In honour of the 30th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Ryerson University's Law Research Centre and Journalism Research Centre will co-host a two-day Press Freedom in Canada conference in Toronto on March 8-9, 2012.

The conference program will cover various aspects of press freedom in Canada, including issues arising from the regulation of new media, anti-terrorism measures and government secrecy.

“This conference will be an opportunity to take stock of the press freedom situation in this country 30 years after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was put in place,” said April Lindgren, director of the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre. “It will bring together leading journalists, lawyers, scholars, students and members of the public to reflect on where we stand and why it matters.”

The first day of the conference will feature a series of panel discussions on and a luncheon address by Postmedia columnist Christie Blatchford. Conference programming on March 9 will focus on in-depth examinations of key issues affecting press freedom, including court restrictions on media access to information, the implications of new media, and government strategies that hinder access to information.

Confirmed speakers over the two days include legal and media scholars from across Canada and abroad; Toronto Star editor-in-chief Michael Cooke; Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente; Tony Burman, former managing editor of Al-Jazeera’s English-language operations; Huffington Post Canada’s Kenny Yum; Ottawa Citizen columnist Sue Riley; and Linden MacIntyre from CBC’s the fifth estate.

The legal lineup includes Daniel Henry, senior legal counsel for the CBC; Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Marlys Edwardh, who served as legal counsel to Maher Arar.

For complete conference details click here »