As heads of the main newsrooms in Quebec, we wish to express our outrage and deep concern that a so-called a ghost process This is the result of a judgment by the Québec Court of Appeals.

It is unacceptable that such a trial could have taken place in Quebec and that the public is not even informed of its existence and even less of the court in which it took place and the identity of the judge and the lawyers involved.

in summary, the process took place in the utmost secrecyerases centuries of democratic progress with a pencil stroke from the first instance decision maker and brings us back to the sad days of the Star Chamber, that arbitrary tribunal created by Henry VII in the 15th century.

How is it that such a charade could take place here in 2021? 2022? Unfortunately, up until the date this trial was held, the public knows nothing.

However, it is well known that transparency is one of the foundations of our legal system. Indeed, as the 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote: The brake on judicial injustice only works in relation to the public nature of the proceedings. Where there is no public, there is no justice… Public is the breath of justice. It is the greatest incentive to effort and the best safeguard against dishonesty.

This principle has been repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada: the openness of judicial proceedings is a rule that should suffer only from very rare exceptions, which are themselves restricted in order to offer as much transparency as possible in all circumstances.

Unfortunately, in recent years, it seems that the Quebec courts have given increasing prominence to these exceptions, having complied with requests from the Director of Criminal and Prosecution and Defense Counsel, gradually undermining the principle of judicial transparency. In that sense, the phantom process that came to light last week is the logical outcome of this slow drift.

This revelation raises many questions. Who were the lawyers involved and the judge? Has this process been supported by other actors in the judiciary? Are there other files that have been treated in a similar way? These are just some of the questions citizens are entitled to be asked.

Public trust in the judiciary is at stake. This was greatly undermined by the way this trial was held. It’s not just about highlighting past deeds, but also learning from them to prevent them from repeating themselves in the future.

We therefore call for a thorough review of the practices of Quebec courts and criminal prosecutors regarding the publicity of trials, so that, on the one hand, this type of trial Spirit can no longer occur and, on the other hand, to examine what can be improved in the current files in order to guarantee the public’s right to judicial information.

The media play a role in informing the public and are therefore well placed to actively contribute to this process. Together we will be able to find solutions that promote the openness of court proceedings and the public’s right to information.

co-signer :

Francis CardinalVice President for Information and Associate Editor, La Hurry up

Luca JulienDirector General of News, French Services, Société Radio-Canada

Julie Christine GagnonProgram director at 98.5 FM, Cogeco Media

Karen McDonaldNews Director, Global News Montreal

Lenie LucciActing Editor-in-Chief of the Montreal Gazette

Melanie PorkoSupervisor, News Production, CityNews Montreal (Citytv)

Helen EvansDirector of Journalism, CBC Quebec

Brodie FenlonEditor-in-Chief, CBC News

Genevieve RossierEditor and manager of the French service, La Presse canadienne

Eric TrottierManager, The Sun

Hugo FontaineExecutive Director, La Tribune

Eric BrousseauManaging Director, Le Droit

Christian MaloManaging Director, The Voice of the East

Stephen FrapperManaging Director and Editor-in-Chief, Le Nouvelliste

Marc Saint HilaireManaging Director and Editor-in-Chief, Le Quotidien