Montreal Newspaper Denounces Police Seizure of Reporter’s Computer

A Montreal journalist, whose computer was seized by Quebec police earlier this week, is awaiting a court's decision on whether or not it can be legally searched.

This latest test to press freedom in Canada comes as VICE News is embroiled in its own battle to have an RCMP production order for notes and correspondences with a suspected terrorist quashed. And in July, a Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered a Vancouver journalist to hand over his notes on Thomas Harding, a lawyer he'd written an article about to the Law Society of British Columbia, which is investigating the personal injury lawyer. The latest case revolves around Journal de Montreal reporter Michael Nguyen, whose computer was seized on Wednesday by Quebec police, at the request of Quebec's Judicial Council, which hears complaints about provincially appointed judges. Read more: Government Lawyers Seek to Block Free Speech Groups in VICE's Court Battle with RCMP In June, Nguyen wrote a story about a complaint against Quebec judge Suzanne Vadboncoeur, who allegedly made some abusive comments towards special constables at a Montreal courthouse Christmas party. His story detailed the complaint and was accompanied by surveillance video of the alleged incident. "[The judicial council is] alleging that our reporter hacked into their website and got access to confidential documents," managing editor George Kologerakis told VICE News. "We are responding that that is completely false. Our reporter did nothing whatsoever illegal to get access to that story." The judicial council is "trying to find out how our reporter got embarrassing information about one of their judges," he added. "They're trying to find out where we got our story because they're embarrassed by it." Fédération Professionnelle Des Journalistes du Québec, the province's professional journalists' association, released a statement on Thursday, condemning the seizure. "Journalists are not informants of the police and the police should not use journalists to carry out their investigations," said the statement "The FPJQ Ethics Guide also stipulates that the journalistic material, whether published or not, is intended only to be public information and can not be transmitted by journalists to the authorities want the use for other purposes." "It is unacceptable to search journalists or news media to try to unmask their sources when it was revealed in the public interest, as in this case," said Jean-Thomas Léveillé, president of the FPJQ, in the statement. "The public has a right to know how behave state officials, moreover when they are responsible for applying the law." VICE is appealing an Ontario court's decision to uphold the RCMP's production order for national security reporter Ben Makuch to hand over all notes and correspondences related to alleged Islamic State fighter Farah Shirdon. The appeal will be heard in February. Follow Tamara on Twitter.