Trudeau gov’t says reporting on ‘federal secrets’ is a crime: memo

An internal Department of Justice memo dismisses acts of journalism as a crime, when it concerns contentious matters on foreign interference.

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   December 06, 2024   |   News   |   1 Comment

An internal Department of Justice memo has earned swift pushback for suggesting journalists could be charged for reporting on the government.  

“The document was originally prepared for internal Department of Justice policy discussions,” said Ian McLeod, a Justice spokesperson. The August 12 memo outlined the need to censor journalists who publish government secrets without permission, Blacklock’s learned.

The memo, Examples Of Conduct Targeted By New Offences, coincides with the passage of Bill C-70, An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference, which threatened foreign agents with a $5 million fine and jail time for not registering with the federal government.

Among the “hypothetical” examples illustrated is an article discussing “internal operational protocols employed by the government to counter cybersecurity threats … which were obtained from a confidential source.”

Examples Of Conduct Targeted specifically dismisses acts of journalism as a crime, when it concerns contentious matters on foreign interference, reported Blacklock’s. 

“It cannot be just somebody doing it just because they think the foreign power would like them to be doing it,” clarified Richard Bilodeau, director general at the Department of Public Safety. “There has to be some degree of understanding.”

Meanwhile, Attorney General Virani claimed the bill would respect freedom of expression, and only target hostile foreign actors and uncover their clandestine activities.

Spokesperson McLeod considers the memo outdated, given its tenets came “long before” Bill C-70, he said. “The hypotheticals are not reflective of or responsive to the final content of Bill C-70.”

Though outdated, the Trudeau government remains noticeably hostile when interacting with members of the press, including the brutal RCMP takedown of Rebel News reporter, David Menzies.

The publication attempted to ask Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, why her government had not designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group. She did not answer the question in Richmond Hill, Ontario this January 8.

Four police officers then handcuffed Menzies, and briefly detained the reporter without charge. Freeland’s political aides nor the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) commented on the incident, garnering international condemnation. 

The IRGC shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 passengers on board — including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents.

The Commons justice committee in a December 6 report, Measures To Protect Canadians, recommended expelling an estimated 700 Iranian agents operating in Canada.

Freeland, a former newspaper executive, once claimed any reporter could ask her any question “without fear of retaliation,” reported Blacklock’s. “I used to be a journalist,” she would frequently remind reporters, working previously for the Financial Times, Reuters and the Globe and Mail.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a 2015 Ministerial Mandate letter to Freeland wrote: “All journalists in Canada and abroad are professionals who, by asking necessary questions, contribute in an important way to the democratic process. Your professionalism and engagement with them is essential.”

“It is important that we acknowledge mistakes when we make them,” the letter said. “Canadians do not expect us to be perfect. They expect us to be honest, open and sincere in our efforts to serve the public interest.”

Yet, the Trudeau government routinely boycotts questions from Rebel News, having barred the publication from attending election events.

The Federal Court has twice censured the Debates Commission for arbitrarily barring Rebel reporters without just cause.

The news outlet “did not ask to impose its views but for the opportunity to participate in coverage of matters of importance during a federal election,” Federal Justice Elizabeth Heneghan wrote in a 2022 ruling that struck the journalism ban. 

“There is room in the nation for the expression of opposing points of view,” she added.

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2024-12-06 19:16:22 -0500
    How totalitarian! We need to know who was compromised by China’s bad actors. Election interference by other countries is a violation of OUR sovereignty. But the Liberals act like totalitarians by claiming we’re revealing state secrets. What does that remind you of?