Court Bans
Proceedings under the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46
The Canadian federal Criminal Code absolutely bans publication or broadcast of certain information and also empowers Judges to make other bans on application by the prosecution, the accused or a witness.
Pursuant to “inherent jurisdiction”, Superior Courts also make ad hoc non-publication orders in circumstances not expressly authorized by the Criminal Code.
Certain other provisions of the Criminal Code must also be taken into account when determining whether or not acts or omissions involved in the process of investigation leading to publication or broadcast are lawful.
The relevant Criminal Code provisions are indexed under the following topic headings:
- General
- Before Charges are Laid
- First Court Appearance by Accused
- Preliminary Inquiry
- Pre-Trial Hearings
- Trial
Relevant decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada relating to court bans (civil and criminal) include the following:
1982 January 26
Attorney General of Nova Scotia v. MacIntyre, 1982 CanLII 14 (SCC), [1982] 1 S.C.R. 175
1988 September 1
Canadian Newspapers Co. v. Canada (Attorney General), 1988 CanLII 52 (SCC), [1988] 2 S.C.R. 122
1989 December 21
Edmonton Journal v. Alberta (Attorney General), 1989 CanLII 20 (SCC), [1989] 2 S.C.R. 1326
1991 March 28
Vickery v. Nova Scotia Supreme Court (Prothonotary) [1991] 1 S.C.R. 671
1994 December 8
Dagenais v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1994 CanLII 39 (SCC), [1994] 3 S.C.R. 835
1995 May 4
Phillips v. Nova Scotia (Commission of Inquiry into the Westray Mine Tragedy)[1995] 2 S.C.R. 97
1995 December 21
R. v Adams, [1995] 4 S.C.R. 707
1996 October 31
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. New Brunswick (Attorney General), 1996 CanLII 184 (SCC), [1996] 3 S.C.R. 480
2001 September 13
Lac d’Amiante du Québec Ltée v. 2858-0702 Québec Inc. [2001] 2 S.C.R. 743
2001 November 15
R. v. Mentuck, 2001 SCC 76 (CanLII), [2001] 3 S.C.R. 442, 2001 SCC 76
2001 November 15
R. v. O.N.E., 2001 SCC 77 (CanLII), [2001] 3 S.C.R. 478, 2001 SCC 77
2002 April 26
Sierra Club of Canada v. Canada (Minister of Finance), 2002 SCC 41 (CanLII), [2002] 2 S.C.R. 522, 2002 SCC 41
2003 June 23
Vancouver Sun (Re), 2004 SCC 43 (CanLII), [2004] 2 S.C.R. 332, 2004 SCC 43
2005 June 29
Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. v. Ontario, 2005 SCC 41 (CanLII), [2005] 2 S.C.R. 188, 2005 SCC 41
2007 October 11
Named Person v Vancouver Sun, 2007 SCC 43
2010 June 10
Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. v Canada, 2010 SCC 21
2011 January 28
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v The Queen, 2011 SCC 3
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