Attorney General Arif Virani’s department on Thursday said it will not prosecute reporters who disclose federal secrets, despite a federal memo discussing as much. The Department of Justice dismissed an internal memo that detailed circumstances in which reporters could face charges for publishing government documents without permission, per Blacklock’s Reporter. “The document was originally prepared for internal Department of Justice policy discussions,” said spokesman Ian McLeod. The memo dated August 12 in fact was written earlier and was considered “hypothetical,” he said.The memo detailing “examples of conduct targeted by new offences” is dated only weeks after parliament’s June 19 passage of Bill C-70 An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference. The bill mandates federal registration of anyone “acting at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with” foreigners under threat of five years’ imprisonment and a $5 million fine..Feds rework censorship bill after backlash.The memo outlined the publication of federal secrets as a crime. “The examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute legal advice,” it said.One example stated: “A national newspaper publishes an article discussing internal operational protocols employed by the government to counter cybersecurity threats. The article was based on government records marked as secret which were obtained from a confidential source who was not authorized to share this information.”Another example stated: “Country X secretly pays a journalist to write complimentary narratives that harm Canadian interests and the relationship is never disclosed.”McLeod dismissed the memo as dated and irrelevant. It was written “long before the introduction of Bill C-70,” he said. “The hypotheticals are not reflective of or responsive to the final content of Bill C-70.”Virani in June 12 testimony at the Senate National Finance Committee said the bill specifically targeted activity intended to aid a foreign government.“The proposed amendments would expressly recognize the right to freedom of expression,” testified Virani..Federal memo bars media leaks, alleges whistleblowers hurts democracy .Richard Bilodeau, director general at the Department of Public Safety, said Bill C-70 was broad in scope but intended to uncover clandestine activities that benefit a foreign state.“It still requires some degree of understanding,” said Bilodeau.“It cannot be just somebody doing it just because they think the foreign power would like them to be doing it. There has to be some degree of understanding.”Bill C-70 requires that names of foreign agents be made public. The public safety department said it would “take up into a year” to publish the information.“The element that is key to this foreign influence transparency registry is bringing transparency,” said Bilodeau.“Even bringing sunlight to associations is a key, valuable tool."
