John Nuttall and Amanda Korody are shown in a still image taken from RCMP undercover video.The Canadian Press
Canada's spy agency has failed in its bid to keep part of a court hearing secret, with the judge in the high-profile terrorism case ruling some information involving a possible agency source can be released to the public.
A lawyer representing six media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, last week applied to B.C. Supreme Court for details about a closed-door hearing in the case of John Nuttall and Amanda Korody.
The hearing involved a possible Canadian Security Intelligence Service source and was held in camera Jan. 4.
Justice Catherine Bruce, in a ruling on the media application Monday, said the in-camera hearing was allowed to proceed because she did not want further delays in the case.
But the judge ruled that a redacted transcript of the hearing, as well as a redacted copy of a judgment she delivered, will be made available to the media Wednesday.
"Because the proceedings were heard in camera, the court is in a position to review the transcript and determine whether anything contained therein could jeopardize the safety interest of a possible human source," she said.
"The transcript and the ruling can be edited and redacted prior to publication to ensure the privacy concerns are met."
Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody, husband and wife, were arrested on July 1, 2013, after they placed potentially explosive pressure-cooker devices outside the B.C. Legislature. The couple was found guilty by a jury in June of conspiring to murder persons unknown and making or possessing an explosive substance – in both cases for the benefit of or at the direction of a terrorist group.
But Justice Bruce said she would wait to enter the guilty verdicts until after an argument about whether the couple was entrapped by the RCMP was heard. Lawyers for Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody have described them as poverty-stricken addicts who were manipulated by undercover police. The Crown has said Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody were more than capable of making their own decisions and chose to try to murder innocent people.
Justice Bruce said lawyers for CSIS, the Crown and the defence will have until end of day Tuesday to review her draft redactions and make submissions. The judge said she anticipates releasing the redacted documents to the lawyer representing the six media outlets one day later.