Publication Bans, Inquiries and Blogs

Recently, a blog out of the United States has started posting what is supposedly testimony currently under a publication ban in Canada.

Granted, publication bans don't cross international boundaries, but common courtesy and respect for the legal rights of others does. The testimony in question is from individuals who are currently facing criminal prosecution for their involvement in the AdScam scandal. Crooked or not, no matter how egregious their offenses, these people have a right to a fair trial.

The Gomery Inquiry is about getting to the bottom of the Sponsorship Program, and just how it was run. It is not a criminal investigation, rather it is a review of the operations of government at a particular moment in time. The justice heading up the inquiry has imposed a publication ban specifically to protect the rights of the accused to a fair trial.

The Blogger in the US is quoted on his blog as saying "Publication Bans are Futile". I disagree. In his case, it is a matter of morals and ethics. If the Gomery Inquiry were going on in the United States, and a publication ban were in place, the blogger would no doubt find himself standing in front of a judge explaining his actions today. However, both Canada and the United States purport to be free, open countries with transparent justice systems. Part of that transparency is equality before the courts, and the right not to self-incriminate. Our American friend perhaps needs to step back and consider whether he would want his testimony before a public inquiry to be published prior to a criminal trial on the same matter.

Just as the Canadian media has often respected publication bans originating in the United States, the reverse should also be true. Due process exists for a reason, and respect for that process must go "both ways" across our borders.

Technically, bloggers are not journalists, and therefore are not subject to the same kind of scrutiny. However, we are citizens of nations, and responsible for our actions as such. Attempting to undermine the right of an accused to a fair trial is a serious enough offense that our government should consider demanding the blogger's extradition to Canada to face legal consequences for his actions.

BTW - On the Gomery testimony itself, I don't think it has shown anything yet that is particularly surprsing, and I doubt that the blacked out testimony is all that "earth shattering". The Sponsorship Program will go down in Canadian history as one of the dafter operations of our government, but I do not believe for one minute that any other party would behave any differently. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely - just look at Ralph Klein.