As journalist Mohamed Fahmy predicted accurately in the Star this week, the World Press Freedom Index ranking of our country did indeed drop this year.

Canada is now ranked No. 22 in the world for press freedom, a drop of four places from the 2016 rankings when we fell 10 places. That’s a distressing 14-place plunge in two years, and more significantly, means Canada is no longer in the Top 20 in the world for press freedom. Previous to last year, Canada, had long distinguished itself as being in the Top 10 best countries for press freedom.

That was something to be proud of. How disappointing it is to see this year’s ranking drop at a time when we are governed by a prime minister who promised to make freedom of information a priority. After last year’s dismal showing, I had hoped we had no where to go but up on this critical ranking of world press freedom.

Reporters Without Borders, the global press freedom watchdog that compiles the annual index, placed the blame for Canada’s dramatically lower ranking last year squarely on the shoulders of Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper, labelling his administration a “dark age” for press freedom.

The organization did not let Prime Minister Justin Trudeau off the hook this year.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has strongly advocated for a ‘free media’ but the past year has shown this to be dead letter,” its report states. “While Canada guarantees freedom of the press under its 1982 constitution, circumstances faced by journalists say otherwise.”

The press freedom index report cites a number of specific press freedom violations in Canada that sound shamefully undemocratic when described within a global context to the world at large.

It draws attention to the police surveillance of several journalists in Quebec, and details the case of Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch, who is fighting a court order to hand over communications from his sources to the RCMP. As well, it refers to the civil and criminal charges against a reporter covering the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project protests in Labrador last year for The Independent.

“In all these cases, the aim was to identify sources, which journalists have a duty to protect,” the report said. “The obsession with surveillance and violations of the right to the confidentiality of sources have contributed to the continuing decline of many countries previously regarded as virtuous.”

There is some recent cause for celebration on this front in Canada. Earlier this month our Senate unanimously passed Bill S-231, the Journalistic Source Protection Act. That bill, which amends the Canada Evidence Act to protect the confidentiality of journalistic sources, must be passed by the House of Commons before it becomes law.

Let us hope it passes easily so some measure of Canada’s “virtue” on the essential press freedom front is redeemed. And, that those federal election promises regarding free expression become closer to reality before next year’s index is compiled.

Indeed, as a statement issued by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression in response to the decline in Canada’s rankings so aptly stated: “When journalism is under attack, our democracy is under attack.”

As Canada’s leading press freedom organization, CJFE labels the decline in press freedom, “a drop in our democratic credit rating.” It is calling on Canadian governments to take steps to end press freedom violations that get in the way of journalists doing their jobs.

With “World Press Freedom Day” coming on Wednesday, it is worth considering the state of press freedom globally and reminding ourselves that freedom of expression and freedom of information are our most fundamental human rights.

This year’s index provides strong evidence that vigilance is needed throughout the world to ensure this universal right. It found that 62 per cent of countries saw declines in their rankings, including the United States (ranked 43rd in the world) and Britain (down two places to 40). The top ranked country was Norway; the bottom, North Korea.

This year’s index “reflects a world in which attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise,” the report states.

Not surprisingly, the report calls out the “media bashing” of United States President Donald Trump as contributing to the drop in press freedom in America.

“Discrediting the media is the preferred weapon of those who are ‘anti-system.’ Trump made great use of it and so did Nigel Farage, the xenophobic UKIP party’s former leader in the United Kingdom,” it states.

Overall, this report makes clear this is no time for apathy on the press freedom front — especially in democracies such as Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

“We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms — especially in democracies,” it states.

Indeed, vigilance is demanded from all who value this vital freedom and human right.

Clarification – May 3, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that referred to the arrest of a reporter for The Independent. In fact, following publication of the column, the reporter informed the star that while other media had reported that he had been arrested, in fact, he complied with a court injunction that compelled authorities to arrest him if he did not leave and seize reporting from the occupied Muskrat Falls site.