Farah Mohamed Shirdon is shown in an RCMP handout photo.The Canadian Press
An Ontario judge has upheld an RCMP order that Vice News hand over all communications between a reporter and a former Canadian resident who is facing six terrorism charges over suspected involvement with the Islamic State.
Vice Media Inc., the news outlet's parent company, went to court to contest the production order, which was issued in February, 2015. Vice lawyer Iain MacKinnon had argued that the order was overly broad – a fishing expedition to bolster the case against 22-year-old Farah Mohamed Shirdon.
Vice journalist Ben Makuch chatted with Mr. Shirdon through Kik Interactive Inc.'s messenger service, starting in 2014, and used the information he gleaned in a story. He also helped arrange a Skype interview between Vice chief executive Shane Smith and Mr. Shirdon, in which the suspected Islamic State supporter threatened attacks in North America.
Vice had also argued that such production orders, should they become a common tool for police, could have a chilling effect by discouraging sources from speaking with journalists on matters that are of interest to the public.
"It is journalists' jobs to shed light on the truth, and protection of journalists' work product and trust building with interview subjects are essential in that mission. We stand behind Ben Makuch and we will stand behind every journalist in his position. The principles at stake are too important," Vice spokesperson Jake Goldman said.
Mr. MacKinnon added in an e-mail: "I am disappointed in the decision and am concerned about the impact it could have on the ability of journalists to properly do their jobs in the future. In particular, I am concerned that police officers investigating crimes may start using similar production orders more often in the future and rely on journalists as an investigative arm or tool to gather evidence in their investigations. That could have a serious chilling effect on journalists. Their credibility and independence will be undermined if people believe that anything they say to journalists could be easily turned over to police."
"We are giving serious consideration to appealing the decision," he said.
But in a 35-page decision unsealed this week, Justice Ian A. MacDonnell of Ontario's Superior Court ruled that screen shots of Mr. Makuch's Kik messages with Mr. Shirdon "are important evidence in relation to very serious allegations" and that they are "highly reliable."
Mr. Shirdon is accused of threatening terrorist attacks against Canada and the United States, among other charges. He has not been arrested and remains at large.
However, Justice MacDonnell agreed to unseal parts of the Information to Obtain (ITO) document sworn by the RCMP to obtain the production order. That information could be made public in the coming days.
Production orders, which are allowed under the Criminal Code of Canada and are similar to search warrants, have rarely been used to seize a media outlet's source material, but there are precedents with organizations such as Global News and The Hamilton Spectator.
Vice has previously vowed not to hand over any material.
James Bradshaw