La Presse+ quotes Montréal lawyer Christian Leblanc in an article on protecting journalists’ sources.
According to Christian Leblanc, the outgoing president of the Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association, the issuance of warrants like these for a journalist’s cell phone is extremely worrisome.
“In my practice, I have never come across a case like this: a journalist whose telephone was included in a DNR warrant, let alone a DNR warrant this broad,” he said in an interview.
“This is worrisome,” Mr. Leblanc added. “The Supreme Court said that this was only for exceptional cases and there had to be assurance that the media would not become an investigative arm of the police, because if that were the case, sources would stop talking and the public’s right to information would significantly be undermined.”
