After more than 10 years of litigation, the Journal de Montréal and TVA, owned by giant Quebecor, lost their Supreme Court case in a lawsuit against the Quebec Press Council.
Posted at 6:37pm
TVA and MédiaQMI, which brings together many newspapers in Quebec, including the Journal de Montréal, the Journal de Québec and the 24 Hours, on Friday lost a major battle they have fought since 2010 against the Quebec Press Council, a court of honor with jurisdiction over dealings with ethical complaints against journalists and news media.
Judge Bernard Jolin’s ruling on Friday dismisses the media company’s claims, which specifically sought to evade the Press Council’s jurisdiction and sought damages after two unfavorable rulings against the Journal de Montreal.
The Press Council is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to uphold freedom of the press and defend the public’s right to quality information. It investigates complaints and makes decisions based on a code of ethics regarding journalistic products across the province.
In 2008, Groupe TVA left the Press Council, followed two years later by MédiaQMI. The reason: a “disagreement with the resolutions and specifications of the press council,” says the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
However, the Press Council continued to receive complaints about these two media outlets in order to investigate them and make public decisions.
According to MédiaQMI, the unfavorable decisions damaged his reputation and violated his freedom not to join the Press Council.
The media outlet also sought financial compensation of more than $400,000 in damages allegedly following two complaints by the Press Council against the Journal de Montréal and some of its journalists and columnists.
Defeats across the board
In a 40-page ruling, Judge Jolin refuted arguments from MédiaQMI and TVA one after the other. The decision follows hearings held in September 2022.
“Nothing compels MédiaQMI and TVA to join the Conseil [de presse]emphasizes the judge in his verdict. [Le] Complaints procedure does not violate their right to freedom of association, protected by Article 3 of the Charter, and in particular their ban on association. »
The judge also ruled in favor of the Press Council on the question of freedom of expression. “Like any natural or legal person, the Council enjoys the freedom of expression protected by the Charter and the decisions taken at the end of its appeal procedure are the result of the exercise of that freedom,” he affirms.
By making unfavorable decisions in relation to two articles in the Journal de Montréal and publishing those decisions, “the Council has committed no error in not deviating from conduct that would reasonably have placed a person in the same circumstances,” the judge decides Magistrate.