CANADA

Freedom of the press has been affected by Executive decrees and judicial orders. The Ontario Court of Appeal is soon to consider whether a libel suit can be brought in Canada against The Washington Post in the case of Bangoura v. The Washington Post because the alleged defamatory article appeared on the internet. Press freedom advocates are deeply concerned due to the implications it may have on creating rules that will allow plaintiffs to sue in other countries for defamatory matter published on the Internet without any substantial connection to the forum other than mere presence of the plaintiff and a web site. Recently, a journalist for a Punjabi-Canadian newspaper was investigating allegations that a clinic made claims that it could not fulfill. The owner of the clinic reported to police that the journalist uttered death threats against her. The journalist asserts that the police were not interested in his denials or even his proof that he could not have uttered the second death threat, as alleged. The journalist was charged but the charges were later dropped by the prosecution because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. The newspaper has suffered advertising support due to the charges and the journalist feels unable to pursue investigative journalism even if in the interest of the community. In July, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), -broadcast regulators -recently approved requests to distribute the Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera on cable and satellite TV. But this was not well taken due to the strict content rules laid by CRTC to keep anti-Semitic or other abusive comments off the air, which could mean editing or deleting material. Michael Hennessy, president of the Canadian Cable Television Association, said the effect of the CRTC decision will turn cable companies into censors. The ruling was also criticized by Jewish groups that claim the network disseminates anti-Semitic content, the Toronto Star reported. Federal regulators' revocation in July of the license of a Quebec radio station for allegedly broadcasting offensive content has drawn criticism from free-speech advocates concerned about the ruling's impact on the news media, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) did not renew the license of CHOI-FM, Quebec City's most popular radio station. CRTC said the station had aired material on a talk show that violated the Broadcasting Act, CNews reported. It was the first time in history that the CRTC refused to renew a license because of a station's content, according to CNews and the Globe and Mail. The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) in May gave the national health agency its annual "Code of Silence Award" for its efforts to conceal open government, the Globe and Mail reported. For five years, the agency, Health Canada, failed to provide access to a user-friendly database of potentially harmful prescription drugs, and refused to release information on adverse drug reactions in a format that would allow researchers to spot trends and identify problem drugs. It was reported by the Globe and Mail in May that the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper was fighting an attempt by prosecutors to use anti-terrorism legislation to withhold information from a criminal case involving the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. For the first time in a criminal case, prosecutors are attempting to use an amendment to the Canada Evidence Act that lawmakers passed in 2001 to allow private legal hearings. The amendment's original purpose was to help guard Canada from terrorist activity. The prosecutors have requested a private hearing to discuss why certain information in the case should not be seen by anyone -- including the defendants, their attorneys, and the media. The Free Press is seeking access to the hearing and the information, and its lawyer said that the amendment "imposes mandatory secrecy on matters which could be of immense public interest." According to an analysis carried out in late March by New Winnipeg magazine, government and industry proposals to allow more foreign ownership of the cable media would limit the voice of Canadian citizens. Lifting restrictions on foreign ownership would only benefit Canada's four major cable companies, who would then be able to sell their companies to U.S. corporations, the article claims. Groups like the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting fear that Canadians would lose control of their primary means of communication if the government approves such plans, CNews reported. The Canadian Association of Journalists and other international press associations condemned the apparent murder of French-born Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer in Ivory Coast urging in May the Canadian government to push Ivorian authorities to ensure his killers be brought to justice. Mr. Kieffer, 54, has not been seen since he disappeared on April 16 in the capital, Abidjan. Mr. Kieffer reported regularly on corruption in the important cocoa trade. He had been accused by some government supporters of being pro-rebel, referring to the split in this West African nation between a rebel-held north and government-run south, despite a formal end to a civil war last summer. Ivorian media outlets report that Mr. Kieffer was kidnapped and killed by government-allied militia members. Reporters Without Borders alleges that Mr. Kieffer was twice threatened by people with government ties prior to his disappearance.