The Supreme Court of Canada decided Thursday morning not to hear the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s challenge to a court order to identify sources and release relevant documents in the sexual misconduct case against Lt. Gen. Haydn Edmundson. .
Edmundson was charged in December 2021 with sexual assault and lewd conduct. The charges date back to 1991. He maintains his innocence and denies any wrongdoing.
The trial was scheduled for August 2023, but has since been postponed.
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said the organization was “deeply disappointed” that the case will not be argued before the Supreme Court.
He said the CBC had “done its best” but had exhausted all legal avenues.
Mr. Edmundson’s defense team sought to identify anonymous sources cited in a March 2021 CBC article, about nine months before the charges were filed against Mr. Edmundson.
The article notes that Edmundson, who at the time ran Military Command and had authority over the career consequences of soldiers found to have engaged in sexual misconduct, was himself under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting a subordinate. It was reported that.
Mr. Edmundson’s lawyers said the information provided during a police interview with a source (referred to as “XX” in court documents) was provided to CBC by an anonymous source in a March 31 article. Probably they are the same person, because the information is very similar.
The defense requested access to CBC’s interview transcripts to determine whether the information provided to CBC News at the time was materially similar or different from statements subsequently given to police.
Frank D. Crew of the Ontario Court of Justice ruled in favor of Edmundson’s team, stating that XX and the anonymous source were likely the same person.
The judge concluded that while the Canada Evidence Act protects the anonymity of journalistic sources, that privilege was lost or waived when XX made a voluntary witness statement during a police investigation.
CBC News appealed this decision to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, but Justice Callum MacLeod dismissed the appeal, saying, “There are good reasons to assess that XX may be one of the sources.” .
MacLeod also said that while journalistic sources are protected under the Canada Evidence Act, that protection is not absolute and must be weighed against the public interest in the administration of justice.
CBC News then appealed MacLeod’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
“Journalists who cannot provide their sources with the confidentiality necessary to bring important stories to light cannot do their jobs or effectively serve the public interest,” Thompson said in a statement. .
“The CBC’s ability to seek out confidential sources to report important stories depends on its reputation for protecting existing sources.”
