Law Times

Page 6 November 5, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Respecting the role of media BY KADY O'MALLEY A few years and a government or so ago, I was invited out for a getting-to-know-you coffee by the just-hired communica- tions director for a very senior mem- ber of cabinet — an event that, in itself, wouldn't be particularly noteworthy but that came during a prolonged pe- riod of subarctic chilliness between the governing party and the parliamentary press gallery. Anyway, we started out by chatting about . . . oh, I don't remember, exactly, most likely the Ottawa equivalent of the weather (which usually comes down to the latest rumours on a possible snap election call or cabinet shuff le or, in some cases, the actual weather), and while I can't remember the precise route that the conversation took to get there, I'll never forget where it ended up: My caffeine break companion (who was, by the way, a very recently former journalist) made it clear that he was more than willing to make sure I had access to whatever I needed to do my job, and in exchange, if he ever needed a favour from me, well, dot dot dot. At this point, you're just going to have to imagine a triple-speed montage of me pretending to get an urgent email, fum- bling for my purse and very possibly setting a new zero- to-max land-speed record to escape that coffee shop in short order, because I just didn't know how to react. As well-meaning as I have no doubt this person was, it's hard to imagine a more perfectly misaligned understand- ing of how the relationship between Hill journalists and the politicians they cover is supposed to work; namely, that we're not — or, at least, shouldn't be — in the business of doing each other fa- vours. In a perfect world, we'd operate on a baseline of mutual respect, but in the comfortingly imperfect one that we in- habit, I think most of us would settle for grudging acknowledgement that we both have a legitimate role to play in our democracy, even if those roles regularly put us at loggerheads. This, of course, brings us to the lat- est outbreak of anti-media rhetoric on the pre-election hustings — primar- ily, at least at the moment, courtesy of the Conserva- tives, who seem to be test- ing out the message track deployed by U.S. President Donald Trump in his cru- sade against the purveyors of so-called "fake news," although using a distinctly more moderate, made-in- Canada tone. To be clear, we haven't seen Andrew Scheer lead the crowd in a rousing round of "Lock them up! Lock them up!" Nor is there any reason to fear that we will, as he recently coun- tered the suggestion that his party was borrowing from the Trump playbook by proclaiming reporters to be "essen- tial" to the political process. Still, it's a disheartening trend, and one that puts political reporters in ev- ery bit of an uncomfortable a situation as that coffeeshop encounter, for one very simple reason: We can't actually fight back — not openly, at least, and not without running the risk that, sim- ply by coming to our own defence, we'll bolster the belief that we are, in fact, biased against (or, alternately, in favour of ) a particular political party or view- point. We also tend to be deeply reluctant to even go public with our frustration, as we've all been taught to obey the golden rule to never, ever become the story. Instead, we try to keep doing our job to the best of our ability, even when those on the other side have a vested interest in making it as difficult as pos- sible for us to get their side of the story, solely so they can then decry us for fail- ing to do just that. As we head into what both sides are promising will be the most vicious, no- holds-barred electoral battle in Cana- dian history, here's hoping that once the ballots are counted, both sides will be willing to declare a truce, and those of us on this side of the media cordons can get back to serving the public by holding politicians — of all stripes — to account on their behalf. LT uKady O'Malley is a member of the parliamentary press gallery in Ottawa and writes about politics, procedure and process for iPolitics. She also appears regularly on CBC television and radio. COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday ©2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reli- ance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. LT.editor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $205.00 + HST per year in Canada for print and online (HST Reg. #R121351134), $199 + HST per year for online only. Single copies are $5.00. Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto ON, M1T 3V4. Return postage guaranteed. 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Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Balakrishnan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Crawford Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . Jacqueline D'Souza Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford What lies beneath T he term "the tip of the iceberg" is used frequently, but the metaphor is an apt one, especially when it comes to this issue of Law Times. We live in an era where sharing our personal stories is easier than ever. And yet, when it comes to potentially pervasive problems or tricky risks, the issue can sometimes lie unresolved or beyond widespread public notice. In this issue, Law Times reporter Anita Balakrishnan covers how University of Toronto Faculty of Law students and alumni are calling on the school to address its rising tuition costs. More than 300 people had signed an open letter as of press time — many who discussed the strain their debt load from attending law school had created in their own lives. Practising lawyer Renatta Austin, for example, says she will not be donating to the University of Toronto's alumni campaign this year because she is still paying off debts incurred by her own tuition costs. She says she is "living proof of why people don't do this work and can't afford to do this." Then there's a piece by columnist Fathima Cader, which discusses a landmark Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruling where a wom- an received an award of $200,000 after racial and sexual abuse by her landlord and employer. It is the highest general damages award in the tribunal's history. Cader calls the case a "rare win," but she says it has been relatively unremarked upon. Lastly, there are several of stories focusing on environmental law. The legal maneuvering over issues such as con- taminated sites can be tricky to navigate, and law- yers say they're being tapped to provide guidance after the Ontario government has repealed the Green Energy Act and is scrapping the cap-and- trade regime. Until people put words to a problem, sign an open letter or bring a new case on a novel issue, the issue remains unexplored. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. LT The Hill Kady O'Malley Kady O'Malley

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