OTTAWA—Revelations of police surveillance of journalists are “troubling” and could spark further measures to better safeguard the rights of the press, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

Trudeau said he has verified no journalists are under surveillance “at the federal level” by the RCMP or CSIS, and said Canadians are following “with concern” reports that Quebec’s two largest police forces had been tracking the phones of several reporters in that province in recent years.

“Not only is freedom of the press important, but it’s one of the foundational safeguards of a free democracy, of a free society,” Trudeau told a news conference Thursday.

“This government understands that and understands how important it is to respect the media and the press,” he said.

Asked about Quebec police justifying the intrusive technique on the basis they sought to plug leaks, Trudeau said the identity of journalists’ sources must be given protection in order for them to do their jobs.

In French, he said, it is important in a world “where there are dangers” that public officials exercise their powers responsibly, “but it’s fundamental to our values and our identity as a free and democratic country that journalists be able to do their job to inform Canadians and therefore to protect their confidential sources.”

Trudeau said the “troubling” revelations of police snooping will lead to “reflection” on how governments can better ensure the protection of the press and the rights of journalists.

“The need for journalists to be able to do their job, of challenging authority, of informing the public and protecting confidential sources, is an essential part of ensuring that our democracy does it fullest job in protecting individual and Canadians’ rights,” Trudeau said.

If Trudeau is serious about protecting confidential sources, it could require legislated protection. Right now, under common law in most of Canada, as well as in Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that journalistic sources may be protected, but the protection is to be decided on a case-by-case basis. There is no constitutionally protected right to shield a source.

“I’m open to the discussion that I’m sure is going to be had in many levels of government in the coming weeks,” said Trudeau. “But I won’t preempt any of those discussions with guesses of what might come of it.”

When news of the police spying first broke, Trudeau’s office immediately sought assurances from the federal agencies that they had not acted in a similar fashion, he said.

“When the news started to come out we immediately engaged with the heads of CSIS and the RCMP that there is nothing of this sort happening at the federal level,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister said both the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have “strong safeguards and protections” to respect freedom of the press.

They include requiring the approval of senior officials of requests by investigators to conduct surveillance of “sensitive sectors” — journalists, academics or trade unionists —judicial oversight of, and in the case of CSIS, a watchdog agency that reviews, surveillance warrants.

“Those safeguards are still very much in place and are consistent with the values and concerns this government has and that Canadians have,” Trudeau told reporters.

CSIS director Michel Coulombe later echoed Trudeau’s comments but refused to directly say whether Canada’s spy agency has undertaken court-warranted interception of any Canadian journalist’s communications, saying he would not talk about operational matters.

Montreal police came under fire earlier this week after it was revealed that its investigators had spied on a newspaper columnist to uncover the source of a suspected leak from within the police.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

On Wednesday, Quebec provincial police said that it, too, had tracked the cellphones of six journalists in 2013 in a bid to identify a person alleged to have leaked information.

The Quebec government announced on Thursday that it would hold a public inquiry into the police surveillance of journalists, The Canadian Press reported.

A panel of experts will now have all the powers typically given to a commission of inquiry, including being able to compel witnesses to testify, said Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée.

Read more about: