nothing less than the public\u2019s right to know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On May 18, the CAJ issued <\/span>a statement<\/span><\/a> that called on courts to limit RCMP power when granting injunctions. Yesterday, the coalition sent a formal letter to the RCMP requesting that media be provided fair access. As of the time of publication, that letter has not been acknowledged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The full letter sent to the RCMP reads as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As representatives of working journalists in Canada, and outlets with journalists on assignment to cover the events unfolding in old-growth forests near Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, we are writing to express our deep concern about serious violations of press freedoms. As you know, the events taking place are important matters of interest to the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have documented reports from numerous journalists who have been refused entry to the area of RCMP enforcement through the broad use of exclusion zones. When granted access, journalists have had that access restricted in ways that materially prevent them from doing their job.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ability of journalists to access and report on matters of public interest receives strong protection under Canadian law, which recognizes that media facilitates and sustains the public exchange of information in a way that is vital to modern Canadian society and essential to the proper functioning of democracy. Injunctions, such as the one in place at Fairy Creek, are not intended to interfere with those legal rights and interests, and must not be enforced by the RCMP in such a way that unnecessarily prevents or impedes journalists exercising those rights and performing their vital function; see, for example, <\/span>Re: Brake; Anderson v. Nalcor Energy<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> 2019 NLCA 17<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

You will also be aware that the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission stated in the Chairperson-Initiated Complaint and Public Interest Investigation Into the RCMP’s Response to Anti-Shale Gas Protests in Kent County, New Brunswick (\u00ab\u00a0the Kent County report\u00a0\u00bb), that restrictions to protest sites and interference with the liberty of individuals should be limited and made only with specific, objectively reasonable rationales.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the unfolding of events over the past six days, we are compelled to demand that the RCMP immediately take steps to minimize the impact of its enforcement practices on the work of journalists at the Fairy Creek protests.\u00a0 Specifically, the following actions are required:<\/span><\/p>\n