· CBC News ·
“Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.”
So goes a quote widely attributed to Samuel Johnson, England’s prominent 18th-century man of letters.
A few centuries later, it’s still a meaningful line, a bumper sticker for journalists everywhere committed to shining light in dark corners.
The principles of openness and transparency underpin democratic ideals the world over. Where there is freedom, there are open courts, open government, transparent policing, corporate accountability, access to information and a healthy, independent news media serving as a check on power of all types.
It is easy in a country like Canada to take these principles for granted. Yet even here, journalists routinely encounter efforts to obstruct and withhold information from the public.
For example, many experts agree that our access to information regimes are deeply flawed and inadequate. Government responses to media inquiries are often reduced to unhelpful slogans and vague talking points (even after sometimes absurd levels of internal bureaucratic vetting). Access to court documents, charge sheets and exhibits can be an ordeal, requiring costly and time-consuming appeals. Publication bans are routinely imposed in ways that can stifle press freedom, as a number of news organizations argued recently before the Supreme Court of Canada.
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