The protection for journalists currently available is through common law. We used some of those criteria in the bill, but we raised the current level of protection by setting out a very specific procedure for the obtaining and disclosure of information.
We also reversed the burden of proof, meaning that it is up to police, believing the information to be of benefit to the investigation, to show that the information or document cannot be produced in evidence by any reasonable means other than by executing a search warrant at a journalist's office or media outlet.
Although a series of Supreme Court decisions do grant some protection, the bill clearly defines that protection in relation to the journalist. That obviously does not exclude protection for others who are not explicitly covered by the definition. In those cases, the court's decisions would be relied on for greater clarity.