The Quebec government has launched a public inquiry into police surveillance of journalists.
Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux and Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée announced the measure Thursday morning. A panel of experts will be chosen and will have all the powers given to a commission, including the powers to compel witnesses, said Vallée.
“After an analysis of the different information that was made public yesterday, we consider that it's important for the population of Quebec to trust their public institutions,” she said.
The news of the inquiry came as Montreal police admitted Thursday that in Dec. 2014, they had a warrant to monitor communication by another journalist, as yet unnamed.
La Presse columnist and CJAD contributor Patrick Lagacé learned on Monday he was the subject of at least 24 search warrants as Montreal police tried to figure out which officers were talking to the press.
The police department did not have warrants, but was also keeping track of all phone calls between police officers and three other reporters: Felix Seguin of TVA, Monic Neron of 98.5 FM, and freelance journalist Fabrice de Pierrebourg.
Parti Quebecois MNA Stéphane Bergeron also announced he would be stepping down as the party’s public security critic, saying he’s become a distraction in the police surveillance scandal.
Bergeron was the Public Security Minister in 2013, when the SQ was tracking six reporters suspected of talking to union leader Michel Arsenault.
Pascal Bérubé, the PQ’s house leader, will take over the security file from Bergeron. It is so far unclear if Bergeron will be called to testify.
“I also want to go to the bottom of that. I realize that's I'm quite distraction in that story,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that no journalist is currently being monitored by the RCMP or CSIS, Canada's intelligence agency.
Trudeau said he confirmed that information with his office and reiterated that his government was taking the issue of press freedom very seriously.
Wednesday night, it was revealed that the Sûreté du Quebec had warrants to tap the phones of at least six reporters -- and once again the main goal appears to be detecting media leaks within the police force.
Reporters under surveillance include Éric Thibault of the Journal de Montreal, Denis Lessard of La Presse, and Marie-Maude Denis, Alain Gravel, and Isabelle Richer of Radio Canada.
Felix Seguin of TVA learned the sixth reporter targeted by the SQ was noted gangster specialist Andre Cedilot.
The investigation was launched in 2013 by Bergeron, who at the time was the PQ’s public security minister. Bergeron asked the SQ for an investigation after complaints by the former leader of the Quebec Federation of Labour, Michel Arsenault, who said he was the victim of leaks.
He resigned as the head of the labour union in 2013 after Radio Canada broadcast a report that looked at his ties to then-Premier Pauline Marois and her husband's investments, and the union's ties to organized crime.
Several reporters covered the SQ investigation of Arsenault, and that prompted then SQ chief Mario Laprise to find out who was leaking information, and to get warrants for wiretaps.
The current SQ director, Martin Prud'homme, said he is upset to learn of the wiretaps and is calling for an independent third party to review the warrants and the police investigations.
Bergeron was defending those actions Wednesday night, calling them an internal matter within the SQ, before promptly stepping down Thursday morning.
Richer said she felt the surveillance was hard to fathom.
“I feel attacked in my certitudes, which are that I believe in a democratic society like ours, it won’t happen. It believed that until today, now I’m shocked. I’m like in the middle of an HBO show. It’s unreal. I can’t believe it,” she said.
The SQ is defending its actions, with spokesperson Guy Lapointe saying the force is very sensitive in these types of investigations.
“The investigation was targeted. These journalists were at the heart of the investigation, so they were targeted by the investigation. That being said, we recognize at the Sûreté du Quebec that investigating anything surrounding a reporter’s job is a very sensitive matter,” he said.
Coiteux said Wednesday he was satisfied with the measures the Liberals have stepped in to take.
“Several measures have been taken this week. I think they are each important individually, and altogether I think it’s a very strong package,” he said, adding, “I was surprised. I was shocked. That’s why we acted promptly and swiftly.”
Premier Philippe Couillard has called for the Ministry of Public Security to investigate the SQ, Quebec City police and Montreal police.
He also called for an extra checkpoint, through Crown prosecutors, to make it harder to obtain search warrants for journalists, as well as a committee of experts to look into surveillance of journalists and protecting journalistic sources.
