Centre for Constitutional Studies launches speaker series commemorating Canada 150 with alumnus Matthew Woodley

Meryl Streep may have said it best when, during her January 8, 2017 Golden Globes speech, she argued "we need the principled press to hold power to account."

Patricia Paradis, Executive Director for the Centre for Constitutional Studies, referred to Streep's remarks during her introduction to Edmonton lawyer Matthew Woodley's January 11 presentation on freedom of the press; the first in a series of guest lectures hosted by the Centre in commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of Canada's Constitution. The theme for the Centre's speaker series is "Looking Back and Moving Forward: How the Constitution Shapes Canada."

Do we have a free press in Canada? That was the question up for debate during Woodley's talk at the Law Centre, which is available for viewing here. Woodley, who has been practicing media law for 12 years and has also taught Communications Law at MacEwan University, began his presentation by expanding on Streep's comments with the idea that free expression provides a foundation to our other rights.

While there is strong Canadian jurisprudence in favour of free expression, Woodley highlighted two particular areas in need of reform. The first concerns protection from defamation lawsuits. He specifically mentioned a phenomenon called "libel chill", which occurs when journalists are reluctant to publish pieces that might land them in court, even if there is a public interest in publishing. There are protections to mitigate this phenomenon, but the manner in which they are applied can be arbitrary, leaving journalists uncertain as to whether they can safely exercise their rights.

The second area of reform concerns confidential sources and "whistleblower protections." Again, while there are protections in place, they are not of the same status that safeguards the privilege between a lawyer and client. As a result, cases involving confidential media sources are assessed on a case-by-case basis, again leading to arbitrary and uncertain results. Woodley did mention a glimmer of hope on this front, as Bill S-231-, the Journalistic Sources Protections Act, is currently in committee with the Senate, but he conceded that, as a private member's bill, it may never become law.

Woodley further expanded on the importance of a free press with regards to the courts and government by explaining that the average Canadian does not have time to sit through court proceedings and meetings of legislative assemblies. To this end, Canadians rely on a free press to relay the activities of these bodies so that citizens can exercise their rights to advocate for change based on quality information. Where the courts are concerned, Woodley said that "seeing justice delivered matters."