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Top court violates Toronto 18 publication ban
Even the Supreme Court of Canada can run afoul of the law sometimes.
The country's top court appears to have inadvertently violated a publication ban imposed by the Ontario Superior Court judge presiding over the trial of members of the so-called Toronto 18.
The sweeping publication ban bars the media from identifying four remaining members of the group who have yet to go to trial. It also bars the media from naming the judge who will preside over the trial, at least until the jury is selected. Jury selection is scheduled to begin March 22.
However, in a Brampton, Ont., courtroom Friday, the chief prosecutor in the Toronto 18 case, Croft Michaelson, told the judge that earlier this month the Supreme Court of Canada posted a document on its website that contained information covered by his ban.
The document in question was prepared by Ontario crown prosecutors in advance of a constitutional challenge arising out of the Toronto 18 case. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case before the Toronto 18 case begins.
Rights and Democracy gets auditRights and Democracy gets audit
An accounting firm has been hired to conduct a forensic audit of the troubled Montreal-based human rights organization Rights and Democracy from 2005 to 2009.
The audit, by the firm of Samson Belair/Deloitte & Touche, is being undertaken to ensure full transparency because the institution receives $11 million annually from the federal government, its interim president Jacques Gauthier said in a statement Friday.
Moreover, while neither he nor the board of directors has direct evidence of any individual impropriety, financial reviews have uncovered transactions that require the attention of forensic auditors, Gauthier said.
"We've turned to professionals to give us an accurate picture of certain transactions and contractual arrangements for the past five years," he said.
The auditors' report is expected in three weeks and will be made public as soon as it is accepted by the board of directors, Gauthier said.
The move follows the suspension with pay of three senior managers and the hiring of a private investigation firm at the organization earlier this month.