Mr. Speaker, the Criminal Code provides and the general rule in law is that proceedings in court are held in open and the public may watch and see what is going on. The code also provides, and indeed the inherent jurisdiction of the court provides as well, that when the interests of a fair trial for the accused require it, there can be a ban on publication.
As my hon. friend knows from her own many years of distinguished service as counsel in the courts, sometimes these media bans on publication for specific periods of time are very important in the interests of justice, for example in a preliminary inquiry where the evidence is not published, so that the trial itself is not prejudiced or where there is some quarrel about the admissibility of evidence. The court does not want it published so the jury will find out about it before the admissibility of evidence is determined. Obviously there is a balance. The Supreme Court of Canada has two cases under advisement now in which it is considering the balance between the freedom of expression in the charter and media bans. We are going to await those decisions and read them with care. I can assure the hon. member that we will do all things necessary to ensure that the criminal law is administered fairly in this country.