Surveillance of La Presse reporter a 'serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada'

The case of a Montreal newspaper columnist whose smartphone was trackedby Montreal police is part of a troubling trend emerging in Quebec and across the country,freedom of expression advocates say.

La Presse reported Monday at least 24 surveillance warrants were issued forPatrickLagac'siPhone this year at the request of the policespecial investigations unit. That section is responsible for looking into crime within the police force.

The warrants were used to track Lagac's whereabouts using the GPS chip in his iPhone. The warrantsalso allowed police to obtain the identities of everyone hespoke to or exchanged text messages withduring that time.

"The new powers that the police have tosurveilCanadians are absolutely horrifying, they're basically limitless, there's very little oversight, and when that happens the system will be ripe for abuse, and this is just an example of how it's abused," saidTomHenheffer, executive director ofCanadian Journalists for Free Expression.

"What's even more worrying about it is the fact that this is a justice of the peace who actually authorized this."

• Premier promises greater protection of journalists, sidesteps call for inquiry
• LaPressecolumnist says he was put under police surveillance as part of 'attempt to intimidate'

It's part of a "culture shift" among law enforcement and judges that began with the passing of BillC-51under the previous Conservative government, he said.Henheffer pointed to other recent cases where law enforcement has been spying on journalists or fighting for them to turn over the names of anonymous sources in court.

It is unprecedented. The police have issued search warrants against media outlets in the past, but nothing as far ranging as this one.- Mark Bantey, media lawyer

In September, the Sret du Qubec seized Journal de Montral reporter Michael Nguyen's computer because they believed he illegally obtained information cited in a story he wrote.

At the same time, the RCMP has been trying to get a reporter from Vice News to hand over background materials used for stories on a suspected terrorist.

Last May, CBC News revealed that a rogue group of Mounties investigating the leak of a secret document spied on two Canadian journalists for more than a week without any authorization.

The Liberals pledged to change "problematic" parts of bill C-51in the 2015 election, but have yet to move on the legislation that seems to have triggered the culture shift.

Police motives called into question

In this case,Lagacsaid police told him they obtained the court-authorized warrants because they believed the target of one of their investigations was feedinghim information.

But he said the story in question was actually first reported on by a competitor, leading him to believe the investigation was actually a thinly veiled attempt to learn the identity of his sources within the police department.

"To me, this was a great pretext to try to investigate a reporter who has done numerous stories in the past that have embarrassed the service,'' he said.

"This is a big thing in a country like Canada. Police were permitted to spy on a journalist under very, very thin motives on a secondary part of a criminal investigation.''

Montreal police Chief PhilippePichetsaid Monday that investigators never violated any rules.

"We respected every law to obtain the warrant we got.We followed the rules, and the judge authorized the warrant," he said during a news conference.

Pichetalso said the measures were necessary because it wasan "exceptional situation."

"We are very conscientious about the importance of respecting the freedom of the press.However, the [Montreal police]also has the responsibility to carryout investigations on criminal acts even against policeofficers."

'Drastic measures'

Mark Bantey, a Montreal media lawyer, said therevelations are "shocking."

"I was stunned because the police obviously took the very drastic measures to obtain the source of information. I think it's shocking actually. I think it's a serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada," Bantey said.

"I have never seen anything like this in the 35 years Ihave been practising media law.It is unprecedented. The police have issued search warrants against media outlets in the past, but nothing as far-ranging as this one."

Bantey said a justice of the peace should be"extremely cautious" when a search warrant is aimed at a journalist or media outlet.

The Supreme Court has ruledthat a justice of the peace not only has to consider the usual criteria whether there arereasonable grounds tobelieve that the measure will afford evidence of the commission of a crime but also has to be satisfied that"there are no other sources of information available to the police," Bantey said.

Chill on anonymous sources

StphaneGiroux, a spokesmanfor the Quebec professional journalists' federation, said the latest instance isone of the more serious attacks the organization has seen on freedom of the press in recent years.

Girouxsaid when sources contact journalists, they expect to remain anonymous. But this news may make people who try to come forward with stories mistrustful of journalists.

"If they can do it to PatrickLagac, they can do it to anyone," he said.

In an open letter published Tuesday, Radio-Canadabureau chief Michel Cormierdenounced the police force'stactics.

The letter was co-signed by many of the province's top media outlets, including La Presse, Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette.