![]() ![]() ![]() The resulting lack of information can fuel public mistrust in our institutions, which undermines our democracy," says WPFC president Heather Bakken. "Secret trials remove the media's ability to scrutinize proceedings and hold the government and justice system accountable. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the Quebec Court of Appeal decision that maintained the blanket of secrecy. Much information related to the trial remains sealed. The practice was condemned by the Bar of Quebec and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Larouche's coverage prompted Quebec's justice minister to vow such a trial will never be conducted in shadow again. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada deployed significant resources to block La Presse in court, in addition to refusing to hand over its list of court file numbers opened in Quebec on criminal matters. Larouche leveraged confidential sources, access to information legislation, court documents, and more to peel back the layers of this phantom case, which ran counter to Canada's open court principle. In March 2022, Larouche uncovered a secret trial conducted in the Quebec Court of Appeal, in which prosecutors pursued charges against a police informant. ![]()
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