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Volume No - 9 Issue No - 1
Far from requiring an even balancing of interests, the new scheme anticipates that absent exceptional circumstances, a presumption of protection for journalistic sources will prevail. While I accept that the factual terrain in this appeal may have shifted, the legal foundation for the Superior Court of Quebec’s conclusion that authorization was appropriate, is unsustainable in light of the language and purposes of the Act. The Superior Court effectively placed a burden on the journalist to demonstrate why she should not be forced to reveal her sources, rather than requiring the party seeking disclosure to prove why those sources should be revealed. Moreover, the Superior Court applied the new legislation in a way that mirrored, rather than departed from, the old common law and failed to recognize the paramount objective of protecting journalistic sources . Given these fundamental legal errors in the interpretation and application of the legislation, I would set aside the disclosure authorization issued against the journalist, Marie-Maude Denis, and quash the subpoena.Accused acquitted.