Of Scandals, Sources and Secrets: Investigative Reporting, National Post and Globe and Mail

Twice in 2010 the Supreme Court of Canada considered the status of confidential newsgathering sources. Each case arose from investigative reporting that exposed ethical breaches and wrongdoing at the highest levels of federal government. Rather than constitutionalize the journalist-source relationship as an element of newsgathering under section 2(b) of the Charter, the Court re-affirmed the common law Wigmore test for privilege. After rejecting the claim of privilege in National Post, the Court adopted a more source-protective approach in Globe and Mail. The Court’s lack of initiative points to the need for policy debate, leading to statutory protection for confidential newsgathering sources