The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits publishing any information that could reveal the identity of a minor accused or convicted of a crime.
The tests are subjective. I noted in 2012 that tweeting a photo of police arresting a minor could violate the YCJA if the clothing or look of that youth could enable anyone to know who they are.
The horrific December 2022 murder of Ken Lee, a 59-year-old man, across from Toronto’s Union Station was shocking.
Eight teenage girls are charged with murder in the case.
A few weeks after the murder, a Global News reporter began messaging people on Facebook who the reporter believed may be related to at least one of the suspects.
“Hi [name of grandmother]- so sorry for the very random message but my name is [name of reporter] and I’m a journalist for Global News covering the case of the 8 girls accused of 2nd degree murder in Toronto and believe you may know one of the Accused, [complete identifying legal name of Young Person 2] ?
There are a lot of rumours and disinformation on this case flying around and I’d really like to get to the bottom of what actually happened here…Is it possible for me to give you a quick call? Everything you say will be completely off the record. I will also not be naming [legal name of Young Person 2] in line with the law…
Thanks for your time – and please forgive me if I’ve contacted the wrong person and you don’t know her!”
Counsel for one of the accused sought a court order against the reporter to stop them from messaging people in a way that identified the accused.
Ontario Court Justice Sheilagh O’Connell ruled in July that Global News was “careless” in identifying the youth in the Facebook messages:
[87] However, when a journalist’s investigation involves a young person facing criminal charges, this work should not involve the careless dissemination of the young person’s full name and criminal charges on Facebook or other social media platforms without knowing the intended recipients of the information.
Justice O’Connell was restrained in the ruling. She declined to order the Global News journalists to testify, denying a request from the lawyer for the accused.
With the obvious now written in a ruling, Canadian journalists should not expect such leniancy from the courts again.