“It seems like the jury and the law students are seeing everything for the first time. That level of ignorance is not right,” he says.

“If we expect people to have respect for the courts, it’s only going to come through transparency.

“Hopefully, what will come of this initiative is that other courts will see they have nothing to fear and that, in fact, they are better off being more open,” Robichaud adds.

The recent Federal Court webcast was broadcast via video conferencing application Zoom, and while viewers were required to register with the service, a Federal Court news release noted that anonymous access was still possible since users did not have to provide a real name or email address.

Joseph Arvay, counsel to the claimant taxpayer, tells Law Times he was unfazed by the trial’s broadcast.