WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: CJFE Freedom of Expression Index 2009

January 26, 2015

Number of American journalists detained by Canadian border authorities and questioned whether they were coming here to criticize the Olympics: 4

Number of cases involving freedom of expression considered by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009: 8

Length of time Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was detained and tortured in an Iranian prison: 118 days, 12 hours, 54 minutes

Months Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout was held after being kidnapped in Sudan on Aug. 23, 2008: 15

Number of direct violent attacks against Canadian media outlets that were reported: 2

Number of rural Canadians without reliable access to broadband Internet: 3 million

Percentage of federal Access to Information requests that were not met in the required 30-day time limit: 43

Percentage of requests for which it took more than 60 days to get a response: 23

Average number of days to resolve a federal Access to Information complaint: 395

Number of campaign promises made by Stephen Harper in 2006 to reform Access to Information: 8

Promises kept: 1 (partially)

Published by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) in recognition of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2010

To find out more visit www.cjfe.org

Sources: 1-4 and 11, CJFE; 5, The Globe & Mail; 6-7, Treasury Board Info Source; 8, Office of the Information Commissioner; 9-10, Fallen Behind: Canada’s Access to Information Act in the World Context by Stanley Trom Julie Payne, CJFE Manager Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)555 Richmond St W. Ste. 1101, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3B1 (416) 515-9622 ext. 226

www.cjfe.org

PRESS RELEASE FROM CJFE

CJFE Launches First Ever Report on Free Expression in Canada

Exclusive Information available for World Press Freedom Day (May 3)

(Toronto, April 27, 2010) Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) will publish its first annual report on the state of free expression in Canada on May 3, World Press Freedom Day.  The report will be made available in advance to journalists and media on Friday, April 30. This has been a noteworthy year for free expression issues in Canada, for better or worse. From the groundbreaking decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada to the vigorous stonewalling of the federal government on freedom to information, more significant issues have arisen in the past year than in many other years, perhaps decades. CJFE’s annual Free Expression Report will provide Canadians with a frank assessment of the health of free expression in Canada. The report will discuss the new legal defence for defamation, analyze why human rights commissions should not be trying to regulate offensive speech and CJFE will grade government departments from A to – unfortunately – F. Today, we offer a special sneak preview of the report-CJFE’s Freedom of Expression Index 2009 which gives a snapshot of free speech issues in Canada.  It is available for media publication on May 3 (see below). Highlights of the report include:

Free Expression on Trial – a review of the legal cases before the Supreme Court (eight in 2009), and various appeal courts and human rights tribunals, on issues of defamation, publication bans and hate speech; an exclusive by journalist and author Terry Gould

Information on a (short) leash – an analysis of the crisis in our Access to Information system by Terry Gould and journalist Bob Carty

Olympics Watch – violations of freedom of expression during the Games

Canadians Abroad – examining the cases of Canadian journalists attacked or detained abroad including Maziar Bahari and Amanda Lindhout

Will Free Speech Get Caught in the Web – a column by Paul Knox, Chair of the Ryerson School of Journalism

Undermining Trust: police impersonating journalists by Kelly Toughill of Kings College School of Journalism

The project was launched with the support of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. For more information, please contact: CJFE Manager, Julie Payne (416) 515-9622 x. 226 j

[email protected]

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) boldly champions the free expression rights of journalists and media workers around the world. In Canada, we monitor, defend and promote free expression and access to information. We encourage and support individuals and groups to be vigilant in the protection of their own and others’ free expression rights. We are active participants and builders of the global free expression community.

www.cjfe.org