Media outlets have asked the Ontario Court of Appeal to decide that certain publication bans violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”). The media has been trying to gain access to the trial of the “Toronto 17,” the group of individuals arrested for allegedly plotting to bomb Parliament last year. Information surrounding the trial has ceased since the individuals utilized section 517 of the Criminal Code, which allows an accused person to automatically invoke a publication ban upon their request. Section 517 states that:

The media argues that such bans violate the freedom of expression and press guarantees in s. 2 of the Charter. Section 2 states that everyone has the right to “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.”[2]

One counsel for the media, Paul Schabas, has argued that the public has a compelling interest in the details of the trial. Schabas said, “Once this case went into the courthouse in Brampton, it went under a cone of silence, a cloak of secrecy, and in spite of all (police) statements about this case…five accused were released and the public is not allowed to know why.”

The Crown, conversely, has argued that bans are necessary to give the accused a fair trial. The Crown has stated that the absence of bans will be an incentive for individuals to waive their right to a fair trial in order to avoid litigation with the media over such bans.