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Rogers argued in court that Vallee should unseal portions of the documents, which are believed to have been sealed because they contain information that could identify a confidential informant.

But Vallee ruled Thursday that none of the information can be made public and she can’t say why.

“All of the information in those materials and the order relates to a subject matter which must be protected from disclosure,” she wrote.

“Because the subject matter must be protected, I am not at liberty to describe the nature of the subject matter or why it must be protected. Disclosure of redacted versions of the materials and the order would be meaningless because all text in the materials and the order would have to be redacted.”

During Rogers’ application, Justice Department lawyer Barney Brucker discussed Section 37 of the Canada Evidence Act, a provision that allows a judge to order information be kept secret to protect a “specified public interest.” It is not known whether that provision, which has been used to protect evidence in terrorism cases, was invoked in a closed-door proceeding.

Sources say the sealed affidavit in this case is accompanied by four letters sent by private investigator Derrick Snowdy to assistant RCMP commissioner Stephen White. The letters contain allegations about RCMP wrongdoing, including repeated information leaks that threaten the safety of confidential informants, and the leak of private information about Harper’s family by officers from the prime minister’s protection detail.

In her ruling, Vallee wrote that she agrees that the open-court principle invoked by Rogers “are hallmarks of our free and democratic society.”

However, she wrote, “in some situations the court does not have the discretion to permit public access to certain types of information.”

Rogers, who is acting for the National Post and Postmedia News, CBC, Maclean’s and the Toronto Star, said during his application that he was constrained in the arguments he could make because he was not aware of the reasons for the sealing order.

smaher@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/stphnmaher