TORONTO – The Canadian Constitution Foundation is urging the City of Edmonton to rescind its unconstitutional policy of requiring media to notify and seek permission from the City of Edmonton prior to reporting, filming or conducting business on Edmonton Transit Service property.
The policy shared in a recent news release sent to local media states that journalists must notify the City of Edmonton before reporting from “transit centres, LRT stations, stops along the Valley Line Southeast and inside all buses and trains” and to “contact ETS Communications” to “gain access to ETS property.” (See here and here).
CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas wrote to the City of Edmonton on November 14 to make officials aware that requiring notice and/or permission to engage in news reporting is an unjustifiable limitation on the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press protected by section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the CCF may be forced to litigate if the policy is not changed.
“As a former journalist, I’m suspicious that this policy is aimed at preventing journalists from doing their job and reporting on issues that are in the public interest such as rampant drug use in LRT stations,” Dehaas said.
“Even if the policy is aimed at preserving safety and efficiency, it goes way too far by suggesting journalists need to seek permission or provide notice before engaging in their Charter-protected right to film, observe, and interview transit users,” Dehaas added.
CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn urged the City of Edmonton to rescind the policy.
“While some ETS property like secure areas are not places where speech is historically protected, there is clear Supreme Court of Canada guidance that places like LRT stations are public spaces where expression such as news reporting is protected and any limits must be demonstrably justified,” Van Geyn explained.
“It is the CCF’s preference not to litigate because it would be the taxpayers of the City of Edmonton who would bear the cost the city’s decision to defend this unconstitutional policy,” she added.
“These expenses can be avoided if the city rescinds the policy and replaces it with one that clarifies that journalists can report freely without notifying the city or seeking permission so long as they do not interfere with the safety or effectiveness of the system or enter secure zones,” Van Geyn said.
