Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Justin Trudeau Promises To Look Into 2008 RCMP Proposal To Tail Journalist

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Nov, 2015 01:17 PM
    OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to look into reports that the RCMP proposed shadowing an Ottawa journalist to learn who leaked secret information on a suspected terrorist.
     
    Trudeau says he believes a free and independent press is an essential part of a strong democracy.
     
    The case involves Joel-Denis Bellavance, a journalist for Montreal La Presse, and the leak to the newspaper of a sensitive spy agency document about Adil Charkaoui.
     
    Information about the proposed surveillance comes in classified RCMP documents which a Federal Court ordered disclosed as part of a lawsuit filed by Abfousian Abdelrazik, another man the government once branded a terrorist and who was also subject of a damaging leak.
     
    The Canadian Security Intelligence Service asked the RCMP for help tracing the Charkaoui leak; in a 2008 document, the police suggested shadowing Bellavance as one potential tactic.
     
    Bellavance says he is shocked that the Mounties would consider following him.
     
    Trudeau said he defends press freedom.
     
    "The issues raised are issues that we will be looking into," he said when asked about the case.
     
    Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was reluctant to delve into operational details, but noted that media freedom is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
     
    "It is something that I will expect all of those within my portfolio of responsibility to adhere to very carefully," he said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Harper Government Accused Of Leaving 'Bare Cupboard' For Liberals

    Harper Government Accused Of Leaving 'Bare Cupboard' For Liberals
    Treasury Board President Scott Brison says he's not surprised the Harper government left behind little fiscal capacity.

    Harper Government Accused Of Leaving 'Bare Cupboard' For Liberals

    Soldier Suicide Recognition At DND An Uphill Battle, Says Victim's Mother

    Soldier Suicide Recognition At DND An Uphill Battle, Says Victim's Mother
    Sheila Fynes, whose son Cpl. Stuart Langridge died by his own hand in 2008, says she's been made cautiously optimistic by the promise, but the stigma of mental illness, which can lead to suicide, is still very much a part of the military mindset.

    Soldier Suicide Recognition At DND An Uphill Battle, Says Victim's Mother

    Day Parole Approved For Patrick Clayton Who Took Hostages In Edmonton WCB Office

    Day Parole Approved For Patrick Clayton Who Took Hostages In Edmonton WCB Office
    Day parole has been granted to an Alberta man who took nine people hostage at gunpoint in a Workers' Compensation Board office in downtown Edmonton.

    Day Parole Approved For Patrick Clayton Who Took Hostages In Edmonton WCB Office

    Cancer Fund Launched By Terminally Ill Boy's Family Who Had Christmas In October

    Cancer Fund Launched By Terminally Ill Boy's Family Who Had Christmas In October
    The family of a terminally ill seven-year-old boy whose small Ontario town threw him an early Christmas parade has launched a foundation to support brain cancer research.

    Cancer Fund Launched By Terminally Ill Boy's Family Who Had Christmas In October

    B.C., Developer And First Nation Partner On $1.5 Billion Expansion Plan For Ski Resort

    The province says it will collaborate with the Berezan Group and the local Sts'ailes Band to develop the Hemlock Resort into a tourist destination in the Fraser Valley.

    B.C., Developer And First Nation Partner On $1.5 Billion Expansion Plan For Ski Resort

    Leslie Black, Saskatchewan Man Pleaded Guilty To Burning Woman Now Wants To Withdraw Plea

    Leslie Black, Saskatchewan Man Pleaded Guilty To Burning Woman Now Wants To Withdraw Plea
    Leslie Black pleaded guilty in April to the attempted murder of Marlene Bird on June 1, 2014 in Prince Albert.

    Leslie Black, Saskatchewan Man Pleaded Guilty To Burning Woman Now Wants To Withdraw Plea

    PrevNext