NSCL--BY ARRESTING JOURNALISTS ARE THE POLICE THREATENING THE PUBLIC INTEREST?

In January 2024, Brandi Morin, a journalist for Ricochet Media, was arrested while reporting on homeless encampment in downtown Edmonton during a police raid. Morin was filming and conducting interviews at the encampment when police arrived and set up an exclusion zone around the area. Negotiations with the residents broke down and police moved in to arrest the camp leader. At this time police demanded that Morin leave the area. She protested that she was a journalist and had a right to be present. Morin was then manhandled, handcuffed and held in police custody for 5 hours. She was charged with obstruction of a police officer. The charge was subsequently withdrawn by Crown Prosecutors.

This case is the latest in a series of incidents in which police have attempted to restrict media access to report on police actions involving protests, demonstrations and homeless encampments, as well as attempts to ask questions of annoyed politicians.

Are police entitled to restrict media access, or hold journalists outside of “exclusion zones”, or prevent them from covering events in which the public has an interest? Do journalists have a right to be present and report on actions and events in the public interest while they are taking place? Is there “press freedom” in Canada, or are police entitled to arrest journalist who are “just doing their job”?