April 4, 2025
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) was disappointed to learn that Morgan Modjeski, a Winnipeg-based reporter with CityNews, has been ordered to hand over to law enforcement the complete and unedited interview he did in 2023 in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting in the city.
The decision was passed down last week by Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier, who wrote that he found “the state’s interest in obtaining the aired and unaired portion of the video outweighs any harm to Mr. Modjeski’s rights.”
“Journalists must never be deemed to serve as the investigative arm of law enforcement,” said Brent Jolly, CAJ president. “This decision is disappointing because it casts a chill upon the journalist-source relationship that is a vital part of ensuring citizens are able to share information that holds powerful actors and public agencies to account.”
In his Dec 17, 2024 affidavit, Modjeski argued: “if the raw footage is released to police, it would offer the police a means of easy access to information held by journalists and inhibit our ability to gain the confidence and trust of sources and interview subjects.”
Iain MacKinnon, a Toronto-based lawyer who represented Modjeski, argued the interview should not have been turned over to police based on the Journalistic Sources Protection Act (JSPA).
The JSPA was enacted as a federal law in 2017. The legislation was buoyed by the 2016 revelation that multiple journalists in Quebec had their cell phone records monitored by law enforcement agencies in order to identify their sources.
The CAJ believes it is crucial for journalists to retain their independence, and distance themselves from police forces and other agencies of government. Being forced to turn over confidential material is antithetical to this principle.
The CAJ has long been fighting to uphold the principles of journalistic independence since our founding in 1978.
In 2010, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that the Globe and Mail could keep a confidential source’s identity secret. In 2019 the CAJ was one of the intervenors in the case resulting in a Supreme Court ruling stating that journalists should only have to reveal their sources as a last resort.
In 2021, we won a legal fight against the RCMP in the B.C. Supreme Court. In 2023 we condemned the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and went to court to support Jamie Kastner, a Toronto documentary filmmaker, to prevent him from having to turn over his interviews and source material. A judge later forced him to provide police with all the raw footage of 17 interviews he conducted for a TVO documentary.
“Freedom of the press involves not only the freedom to publish information but also to gather information free from interference,” Jolly said. “What is the probative value of the interview to Winnipeg police? That’s an argument that is speculative at best.”
The CAJ board of directors has affirmed that legal challenges constitute an important part of the association’s advocacy strategy. Individuals interested in supporting our work can learn more about our intervention policy on our Legal Advocacy website page. The CAJ provided Modjeski with some financial support to mount his defence.
The Canadian Association of Journalists is the country’s largest professional organization that serves to advance the interests of journalists from coast to coast to coast. The CAJ’s primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members.
-30-
Recent Comments