Case Summary and Outcome

 The Supreme Court of Canada held that the open court principle – the public and the media’s access to courtroom proceedings – cannot be displaced by in camera proceedings. The decision came after a Vancouver Sun reporter was denied access to an investigative hearing which involved video communications with a witness to a terrorist attack on Air India Flight 182 and a planned attack on Air India Flight 301. The Court reasoned that the open court principle extends to all judicial proceedings including investigative hearings, and stated that the Dagenais/Mentuck test should be used in all cases that limit the press’ freedom of expression.

Facts

A reporter from the Vancouver Sun was denied access to an investigative hearing regarding the terrorist attacks surrounding Air India. The criminal proceedings were against two suspected terrorists responsible for the attack on Air India Flight 182, which resulted in the death of over 3oo individuals, and the failed attack on Air India Flight 301. Shortly after the criminal proceedings began, the Crown petitioned the court to grant the witness’s statement through an in camera interview. The court granted the Crown’s petition and the judge enacted s. 83.28 of the Criminal Code under the condition that notice of hearing would not be granted to the defendants, public, or media.

On the day of the interview, a reporter from the Vancouver Sun attempted to follow the defense attorney into the investigative hearing and was denied access. The Vancouver Sun filed a notice of motion to open the court proceedings, in which the judge responded by ordering her decision to be sealed until after the conclusion of the hearings or any contrary order of the court. After the judgement was issued, when the court was open to the public, the judge gave a synopsis of the reasoning behind the ruling. The Vancouver Sun then filed their motion, their motion was dismissed, and then granted leave for the Supreme Court to rule on the dismissal of the claim.

Decision Overview

The Court held in favor of Vancouver Sun through their protection of the open court principle. The majority held that s. 83.28 of the Criminal Code can only be enacted in compliance with the Anti-Terrorism Act, which includes the open court principle.  The open court principle is directly linked to freedom of expression and thus protected by s. 2(b) of the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms. The open court principle applies to all court proceedings, cannot be displaced by in camera proceedings, and meets the requirements of the Dagenais/Mentuck test. The Dagenais/Mentuck test requires that the open court principle be respected unless a real and substantial risk outweighs the deleterious effects limiting access will have on freedom of expression (and other rights). The proceedings and findings of the court should be as publicly accessible as possible unless the standard of secrecy set out by the Dagenais/Mentuck test is met.  Therefore, while s. 83.28 of the Criminal Code is constitutional, the majority held it was applied incorrectly here.  Because the proper steps were taken to protect the identity of the witness, the Court held that all the court materials could be released to the public without jeopardizing the identity of the witness, third parties, and without interfering with the investigation.

The dissent argued that investigative hearings fall outside of the open court principle because advanced notice to the media would serve no useful purpose and the protection of the witness’s identification could potentially outweigh the open court principle. The dissent also emphasized that the burden of proof for the standard of secrecy falls on the court.